| The following is mail I recieved from a list I'm on. It's pertinent to
mail order. Summit Racing is accusing suppliers of "price fixing" and
is selling stuff with a "creative rebate". Read the following....
From: US3RMC::"[email protected]" "[email protected], 'Jackie S. McCracken'" 14-MAY-1997 12:30:49.33
To: [email protected]
CC:
Subj: FW: Mr. Gasket Pricing Policy (RE:MAP (Minimum Advertised Pricing))
[ From "Jackie S. McCracken" <[email protected]> ]:
Ok guys,
Following is the response from Mr. Gasket Co. forwarded with their permission,
read on and comments please. Personally I liked it and will continue to us Mr.
G's products and I am EXTREMELY disturbed by Summit Racing's recent actions in
this regard. It's nice to hear the other side of the story. I have also
received a similar response from Holley and will forward that as soon as I get
their permission.
Jack McCracken
[email protected]
-----Original Message-----
From: Bauman, Kent
To: 'McCracken, Jack'
Cc: Young, Joe
Subject: Mr. Gasket Pricing Policy
Date: Thursday, May 08, 1997 6:24PM
We recently received your e-mail message, and feel that your concern deserves a
personal reply. It is regrettable that one of our very good customers has
chosen to refer to our policy as "price fixing"-nothing could be further from
the truth. I am forwarding a copy of a recent press release we issued for your
review. Our actions are aimed at ensuring that the consumer will have a choice
on where to buy their products in the future -- without a choice, there will be
less competition, and with less competition, the few survivors will be able to
charge you much higher prices.
Sincerely,
Kent Bauman
Vice President Marketing
Mr. Gasket
PRESS RELEASE
MR. GASKET ANNOUNCES NEW ADVERTISED PRICE POLICY
As part of the companyIs overall efforts to support independent dealers,
retailers, and mail order houses, Mr. Gasket announced a policy in November
1996 that would encourage everyone to advertise Mr. Gasket, ACCEL, Hurst, Hays,
Lakewood, and Daytona products at fair and competitive minimum prices to the
end consumer.
The Company believes it is important that end users who want to install Mr.
Gasket products have a choice of where to purchase their products, whether
through a local stocking dealer, a retailer, or a mail order supplier. It is
also important that end-user customers have positive experiences with Mr.
Gasket products-especially those who are just getting started in upgrading
their first vehicle. Mr. Gasket recognizes that their trade customers play a
major role in making this happen: first by helping users select the right
products for their application, and then by giving them tips on a smooth and
proper installation. In order to provide this service, resellers must be able
to make a fair profit for their efforts. Without this profit, they canIt
expect to be too interested in supporting such products in their stores.
Price competition is good to a point, but when it goes too far, consumers pay
the price by losing access to expert advice, locally stocked product, and a
host of other services. Hundreds of independent jobbers have closed their
doors every year for the past several years-if this alarming trend continues,
the management at Mr. Gasket believes there will ultimately be less, and not
more price competition among suppliers to serve a declining group of enthusiast
end-user customers.
While the new minimum advertised price guidelines published by Mr. Gasket will
affect prices on a few popular Jloss leaderK items, the prices are well below
common everyday retail prices in most cases. The policy only covers retail
prices advertised by direct customers of Mr. Gasket-everyone is free to sell at
any price they choose. Mr. Gasket has made it clear that it expects all direct
trade customers to be in compliance with this policy by May 1, 1997, or risk
loosing the ability to buy directly from Mr. Gasket.
With few exceptions, trade customer reaction to this new pricing policy has
been extremely positive-as it has been toward manufacturers with similar
policies in other product categories. It is the belief of the management at
Mr. Gasket that these actions will create a healthier, and more competitive
industry that is better able to support the needs of the performance enthusiast
today, and for years to come.
###
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% Reply-To: [email protected], "Jackie S. McCracken" <[email protected]>
% Subject: FW: Mr. Gasket Pricing Policy (RE:MAP (Minimum Advertised Pricing))
% Date: Tue, 13 May 1997 21:46:51 PDT
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