Price increases

[KarlBlessing]

Ill take Italy anytime

Depends on the company. Visconti for example uses a lot of beautiful materials and unique design but has a very frequent problem with quality control even compared to something made in Taiwan or China.

Even some Italians I know can confirm that some Italian products looks great, carries a status, but not that high a quality on actual function now days.

 

[Ventruck]

I'm not surprised, but I also think the increasing cost of material goods is going to further make stuff like this into a narrower consumer niche. There's less and less of a need (or "need") for the next/another pair no matter if/how the product line improves.

Some people who've been at this and have/had a loyal to the brand find M-Frames, OG Radars, etc more than good enough. There have been opportunities to hoard parts under retail to last them years or maybe even over a decade without ever needing to touch a new model. The $3 and $15 hikes over the years is just irrelevant to them because they're paying more attention to the secondary market.

So if the consumer target is more about newer buyers, I'm led to believe there's going to be a shift of having two extremes: more people that can't afford it, and then people who can but would rather use their money more effectively elsewhere. Sunglasses aren't timepieces or jewelry with more established worth and exchange activity.

Eyewear is a narrower niche. It's more of a "if you know, you know" thing. I mean some people just never wear sunglasses. Maybe get a token unoriginal pair of Wayfarer's or something and keep forgetting where they left it.

Even entering the fabricated "hype" market seems half-baked to me. Basically that's counting on new people to suddenly think some product (made of out plastic) they never heard of before suddenly carries escalated value to them and society. In all fairness, there are people that f***ing dumb so I guess that's still worth exploiting.

So in that sense, we can look at these prices, and just not care. Maybe hit on the very particular things but the "Addiction" has less of a pull than it used to. It's more of Lux's problem as well as any other material goods industry to not have their sales compromised by pricing consumers out.

 

[KarlBlessing]

I mean some people just never wear sunglasses.

I was definitely in that camp before this year. Was more of a 'hassle' to me everything I tried on the cheap, and really just ended up liking Prizm and the way it looked when I finally bit the bullet on a Holbrook XL I been looking for a year. If the lens wasn't half way decent I'd never bother.

And definitely true about some of the newer folks interpretation on value, anything that's plastic or lightweight is viewed as 'cheap' regardless of design.

Far as what seemed to happen under Lux ownership, is something I've seen before of a great many other companies that sold to larger conglomerates, or just changed ownership in general.

Like sure, prices go up, and they can blame it on a great number of things, but I guarantee they're still lowering their cost of production even as they raise the price.

 

[lloydrose]

For example Encoders (newer model) went up here in Canada by $15! I was on the fence at $295 but def more on the fence at $310. I doubt the cost of materials for a single pair went up anywhere near this much.

 

[KarlBlessing]

For example Encoders (newer model) went up here in Canada by $15! I was on the fence at $295 but def more on the fence at $310. I doubt the cost of materials for a single pair went up anywhere near this much.

Especially if they're using a single company for all their modern plastic frames. (if anything that would reduce internal cost).

 

[Inkkoonce]

For example Encoders (newer model) went up here in Canada by $15! I was on the fence at $295 but def more on the fence at $310. I doubt the cost of materials for a single pair went up anywhere near this much.

Everything has went up. There has been millions and millions of dollars lost because of ports being closed in Asia and around the world because of Covid. There is a shortage problem with components for electronics and this will only continue. A $15 is not that much. Just wait until next year.

 

[pjd1234]

Everything has went up. There has been millions and millions of dollars lost because of ports being closed in Asia and around the world because of Covid. There is a shortage problem with components for electronics and this will only continue. A $15 is not that much. Just wait until next year.

thats good news, this means no more katos just too much plastic to manufacture