Friday 22 July 2016

Effects of Grey Market on the Double Edge Razor Industry

To truth of the matter is that grey market activities, to some degree, are inevitable. The grey market is able to exist as a result of the imbalance in trade. Although almost inevitable, grey market can grow to become an outright nuisance for manufacturers when unauthorized dealers control a large part of the market’s distribution process. Grey market brokers often act as a great competition to the main manufacturers when they offer prices that are appealing to consumers.



TheVikings Blade has one of the best razors available in the market today. The product has been received by men of the shaving world as a masterpiece because of the quality of the razor. With this success came other brands looking to copy its design. Brands like Smoothere, eBetter, Jtrim, and Bigfoot Shave. If care is not taken, these copycat brands can affect the original manufacturer in one of these ways:

Damaging the Trademark Image
Many customers look towards quality over quantity. When the manufacturer has succeeded in offering this quality to customers at a given price, the grey market can damage this reputation. By acquiring defective products or outright copying of the designs, grey market brokers can make the exact same product using cheaper materials and offer it at a cheaper price. This would have an adverse effect on the manufacturer in the short and long run, if care is not taken.

Legal Liabilities
Since the products are usually an exact copy of the original in design, they often fail to meet with the laid down standards of the manufacturer. These inferior products may cause legal liabilities for the company when customers begin to sue for damages.

Marketing Strategy is disrupted
Companies tend to have marketing strategies and the financial and profit projections. With the activities of grey market brokers and copycat brands, this will ultimately affect the manufacturers planned out market strategies.

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