If you’re a regular Stolen Goat customer, then it’s probably not gone unnoticed that our prices have gone up in our latest AW22 collection launch. We think, relative to the quality, comfort and performance of the underlying garments, we still offer exceptional value. Especially when you compare us against other premium brands.
That said, putting prices up never feels like a great thing to do, especially at a time when the cost of living is going up for just about every human on this planet. So I wanted to explain a little about how and why we came to this decision – which wasn’t taken lightly – and also how this will affect the RRP of older products that we are still selling on the site.
Improved comfort and fit equals better quality kit
Just about every product in our entire cycling collection has been improved in some way. This is a massive upgrade for us. We almost launched these new pieces in our Spring/Summer collection at the start of the year, but we wanted to make sure everything was correct.
The fit of the new collection has been completely redesigned and we think it’s a big step up. Not only this but new, improved fabrics have been used in places. We have also introduced some brand new products this season, for example the MTB Jacket and the Alpine Epic Jacket which is a real marvel of garment engineering.
Regardless of any global economic conditions, these garments simply cost more to manufacture. They use expensive fabrics and require technical skills to produce. We always want to bring to market the best possible product, so this upgrade was a pretty easy decision to make. Any business like ours needs a constant flow of new customers but more importantly (we feel) is keeping The Herd, our existing customers, happy. Great service and premium products are not cheap things to offer as a small business but it makes it much easier to retain customers and just feels better. We’re proud of our product offering and we hope that comes across.
Our prices haven’t increased in over 8 years!
Businesses gradually put their prices up over time. Rightly or wrongly, we haven’t done that. But the current conditions have forced our hand. The cost of energy massively impacts the raw material costs that go into fabrics not to mention the increasing cost of transportation and logistics in this landscape that seems to be ever increasing in complexity. All our suppliers have put their prices up at least once in the last 12 months alone.
I think the assumption from an outside perspective is that clothing brands like Stolen Goat are making money hand over fist but that simply isn’t the reality. As a very real example, last year was our biggest year in terms of revenue/sales, but in the end we were not able to make a profit due to spiralling costs that were beyond our control. I want this Stolen Goat team to lay the groundwork for a company that lives beyond our lifetimes. For that to happen we need to ensure it is financially viable. One of the few levers we can pull is increasing our prices a little.
About the other products on site…
Our cost prices have gone up across the board, not just on the things we have just launched. So we will be making adjustments to the RRP of most things that are currently for sale on the website. We didn’t want to just do it all of a sudden as that seems unfair. So we will start bumping these prices up, in line with the new AW22 range in around 2 weeks time. Fair warning.
Here for the long term
Our goal is to offer great value kit. Value is a measurement of quality vs cost. One of my favourite things is seeing cyclists out on a ride wearing a piece of SG kit that is 5, 6,7 or 8+ years old. That’s real value: think of the cost per usage of that item! We want to build great products that are amazing out of the packet and stand the test of time. Products that can be repaired when damaged, and ideally products that people will buy second hand.
We’ve never had a “stack it high, sell it cheap” kind of mentality here. Quality, comfort, longevity, performance. These are the goals and will hopefully give us a foundation to build from rather than make a quick buck or two. For the sake of our customers, our brand and the environment in which we enjoy riding around in so much, that has to be the way forward.
Thanks for reading and thank you, as always, for your support.