Ed Hardy has refuted suggestions the retail industry’s penchant for widespread discounting was among the pressures that motivated its recent pricing overhaul.
The streetwear label, renowned for its tattoo-inspired designs, has dropped prices across its entire range of menswear, womenswear, childrenswear, swimwear, accessories, shoes and fragrances. Examples of new price points include hoodies for $209 (formerly $259), caps for $89 ($129) and shoes for $109 ($139).
Ed Hardy Australia and UK marketing manager Nicole Condos said customers had shown little resistance to the brand’s price points in recent times, with the overhaul motivated by other factors.
“We’ve grown to 18 stores nationally so that’s given us much more buying power with our suppliers in the US,” Condos said. “We’ve been able to pass on … the benefits of the import duties coming down. The duties have come down from 17 to 10 per cent on some of the items that we import from the US.”
Condos also said the strong Australian dollar had assisted in enabling the price reductions. She was not fazed by future dollar fluctuations.
“We’re in a position as a company – and the brand is quite strong – that our prices will remain the same and we’ll be able to sail through,” she said. “We’re lucky enough to have a unique product where we have a very loyal customer base and the brand is still growing.
“It comes down to [customers] wanting to look great, feel great. There hasn’t been much hesitation in backing it up with an awesome t-shirt from one of the stores.”
The company’s tag line for the pricing overhaul is ‘The real deal’. The campaign is being spruiked in-store and in window displays across Ed Hardy’s national locations.
The price reductions may also assist in luring the brand’s new target customer, with Ed Hardy revealing it is working on adding “mums and dads” to its current “urban singles” clientele.
Ed Hardy originates from the US and is manufactured in the US and China. The brand is also available in selected Myer and David Jones locations.
Erin O’Loughlin