On the occasion of the first stock sale* of the year, our stock prices are changing. From now on, a pre-order price will be 15 to 20% cheaper than a stock price*. Why are we doing this? How are our prices calculated? We explain to you in all transparency the composition and the calculation of our prices and margins.
Since the creation of forlife, the right price is a central value of our company. It is even the starting point of the adventure: to propose products on pre-order in a short circuit in order to have a "direct to consumer" price. For each product launched, we detail what a product costs us and how much we sell it for, guaranteeing a fair price.
But what exactly is a fair price?
To define what a fair price is, we use a very simple cost/margins calculation: we look at how much it costs us to make a product and how much we should sell it for to ensure a "minimum" margin while making sure it remains affordable for you.
- A price that is fair to you: we reduce our margins to make our pieces accessible because we believe that quality and responsible clothing should not be a luxury.
- A fair price for us: a price that reflects the true value of the product and allows us to pay our factories adequately while ensuring a healthy margin to grow our business and cover our costs.
The margin is x2 when it is x6 in traditional trade
In 2021, we made 46% gross margin (i.e. the difference between our turnover and the manufacturing costs of our products). This margin allows us to pay our employees, offices, logistics, our various external service providers and to invest in new products!
To give you an idea, the "big brands" of the textile industry make between 65 and 90% of margin**. Far be it from us to point the finger at these players, but rather at an obsolete model. High margins justified by stock, many intermediaries (retailers, shops) and sometimes shareholders to be paid ... vs. a transparent model and short circuit like that of the pre-order which allows to reduce the margins and therefore to have fairer prices!
Vhese are the costs and margins we make on our iconic Marlon t-shirt:
Pre-order prices 15-20% lower than in stock
Until now, our stock products* were at the same price as the pre-order price. Why is that? Let's say, rather by ease. Because we had our heads in the sand and we hadn't necessarily taken the time to realise the real cost of a product in stock. And to realise that this was not a fair price for us at all because it did not reflect the real value of this product.
Because a product "in stock" with us is a product that has been returned to us, and which often has to be repackaged (folded, repackaged, sometimes relabelled... which requires labour), and of course stored, which has a cost. A product in stock therefore costs us much more.
This is why this year we have decided to increase our stock prices by 15 to 20% compared to the pre-order price to absorb this cost. For example, the Marlon t-shirt will be available at 25€ in pre-order and 30€ in stock. This is also a way to encourage even more pre-ordering which is the basis of our concept and the best way to consume.
Visit the product sheets to discover our fair prices.
*the stock is the surplus we have at the end of the pre-orders due to returns
**Source: Capital, "Clothing: Dans le prêt- à-porter, on nous fait payer de cher les effets de mode": https://www.capital.fr/economie-politique/vetements-dans-le-pret-a-porter-on-nous-fait-payer-cher-les-effets-de-mode-643827
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