Macpac accused of hiking prices ahead of Black Friday sales

Saturday, 30 November 2019

Outdoor equipment and clothing brand Macpac denies it hiked prices before Black Friday sales.

On November 17, Racine Oliveira and his wife were surprised to be told a Macpac insulated mat being sold in Albany in Auckland, with a price tag of $119, had had its base price increased to $189.99.

The store was promoting a 30 per cent discount.

'We were told the 30 per cent would be taken off $189.99, but I said we would pay what was on the price tag, $119,' Oliveira said.

Macpac says the price discrepancy at the Albany store might have been a re-ticketing error as all prices were meant to change in October.

'It's ridiculous. People are saving up this time of year for Christmas, and it's a bit sad that a big company like Macpac would increase their prices so after the sale reduction the price is still higher. It's a bit dodgy.'

* Shoppers beware: Some Black Friday 'sale' items are more expensive

* Black Friday bargains so big they're around for 96 hours**

Macpac says the price of this insulated mat along with dozens of other products were increased in October.

But Macpac head of marketing Nadia Scott said, because of increased costs in the company's supply chain and a weaker New Zealand dollar in comparison to the US dollar, it had been planning a price increase, anyway.

'We change our prices extremely infrequently. I've been with the company for five years and over that time we've had one other price change,' Scott said.

'In October we made a price increase on a small range of products after holding back for a long time.

'We've had a lot of price volatility in our raw materials, especially merino. In October we made a change in prices to 70 of our more than 1000 products,' she said.

Consumer NZ head of research Jessica Wilson says a sale had to be a genuine opportunity to get a discount.

Scott said the price discrepancy at the Albany store might have been a re-ticketing error as all prices were meant to change in October.

Oliveira paid $83.99 for the mat, the discounted price on the original $119 price tag, but said he wanted other shoppers to be aware of price changes this time of year.

Price comparison website PriceSpy found the price of some products actually increased over the Black Friday sale weekend last year.

Perfume prices increased an average 3 per cent during the sale.

Black Friday traditionally starts the day after the Thanksgiving in the United States and runs until Monday.

Consumer NZ head of research Jessica Wilson said a sale had to be a genuine opportunity to get a discount.

'Any retailer that inflates its usual prices before putting them on 'sale' risks misleading consumers about the savings they're getting and breaching the Fair Trading Act.'

Retailers found guilty face fines of up to $600,000, she said.