These post is the best to summaries my thinking about the TF stuff. They want real "exclusive" people to wear them and not people collecting them because of the Bond relationship.
I have to think this isn't just "let's wring them dry", because these prices are deal breakers for a large segment of the fandom. It seems more like TF doesn't want regular schmoes walking around in their clothes and is going the extra mile in pricing them out.
would be a very arrogant attitude and somehow senseless
But in terms of protecting their brand, it makes all the sense in the world. Tom Ford is interested in dressing Bond, not necessarily dressing Bond fans. He's about exclusivity, selling himself as the best. So you raise prices and, though you sell fewer still make your profit margin, and not have your brand devalued by guys who are engaged in high-end cosplay.
These post is the best to summaries my thinking about the TF stuff. They want real "exclusive" people to wear them and not people collecting them because of the Bond relationship.
would be a very arrogant attitude and somehow senseless
But in terms of protecting their brand, it makes all the sense in the world. Tom Ford is interested in dressing Bond, not necessarily dressing Bond fans. He's about exclusivity, selling himself as the best. So you raise prices and, though you sell fewer still make your profit margin, and not have your brand devalued by guys who are engaged in high-end cosplay.
then why bother maintaining a Bond connection if the franchise's fans are not the customers they want
"You see Mr.Bond, you can't kill my dreams...but my dreams can kill you.Time to face destiny" - "Time to face gravity"
Maybe they realized along the way the effect on their brand. If we go back to the beginning of the TF announcement of their Spectre line up :
1) We had this catalog that Manthis (I think) posted here with pictures and information on how to pre-order.
2) Quickly pre-orders were taken by TF, maybe more then the expected.
3) Request were made to remove the catalog information and pictures.
4) Meanwhile, fans were trying to find frugal alternative. Showing that it is possible to buy similar styles without the TF $$ premium.
At that point, they "woke" up and realized the effect on the brand they didn't want.
So, they kept the "low" level items (Sunglasses and maybe ties) to their normal pricing, but took the decision to increase the price of other, more exclusive, items like the jacket and polo. Do we know if there was price increases on the suits ?
Obviously, they don't care losing the "collectors" customers, and their "usual" customers will still probably buy the items at whatever price they will be.
Meanwhile, you have Matchless that seems to be going the other way and lured fans with their out-of-price Morocco jacket, that we now seems to be finding not SA...
We'll probably see changes from TF for the next Bond movies, probably with less presence.
I'm not a marketing expert and I don't intend posing as one, but that's my feeling. I'm curious the hear from Manthis, who is a real marketing expert, what he thinks of my "analysis".
Finally, sorry if my English is bad, not my first language.
These post is the best to summaries my thinking about the TF stuff. They want real "exclusive" people to wear them and not people collecting them because of the Bond relationship.
But in terms of protecting their brand, it makes all the sense in the world. Tom Ford is interested in dressing Bond, not necessarily dressing Bond fans. He's about exclusivity, selling himself as the best. So you raise prices and, though you sell fewer still make your profit margin, and not have your brand devalued by guys who are engaged in high-end cosplay.
then why bother maintaining a Bond connection if the franchise's fans are not the customers they want
Wallet is hurting again after stopping by TF! Here's a pic of my latest purchase...I skipped the black and ink tie. Ottoman ties are £140 a pop, the black patterned tie is £155
London store has the full collection of Spectre gear on the floor. Suits, coats, ties and polos etc.
Polos are £520. The three colours look nice in the flesh. A knitted material almost the same weave as a knitted tie (best way I can describe it).
I focussed on the grey track stripe suit and blue PoW check suit, which were £2600.
Must admit the Solden jacket didn't wow me considering the price.
From what I was told by reps at TF yesterday, the prices of the Blouson and Polo were originally misquoted. They were written in GBP, but quoted to us in USD. Hence the 50%-ish mark-up in price. $1690 USD was actually £1690 GBP. What pisses me off is that TF didn't honor the pre-order price. Hey, they cocked it up, not us. So why should we have to pay the price for their mistake?
On a somewhat related note, just yesterday (coincidentally), my wife is part of a mommy group that discovered that Amazon was selling a $600+ backyard swing set for $12. Several of them bought the set, and Amazon honored the sales even after discovering their mistake. Of course they changed the price back to the correct $600+ amount and now anyone ordering it will have to pay the full price. But this is exactly what TF should have done. They've now lost many loyal customers (and potential future customers) by gouging the people who were most loyal to them.
AH NUTS! I thought I'd given all that up when I stopped collecting Indianna Jones gear
But seriously, it's probably as simple as certain brands are out for profit and the rest of it be damned.
It's a case then of enjoying the other companies like NPeal and JV, who understand that having a good product, also involves having good customer service.
Would be great if the sky blue polo is the OB one.. bought it this last summer already.. Liked the OB / 007 connection and the similarity to the Dr. No polo...
Gents, the truth around TF's price increase will come out eventually, I have no doubt of that...but all the conjecture is fun to read and probably helps us all vent...
Gents, the truth around TF's price increase will come out eventually, I have no doubt of that...but all the conjecture is fun to read and probably helps us all vent...
David, I hope you mention the price increase when you review the Tom Ford pieces. I look forward to your Matchless review next week even more now that we know the retail version lacks the collar hooks of the screen version.
Indy MagnoliSomewhere in the PacificPosts: 419MI6 Agent
Any chance you are going to make the Morroco Jacket as well? The Matchless Craig Blouson
We'd make it in a heartbeat... just e-mail us to discuss. The price would be the same as our dark blue suede Spectre Jacket... and we'll match the screen-seen details, not the off-the-rack retail Matchless.
We'd make it in a heartbeat... just e-mail us to discuss. The price would be the same as our dark blue suede Spectre Jacket... and we'll match the screen-seen details, not the off-the-rack retail Matchless.
And without the Matchless badge on the sleeve I'm guessing.
The more I see of the Matchless retail jacket, the more I am reminded of the Ethan Blouson from MI3 where replicas were more screen accurate than the licensed product.
Wallet is hurting again after stopping by TF! Here's a pic of my latest purchase...I skipped the black and ink tie. Ottoman ties are £140 a pop, the black patterned tie is £155
London store has the full collection of Spectre gear on the floor. Suits, coats, ties and polos etc.
Polos are £520. The three colours look nice in the flesh. A knitted material almost the same weave as a knitted tie (best way I can describe it).
I focussed on the grey track stripe suit and blue PoW check suit, which were £2600.
Must admit the Solden jacket didn't wow me considering the price.
Are those ties the navy, blue and grey? I'm trying to figure out which ones are which and how they relate to the ties 006 posted here: http://www.ajb007.co.uk/post/772752/#p772752
Hah, I was wondering the same thing, Matt. Or are these the Ink, Navy, and Grey ties? Either way, they are a bit drab compared to the TF ties the Costumers used on QoS and Skyfall. Kinda disappointing. But the suits are great! I love the look of the PTS Prince of Wales/windowpane suit! I'm anxious to see what that grey track-stripe Q Lab suit looks like! So far, that's my favorite look.
Are those ties the navy, blue and grey? I'm trying to figure out which ones are which and how they relate to the ties 006 posted here: http://www.ajb007.co.uk/post/772752/#p772752
Hi Matt, you're spot on. Those are the navy, blue and grey ties from L to R.
The plain tie I didn't buy was what the sales guy called ink, which was an indigo type colour. In the pictures posted by 006, this is the tie next to the grey one.
Thanks for confirming, Keith! Odd as I thought the Ink tie was darker than the Navy. Oh well.
So if I read it all correctly, these are the ties with their style numbers -
Kind regards,
Craig
Cheers Craig. I must admit I didn't check codes. All I know is the sales guy referred to the indigo tie as "ink", so that's what I'm going off. And it's not like TF to make a mistake...right?
Thanks for confirming, Keith! Odd as I thought the Ink tie was darker than the Navy. Oh well.
So if I read it all correctly, these are the ties with their style numbers -
Kind regards,
Craig
In the buy book, the ink blue is a very dark, dull blue and the navy is a bit lighter and more vibrant. The indigo colour makes more sense for the name "ink blue". Perhaps the buy book in incorrect.
Cheers Craig. I must admit I didn't check codes. All I know is the sales guy referred to the indigo tie as "ink", so that's what I'm going off. And it's not like TF to make a mistake...right?
Actually I do think the sales assoc you spoke with was incorrect. As Matt pointed out, the Buy Book shows the Ink as being a dark, dull color (darker than the navy), and my TF contact sent me this pic with the following description: "Here is the tie style 01 in B navy pictured on the left and C ink on the right."
Hope this helps. I'll revise my tie descriptions if you guys agree.
Comments
How many of you/us ajb people wears TF daily ?
then why bother maintaining a Bond connection if the franchise's fans are not the customers they want
1) We had this catalog that Manthis (I think) posted here with pictures and information on how to pre-order.
2) Quickly pre-orders were taken by TF, maybe more then the expected.
3) Request were made to remove the catalog information and pictures.
4) Meanwhile, fans were trying to find frugal alternative. Showing that it is possible to buy similar styles without the TF $$ premium.
At that point, they "woke" up and realized the effect on the brand they didn't want.
So, they kept the "low" level items (Sunglasses and maybe ties) to their normal pricing, but took the decision to increase the price of other, more exclusive, items like the jacket and polo. Do we know if there was price increases on the suits ?
Obviously, they don't care losing the "collectors" customers, and their "usual" customers will still probably buy the items at whatever price they will be.
Meanwhile, you have Matchless that seems to be going the other way and lured fans with their out-of-price Morocco jacket, that we now seems to be finding not SA...
We'll probably see changes from TF for the next Bond movies, probably with less presence.
I'm not a marketing expert and I don't intend posing as one, but that's my feeling. I'm curious the hear from Manthis, who is a real marketing expert, what he thinks of my "analysis".
Finally, sorry if my English is bad, not my first language.
London store has the full collection of Spectre gear on the floor. Suits, coats, ties and polos etc.
Polos are £520. The three colours look nice in the flesh. A knitted material almost the same weave as a knitted tie (best way I can describe it).
I focussed on the grey track stripe suit and blue PoW check suit, which were £2600.
Must admit the Solden jacket didn't wow me considering the price.
http://www.orlebarbrown.com/men/polos/sebastian/sky
http://www.sunspel.com/uk/mens/polo-shirts/riviera-polo-shirt.html#sky
I think you may have found Daniel Craig's replacement, there.
On a somewhat related note, just yesterday (coincidentally), my wife is part of a mommy group that discovered that Amazon was selling a $600+ backyard swing set for $12. Several of them bought the set, and Amazon honored the sales even after discovering their mistake. Of course they changed the price back to the correct $600+ amount and now anyone ordering it will have to pay the full price. But this is exactly what TF should have done. They've now lost many loyal customers (and potential future customers) by gouging the people who were most loyal to them.
AH NUTS!
But seriously, it's probably as simple as certain brands are out for profit and the rest of it be damned.
It's a case then of enjoying the other companies like NPeal and JV, who understand that having a good product, also involves having good customer service.
Also, I haven't seen any discussion on the bow tie. Is it Tom Ford? If so, is there a model number?
It's a shame Smedley's Noah isn't offered in that color, as it's been pegged as a pretty close alternative to the TF polo's cut.
https://www.johnsmedley.com/us/aw15-noah-in-navy
The sunglasses really suit him. -{
David, I hope you mention the price increase when you review the Tom Ford pieces. I look forward to your Matchless review next week even more now that we know the retail version lacks the collar hooks of the screen version.
We'd make it in a heartbeat... just e-mail us to discuss. The price would be the same as our dark blue suede Spectre Jacket... and we'll match the screen-seen details, not the off-the-rack retail Matchless.
www.magnoliclothiers.com
Magnoli Clothiers Facebook
Magnoli Clothiers Instagram
And without the Matchless badge on the sleeve I'm guessing.
Very tempting...
Are those ties the navy, blue and grey? I'm trying to figure out which ones are which and how they relate to the ties 006 posted here: http://www.ajb007.co.uk/post/772752/#p772752
Kind regards,
Craig
Hi Matt, you're spot on. Those are the navy, blue and grey ties from L to R.
The plain tie I didn't buy was what the sales guy called ink, which was an indigo type colour. In the pictures posted by 006, this is the tie next to the grey one.
So if I read it all correctly, these are the ties with their style numbers -
PHOTO REMOVED
Kind regards,
Craig
EDIT: Photo removed due to incorrect naming. Please see the new photo with correct naming in Post #4453
Cheers Craig. I must admit I didn't check codes. All I know is the sales guy referred to the indigo tie as "ink", so that's what I'm going off. And it's not like TF to make a mistake...right?
In the buy book, the ink blue is a very dark, dull blue and the navy is a bit lighter and more vibrant. The indigo colour makes more sense for the name "ink blue". Perhaps the buy book in incorrect.
Are there codes on the tags?
So the codes that I have for my 3 ties are A, C and D.
So Matt and Craig, the buy book may be right. The ink is instead the dark blue tie and the navy is actually the one I think is indigo!
Clear as mud!
Actually I do think the sales assoc you spoke with was incorrect. As Matt pointed out, the Buy Book shows the Ink as being a dark, dull color (darker than the navy), and my TF contact sent me this pic with the following description: "Here is the tie style 01 in B navy pictured on the left and C ink on the right."
Hope this helps. I'll revise my tie descriptions if you guys agree.
Kind regards,
Craig
Make the change! Apologies for any confusion from me!