Um... aren't you the one who VEHEMENTLY opposes top down regulation in this industry? You want the manufacturers to remove all restrictions on dive shops..... except when it's convenient for you?
"Regulation"?
You consider this a matter of convenience?
I want shops to set their OWN policies. If they want to stock nothing and play order guy, then fine - but then they should be selling at whatever they want.
BTW, requiring someone to maintain stock isn't unusual, nor does it amount to vertical price restraint. It may create market forces that lead to particular pricing policies on an individual shop basis, but that's not a matter of "regulation."
Setting price restraints but NOT requiring any kind of rental program or stocking leads to exactly what we have now.
That is, dealers selling at full price or damn close to it, no stiock, and no rentals. Yet these dealers can hide behind their list prices, knowing full good and well that in exchange for their zero service levels you cannot go beat their price somewhere else.
This system gives the "dealer who isn't really" cover, in that they have no requirement to actually BE a dealer - they just take your money and then pass through the suit sale, providing zero before-sale service or support. You have no means to compare the available suits and sizes or determine the appropriate choice for you. They know you can't do any better shopping around due to the price fixing.
The price fixing makes it possible for these shops to stay in business. Without that they couldn't manage to do so, as someone would open up a "box shop" and undercut them out of business. Oh sure, they'd provide no service either, but you'd get that "no service" at a very low price! That would force the "full price" guys to actually offer SERVICE to justify their markup.
Vertical price restraint is unlawful, in general. That certain manufactures have succumbed to dealer pressure (and vice-versa) to impose this and have found a loophole doesn't change the essential character of what is going on.
None of this has anything to do with a manufacturer's claim that they are "the" premium product in the marketplace, yet they act like YUGO when it comes to how they ACTUALLY have their dealers behave.
Its easy to have an objective standard for a dealership that says you must have an active rental program with suits no more than two years old, in sizes "X", "Y" and "Z", in order to carry the line.
None of that restrains the price at which the product can be sold.
See how many Hickey Freeman suits would be sold without the stores selling them having stock on the floor. I'll tell you how many - ZERO! I own a few in my closet, and I would not have bought a single one of them if I could not have put them on in the store first, and seen how they fit and looked on me.
That's with one layer of Polypro under a set of polarfleece - nice and comfortable in cool but not cold water.
