Traditional Country Clothing Retailer Asks is it Black Friday or Fraud Friday

KELSO, Scottish Borders, Nov. 19, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Kelso based retailer A Hume Country Clothing are taking a stand against Black Friday discounts.

The 89 year-old family business has had a presence in the heart of Kelso since 1929, as well as a loyal local clientele they now sell online to tens of thousands of customers worldwide. The success of the multi-award winning family business is founded on a combination of technological innovation and traditional retail values. Thriving and expanding at a time when many on the High Street are struggling to survive.

A Hume Country Clothing resist the pressure to follow the Black Friday trend. Questioning if a world of flash sales and secret codes is fair to customers? Wondering how much is actually sold at the real price. Is there even a real price? Or is the real price just the highest point on a sales graph?

Archie Hume, MD of A Hume Country Clothing says:
"We won't give in to the pressure to adopt a discount pricing model. We view discounting as the grey squirrel of retail, something that's endangering our home grown retail model. Within this imported pricing culture it's impossible for customers to figure out what the real price of a product is - let alone the real value.'

"What if it turns out that there is no real price? Yes, there used to be real bargains but when retailers inflate prices to support Black Friday discounts it becomes Fraud Friday. It's all a con. Nobody cares who pays full price, and who pays sale. So long as the bottom line is achieved."

"Everyone likes a bargain. But nobody likes to be cheated."

Fair Pricing
At this point the discount pricing model begins to look less fair. That's why A Hume choose to be different. To be fair.

Archie continues:
"We know how it feels to buy something then see it discounted. It's crushing. It makes you feel cheated. And it's very, very unfair. Black Friday and the other discounting practices only serve to undermine the trust between retailer and customer."

"We can't in good conscience talk to our customers on the phone, meet them in the street or accept their online orders if we sell them a pair of boots one day, knowing that the next day they'll be a fraction of the cost."

"We won't disrespect customer loyalty by distributing select discount codes and announcing flash sales. Or adopting a pricing model where the full price is potentially inflated to reflect the discounts we intend to release."

"When we have our sales – and we do have them. They are proper sales. A post-Christmas sale and an end of season Summer sale. They are heavily promoted and predictable. And we do our best to ensure all our customers know about the sale. There are bargains to be had. Real discounts and true savings."

Value Pricing
A Hume believe in fair value based pricing. A price that reflects the skills, integrity, experience and knowledge all along the supply chain. Everyone, at each step deserves to be valued and to be paid a good wage that offers a decent quality of life and the opportunity to be aspirational. From the staff who work in A Hume's shops to the skilled employees of the brands we work with.

Archie Hume commented:
"We also value the product we sell and our relationships with our suppliers. We work closely with Scottish knitwear company, William Lockie & Co. They are one of the finest knitwear companies in the world. One of the few left here in the Scottish Borders."

"Discounting is extremely damaging to brands like William Lockie. It devalues the brand in the customer's eyes. If a retailer succumbs to pressure to discount a brand, it becomes self-fulfilling creating the expectation of further discounts. This erodes the reputation of high quality producers, it becomes difficult for a brand to charge a fair price that reflects the costs and value of their product if people expect to find it discounted."

"It's not a sustainable business model for high quality clothing retail. When producers find they can no longer afford to uphold the high standards of manufacture in the face of discounting pressure, what choice will they have? Shut up shop or move production overseas. Unless retailers take a principled stand against discount pricing all our clothes will be made in sweat shops."

ADDITIONAL NOTES:
For all media enquiries, interview and image requests, please contact: Karen Hume
email: karen.hume(at)ahume(dot)co(dot)uk, tel: 01573 224620

SOCIAL MEDIA
A Hume Blog – http://www.ahume.co.uk/blog
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ahumecountryclothing/
Twitter - @AHumeClothing    Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ahumeclothing/

BACKGROUND
A Hume was founded in 1929 as a made-to-measure tailoring business. Today the business sells the finest Men's and Ladies' brands in country clothing and footwear to a loyal clientele in the Scottish Borders and also worldwide to tens of thousands of online customers. Brands include: Barbour, Dubarry, RM Williams, Fairfax and Favor, William Lockie, Schoffel, Bladen and Magee, as well as craft brands such as, Millican, Deakin & Francis, Pampeano and Hicks & Brown.

SOURCE A Hume (Outfitters) Limited