Sunday, February 03, 2008

Is it just me or is something wrong?

I ambled into a shoes store at the Vasant Lok shopping complex in Delhi today. The sign outside screamed - flat 40% off! and I thought this was as good a time as any to replace my trusty worn out Reeboks.

Inside I had a tough time, because:
  • most of the shoes were large and clunky, boasting of various exotic things like air-max, dmx, shockx and allied technologies
  • they were all quite ugly looking
  • the prices were astounding! nothing less than 6 grand - after the 40% off, it came to around 4 grand
  • there seemed to be very little variety, if at all
  • the shoes said 'Made in Thailand' and I recall that in Bangkok, the same shoes were available for close to a thousand bucks not too long ago

I walked out thinking that this particular shop must be in a last ditch desperate attempt to make its monthly rental by fleecing clueless people like me. I then walked into another store - and then another - and another - and the same situation persisted!

Is it me, or has something changed in the last couple of years. Six k for a pair of ugly sport shoes??

PS - Discouraged and disheartened, I succumbed and bought a pair similar to my old pair. The financial damage has me reeling...

6 comments:

SeedhiBaat said...

Am so glad you posted this buddy. I have been exactly same for the past one year now. With or without sale, the shoes are becoming uglier and more expensive. Its a deifinite trend.

Addidas keeps some simple and classy stuff but even there u need to look hard.

I think there's a definite business opportunity for reasonably priced, good quality and classy footwear.

Btw, have you noticed thats its even worse in the case of floaters. The variety has always been limited and pathetic and now its also touching the price levels of shoes (nothing less than 3k)

Anonymous said...

bad assortment & bad prices

Maybe they're trying to make us think that there's some hidden parameter that we're not looking at.

I really wonder what they are doing - because even stores with old leases and not high rentals are following this seemingly suicidal strategy.

Unknown said...

Hehehe..

I had a similar experience here in Mumbai !!!.. went into numerous stores displaying the 'flat 30-40% off' signs and could not bring myself to purchase a single pair. At one place, the shopkeeper was frank to admit that these signs are nothing but a marketing gimmick and the 'flat 40% off' invariably is only on those shoes that people would not otherwise buy at all..
cheers
Amit

gayatri said...

The stock market zoomed, real estate became unaffordable (the list goes on) so why should shoe companies be left behind in 2008?

Anonymous said...

Yaar discounts are only to lure the customers in. How often does it happen that the thing which you like is not on discount or even if there it will be in the lowest discout bracket.
Shoe prices indeed have zoomed up in India. For some reason along with the real estate prices they have also reached the same level as in global market.

Anonymous said...

u forget the sports shoe rule - the uglier, the more exepensive