 February
3, 2003 - Spanish
equipment supplier Barrabes joins forces with the ExplorersWeb family to provide
climbers and adventurers with high-end equipment at the lowest prices.
Within the last year US climbing magazines have imposed a ban on
advertising Barrabes in their publications, in order to protect American
retailers that are unable to match Barrabes’ selection and prices.
For
instance, Barrabes can ship Grivel ice axes that retail in the US for 230 USD to
your door anywhere in the US for 166 USD. How
this happens has to do with economies of scale and clear inefficiencies with
domestic suppliers and distributors. It
becomes clear after surfing Barrabes’ site, that American equipment prices are
over-inflated.
Something doesn't make sense?
To make things simple, ask yourself this question - how can a product made in
the US be less expensive to buy from Europe than from a US shop, (shipping
incl.) One doesn’t have to go to
Harvard to realize that something is off. The Wall Street Journal thinks something is off too; there
was a feature article about Barrabes and its effect in the US.
This is rather significant if The Wall Street Journal took notice,
especially since the only climbing related articles we have ever read in The
Journal were about the Internet stocks in the late 90’s.
Barrabes
has stirred things up in America and in the UK.
In Climbing magazine an editorial was written in favor of
boycotting ads for Barrabes and some others in the US magazines.
Not too shortly after editorial was published, its author became the
publisher of Rock & Ice, Climbing’s US rival – could there have
been intentions by the author to buoy American retailers into buying spots in
Rock & Ice by proving his loyalty? Whatever
the intentions were, today you will nary find an ad for Barrabes in American
climbing mags as well some publications in the UK.
Aren't free markets supposed to be free?
In capitalism, if you find a way
to offer the best prices for the best products, you win.
The free-market system does a great job of weeding out inefficiency –
as long as the system is not interfered with by protective tariffs and such.
Barrabes has been attacked by its suppliers and has been forced in recent
months to limit its sales and raise its prices.
Despite this and other efforts, Barrabes still offers many great deals
for US and UK citizens – where else can you find a pair of Scarpa T1 telemark
boots for well under 300 USD (450 USD stateside).
Notice
on the website that there are more products available at cheaper prices to
customers in countries other than the US and UK.
Here is a situation of suppliers banding together and pressuring
re-sellers about who they can and can’t sell to and what prices to charge.
Predatory business practices – you tell us?
Innovation and new ideas
Despite the battle being waged against Barrabes, not only do they
continue to offer the highest-end products at the best prices, they have started
a new initiative in 2003 called, “open minded.”
The goal of the program is to shine the light on the best brands of
mountaineering equipment in the world with the best quality-price ratios - High
end brands that only a lucky few are aware of.
Two brands that are currently featured by Barrabes are Grifone and
Haglofs. Both offer innovative,
tested, and award winning outdoor and technical equipment.
Some
words about the program from the Barrabes website, “After 20 years of
experience in selling mountaineering equipment we have come to realize that the
way in which worldwide distribution is structured seriously determines the
consumer’s capacity to gain access to the best products.”
The, “Open Minded,” initiative is an ambitious project that has the
potential to shake-up the otherwise stagnant mountaineering and adventure
equipment industry by granting world-wide access to high-end, competitively
priced products that only certain privileged areas of the world have been able
to take advantage of in the past.
A company rich in history centered in the mountains
The Barrabes brothers have
always been game to try out new ideas and innovate – back in the day they
would go to ski hill parking lots and jot down registration numbers of the cars
to see if any of them lived in their local mountain village and could be
potential customers. They found
their way into international trade fairs to find the great products that were
previously unavailable elsewhere. Today
they strive to do the same.
The Crew here at ExplorersWeb is
proud to have Barrabes.com as a member of our mountaineering community.
It is a company rich in history that symbolizes professionalism, quality,
and innovation.
Resources:
Barrabes
homepage...
Climbing Magazine editorial and Wall Street Journal Barrabes' articles...
MtnCommunity.org
message board discussion of Barrabes ban...
Barrabes webcam, see the store in Spain..
Back
to ExplorersWeb.com...
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