Lol my god there struggling arn`t they,and Jeff i know what i`m on about i`ve had 1 of there fishing rods and at the end of the day that`s what it is.That is a harris pole with the end adapted to take a standard angle adapter nothing more.
a 17ft pole at £30 is that not what the industry is looking for,a pole that can be given out to staff who dont give a dam about your kit,I recon he will sell hundreds of these poles,guys will buy then even if it is just for backup to their present poles.new starts will buy them also as this is the cheapest pole out there at the moment.This maybe push other suppliers to reduce their prices
Even if they do sell a hundred of these a year, they do not really make financial sense for him to do so. In fact I reckon he will help lower the value of his business in doing so and tie-up resources in an almost profitless enterprise.
B&Q probably sell 10,000 Harris poles a year at a mark-up of about £8.00 this gives them profit of about £80,000. They do not have to individually wrap, label, and post them one at a time - their customers come in and pick one out of the stand and take it away.
If Emporium sell 100 a year at a mark-up of about £15 a piece then they will have made about £1500 in the year. However the cost of someone's time to individually send out to each customer, man the phones/website for each sale, etc, would cost a firm a lot more than this.
Selling decorators poles at a higher price than B&Q is not going to encourage any other WFP supplier to sell cheaper-type poles. What is the point, if people want low-tech cheap equipment they can go to B&Q and save even more money.
well after reading this thread ive been on their web site a bought the bull dog pole then over to alex for the superlight flocked brush, so by mid week next week i will know if its any good, on face value it seems perfect for staff to use and that is very light. I will let you know what i think once ive had a go. I fits no good then its not alot down the drain is it.
well thats it lee,staff dont give a sh&t about your gear,if only the rest of the equipment could come cheap enough as well
you used to be able to put a guy out with a bucket set of pockets sweegee tools etc and ladders,cost was really low
along with a cost efficient small van.
Now it is vivaro size with extra running cost,full water tank systems and constant running costs with poles, resin etc to do the same work you did before.Ok some time is saved and safety is an issue,this is why we do it
but the diy boys have brought wfp to a reasonable cost,I wonder how many guys would have hung back if they had to pay ionic prices.If a guy comes out with cheap poles then it can only be good for all.
I do agree that this type of equipment has its appeal (as the hundreds of Harris pole users will attest to), but as to progressing the job at all it has no appeal. I personally try and give any staff I employ the best equipment available to enable them to to do the best most efficient job for me - therefore earning me more money. Staff will soon pick up on the fact that you feel they are only worth a £30 tool investment and will give you a return on your investment equal to this.
