BBC News: Tech companies blame price rises on Brexit vote

Electronics were always going to be the first things to go up as we import so much of it. Companies can't be expected to swallow price increases because of the weak pound.
 
Looking on the bright side, if you are selling anything any time soon it may have hopefully increased slightly in value as grey prices have risen too. It may also push more people towards second hand kit, there is plenty on here that is nearly like new.
 
Just glad I made my purchases earlier this year :D
 
rob-nikon said:
Looking on the bright side, if you are selling anything any time soon it may have hopefully increased slightly in value as grey prices have risen too. It may also push more people towards second hand kit, there is plenty on here that is nearly like new.
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Nikon prices went up significantly after Christmas/NY, and that didn't seem to affect 2nd hand prices.
 
The BBC this morning were on about how buying confidence has dropped with people wary of spending money in fear of another recession post BREXIT.

What really annoys me is that it's the media like the BBC that puts this fear in people with all the doom and gloom they report. It's the media that talks us into recession.

I said exactly the same with the last recession. I'm damn sure we would have come out of it much quicker if the media reported positive news. I guess positive news just doesn't sell as well.
 
mpe said:
Don't blame media. They said it'll happen and it is happening. Nothing wrong with them.

You can also blame light for travelling too fast...
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We knew it would happen, Yes. I'm not disputing that, but to constantly go on about it doesn't help. Why not report some of the positives eg. Osbourne in talks with China regarding a trade deal post Brexit, all the other countries lining up for trade deals, how the low pound is helping exports etc.

It's not ALL doom and gloom.
This country has a great future ahead of it for the Glass Half full people. Unfortunately it's all the glass half empty people that keep dragging us down.
 
But it's a lot less than half full

:exit:
 
Prices go up because of brexit

Well s*** the bed, i have never heard of prices going up before, the pound was hugely stable for years never been up and down ha ha ha

Everyone should continue in helping the economic downturn by buying from China not paying tax or duty. Then complain about shops closing here and no one investing money.
 
Meeten said:
Tech companies blame price rises on Brexit vote - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36722155

It was only a matter of time...
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They aren't blaming the price rises on our decision to leave the EU, they're just quoting it as a fact. Obviously things may improve over time (although I can't see why they would) but right now, the £ has devalued so badly against both the Euro and the US$ that importers have no choice.

There will always be chancers out there who try to take advantage of situations and make money out of events, but reputable firms are doing their best to absorb price increases and to pass on as little as possible in increased costs, in order to maintain sales and stay competitive.
As for the media "causing" the problem or making it worse, nonsense - when we place orders priced in US$ we have to pay a lot more when converting our £ to US$, it's that simple - unless anyone actually believes that the currency markets read and take note of the media:)
 
andyscott said:
20% because of the weak pound ha ha more like opportunity to generate more money and blame someone else.
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There COULD be an element of that involved, or maybe they are just being conservative because nobody knows how bad it's going to get and perhaps they would be moaned about for having one price increase than two...

The best informed estimate right now is that prices need to be increased by a minimum of 12%, obviously some firms will try to pass as little as possible on to their customers, others will try to pass on as much as they feel they can get away with.
The situation is looking very bleak, because obviously if prices go up too much then sales will fall, and if sales fall a bit then profits will fall a lot, which means that prices will have to go up again - leaving politics aside, this is the reality of the democratic decision to devalue the £ - recession.
 
ecoleman said:
We knew it would happen, Yes. I'm not disputing that, but to constantly go on about it doesn't help. Why not report some of the positives eg. Osbourne in talks with China regarding a trade deal post Brexit, all the other countries lining up for trade deals, how the low pound is helping exports etc.

It's not ALL doom and gloom.
This country has a great future ahead of it for the Glass Half full people. Unfortunately it's all the glass half empty people that keep dragging us down.
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We can't start negotiating any trade deals until after we've left the EU, so it's not exactly news that there's other countries we can negotiate trade deals with. But since these deals can take 10 years to sort out, and we can't start working on them until we've left the EU - "China to sign trade deal with the UK in approx 12 years" doesn't sound like particularly good news...
 
KitsuneAndy said:
We can't start negotiating any trade deals until after we've left the EU, so it's not exactly news that there's other countries we can negotiate trade deals with. But since these deals can take 10 years to sort out, and we can't start working on them until we've left the EU - "China to sign trade deal with the UK in approx 12 years" doesn't sound like particularly good news...
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It's also worth mentioning that when we were part of the EU we were much more attractive to other countries, because we formed a trading bridge to other EU countries, so countries such as China, India and the US are bound to be looking elsewhere for trade partners now.
Yes, I would like to be optimistic, but frankly all that I can actually see is doom and gloom. If the glass was actually half empty then I'd be happy to take the view that it was half full, but in reality it is nowhere near half full.
 
KitsuneAndy said:
We can't start negotiating any trade deals until after we've left the EU, so it's not exactly news that there's other countries we can negotiate trade deals with. But since these deals can take 10 years to sort out, and we can't start working on them until we've left the EU - "China to sign trade deal with the UK in approx 12 years" doesn't sound like particularly good news...
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We can talk to whomever we want, whenever we want. Whilst we may not be able to enter into a trade agreement whilst still an EU member, nobody can stop us talking.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36684876

Garry Edwards said:
It's also worth mentioning that when we were part of the EU we were much more attractive to other countries, because we formed a trading bridge to other EU countries, so countries such as China, India and the US are bound to be looking elsewhere for trade partners now.
Yes, I would like to be optimistic, but frankly all that I can actually see is doom and gloom. If the glass was actually half empty then I'd be happy to take the view that it was half full, but in reality it is nowhere near half full.
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Oh well, I can't be arsed with negative people. Let's talk again in a few years.
If all you see is doom and gloom, all I can say is you're not looking hard enough.
 
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Garry Edwards said:
There COULD be an element of that involved, or maybe they are just being conservative because nobody knows how bad it's going to get and perhaps they would be moaned about for having one price increase than two...

The best informed estimate right now is that prices need to be increased by a minimum of 12%, obviously some firms will try to pass as little as possible on to their customers, others will try to pass on as much as they feel they can get away with.
The situation is looking very bleak, because obviously if prices go up too much then sales will fall, and if sales fall a bit then profits will fall a lot, which means that prices will have to go up again - leaving politics aside, this is the reality of the democratic decision to devalue the £ - recession.
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Its is a total cash cow, we are in no different circumstances to pre vote days, in fact the pound has been higher. We also haven't left the EU yet. I think its all whipped up b*****ks by the media (the only people currently benefitting by this)

Life is actually no different for me at the moment, apart from d******ds on facebook or the internet in general, moaning, life goes on, things are the same. Carry on normal jogging.
 
KitsuneAndy said:
We can't start negotiating any trade deals until after we've left the EU,
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Untrue. Nothing to stop us negotiating now. The only limitation is that they cannot be implemented until we have left.

KitsuneAndy said:
so it's not exactly news that there's other countries we can negotiate trade deals with.
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Good news is that Australia and New Zealand, amongst others, have made approaches already.

KitsuneAndy said:
But since these deals can take 10 years to sort out,
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You will have extreme difficulty in naming any deals that have taken longer than 10 years to negotiate.

KitsuneAndy said:
and we can't start working on them until we've left the EU -
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We can work on them now. We have to wait until we exit before they can be implemented.

KitsuneAndy said:
"China to sign trade deal with the UK in approx 12 years" doesn't sound like particularly good news...
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No, it doesn't, because it's not true.

Please, try to be accurate if you're going to post about something as important as this.

Andrew Neil's Twitter feed (@afneil) may save you some time and be helpful in informing you.
 
Never ceases to amaze me that otherwise rational intelligent people believe and regurgitate the b*****ks in the remain biased media. How clever do you think the top civil service and management teams of large businesses are? don't take them (us) for fools! Whatever the economic situation is or becomes we will do everything and more our innovative capitalist competitive capabilities allow and turn it to advantage. Whatever the turn out of the vote had been we are the same people turning our energies into advantage. It will turn out ok - we will make it so. Join the push or get out of the way!
 
I work in the tech industry and work in dollars.

Prices haven't gone up. They still cost the exact same in dollars now as they did before brexit. The RRPs however have been brought in line now to reflect what is seen as being the current stable rate.

Some understand this, some do not. As with everything in life.

Just accept it. There's no need to question it all as it'll only frustrate.
 
We are dealing in 100's millions and multi currencies and Corp treasury and the markets are futuring well beyond the current market volatility brought about by hedge fund dealers. If I was a hedge fund manager I would be doing the same for my clients who incidentally are the same large financial institutions and pension funds that the papers are spouting about.
 
Meeten said:
Self fulfilling prophecy.... Say it enough and it will happen
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Me, Kylie and a large pot of Marmite, Me, Kylie and a large pot of Marmite, Me, Kylie and a large pot of Marmite, Me, Kylie and a large pot of Marmite, Me, Kylie and a large pot of Marmite, Me, Kylie and a large pot of Marmite,

Just trying to keep the British end up.
 
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Ian in Lancs said:
Never ceases to amaze me that otherwise rational intelligent people believe and regurgitate the b*****ks in the remain biased media. How clever do you think the top civil service and management teams of large businesses are? don't take them (us) for fools! Whatever the economic situation is or becomes we will do everything and more our innovative capitalist competitive capabilities allow and turn it to advantage. Whatever the turn out of the vote had been we are the same people turning our energies into advantage. It will turn out ok - we will make it so. Join the push or get out of the way!
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I do love optimism, but we need to be realistic.
Some firms are doing better because of the vote, and these firms are the manufacturers and exporters. Problem is, successive governments have made the operating conditions (costs) of manufacturing unacceptably high, so there are very few manufacturers left. Obviously the "Leave" advocates quote the better situation for our exporters, but overall, this country imports not exports, by a massive degree.

America rules the world in terms of currency, so just about everything that we import is priced in US$, and the £ now buys less dollars, that fact is inescapable and no amount of political spin will change that, or any other fact.

Those of us who import and who had both common sense and some spare cash, converted our available £ into US$ to delay the financial impact, and then spent that money on stock which, in many cases, hasn't arrived yet (sea delivery from the far east takes around 5 weeks) so prices haven't gone up yet.
In many businesses, there's just too much competition to allow any price rises, and the firms will just go bust - that's already happening.
And the government are still doing nothing to stop online sellers from abroad evading import duties and VAT, making a bad situation even worse. They have announced plans to do something about this tax evasion in 2 years time, but even if they do, and even if it works, 2 years is a long time.

So yes, let's be optimistic. Let's make the best of a bad job - but let's be realistic too.
 
Garry Edwards said:
I do love optimism, but we need to be realistic.
Some firms are doing better because of the vote, and these firms are the manufacturers and exporters. Problem is, successive governments have made the operating conditions (costs) of manufacturing unacceptably high, so there are very few manufacturers left. Obviously the "Leave" advocates quote the better situation for our exporters, but overall, this country imports not exports, by a massive degree.

America rules the world in terms of currency, so just about everything that we import is priced in US$, and the £ now buys less dollars, that fact is inescapable and no amount of political spin will change that, or any other fact.

Those of us who import and who had both common sense and some spare cash, converted our available £ into US$ to delay the financial impact, and then spent that money on stock which, in many cases, hasn't arrived yet (sea delivery from the far east takes around 5 weeks) so prices haven't gone up yet.
In many businesses, there's just too much competition to allow any price rises, and the firms will just go bust - that's already happening.
And the government are still doing nothing to stop online sellers from abroad evading import duties and VAT, making a bad situation even worse. They have announced plans to do something about this tax evasion in 2 years time, but even if they do, and even if it works, 2 years is a long time.

So yes, let's be optimistic. Let's make the best of a bad job - but let's be realistic too.
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Garry i work in a 100,000 employee international company so have got those bases covered so we can be realistically optimistic. We have world class technology and products as you do too and we'll make it work.
 
Great.... 31.42 million people in work and your 100,000 + Garry's contribution I have nothing to worry about :)

Now, if this country still produced goods and didn't have a massive import/export deficit I too could be optimistic. The only thing we were/are good at is Financial Services and it seems as if the Financial Passport we held dearly is about to be compromised!

And please don't tell me to push on and get on with it. It's very much in the hands of greedy CEOs and politicians... the little man in the street has very little he can do apart for pay his taxes and import duties!
 
Ian in Lancs said:
Garry i work in a 100,000 employee international company so have got those bases covered so we can be realistically optimistic. We have world class technology and products as you do too and we'll make it work.
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You're absolutely right. Large multinational businesses can and do profit and grow in any trading situation. The ability to trade in various different currencies, to move money around, to move production around, and having so many different types of products that strong areas will prop up weaker ones etc means that, with good management, there is no such thing as a bad situation.

For example: In a recession, firms with good management hold their course, firms with weak management go under, making the position better for the survivors, so well managed firms often do better in a recession situation than their weaker competitors do in the good times.

A large multinational with a very strong financial and product base can take risks that smaller firms can't, in the sense that they have a buffer against business mistakes.
chuckles said:
Great.... 31.42 million people in work and your 100,000 + Garry's contribution I have nothing to worry about :)

Now, if this country still produced goods and didn't have a massive import/export deficit I too could be optimistic. The only thing we were/are good at is Financial Services and it seems as if the Financial Passport we held dearly is about to be compromised!

And please don't tell me to push on and get on with it. It's very much in the hands of greedy CEOs and politicians... the little man in the street has very little he can do apart for pay his taxes and import duties!
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You're absolutely right too. The man in the street has no control and can do nothing to change his own situation.
 
Garry Edwards said:
The man in the street has no control and can do nothing to change his own situation
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Or the country's - sadly..... which surely is what this is all about.

The big multi-nationals are just that - Multi-National in many countries. Producers like JCB, Dyson wouldn't really care what happens as they are successful in a world market.... but they alone are not going to reduce the Trade gap.... the only way this will ever work is for the Country needs to produce something(s) the rest of the World wants and is willing to pay a price that makes the UK profitable - dare I say again?

Again, I'd like to be optimistic but it's truly difficult when the realism kicks in!
 
chuckles said:
the only way this will ever work is for the Country needs to produce something(s) the rest of the World wants and is willing to pay a price that makes the UK profitable - dare I say
again?
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Biodiversty/carbon credits then colonise...again and yes I’m having a vino
 
I remember when my home country converted to the euro, funnily enough our currency was supposed to be stronger and yet everything became more expensive instantly. There is a lot of opportunism in this with many using Brexit as a good excuse. And the average person is falling for it hook line and sinker.

It is like people forget that markets can go down as well as up. Like house prices everyone wants it to go up all the time. The funny thing is that we haven't even exited the EU! Yet people are treating us, and the consumers like we have. Just think about it, that is only happening for one reason and that is to make bucket loads of money. No wonder some refer to us as whinging poms. The rest of us get on with it.

I fully agree with whoever said earlier that this is a self fulfilling prophecy. If the gadgets are priced to high, then don't buy them and lets see how quickly the prices will come down. But no we are all still buying them and can't have enough of them. It is us doing this to ourselves.
 
dejongj said:
I remember when my home country converted to the euro, funnily enough our currency was supposed to be stronger and yet everything became more expensive instantly. There is a lot of opportunism in this with many using Brexit as a good excuse. And the average person is falling for it hook line and sinker.

It is like people forget that markets can go down as well as up. Like house prices everyone wants it to go up all the time. The funny thing is that we haven't even exited the EU! Yet people are treating us, and the consumers like we have. Just think about it, that is only happening for one reason and that is to make bucket loads of money. No wonder some refer to us as whinging poms. The rest of us get on with it.

I fully agree with whoever said earlier that this is a self fulfilling prophecy. If the gadgets are priced to high, then don't buy them and lets see how quickly the prices will come down. But no we are all still buying them and can't have enough of them. It is us doing this to ourselves.
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To illustrate the point a little further, I just configured my car I have on order in the Netherlands. It is £55K'ish list in the UK, same configuration is €109K in the Netherlands. A pound is €1.16,so £55K should be €63,800. Then there is something called BPM (basically a luxury goods tax for unnecessary products i.e. cars) with the emissions it is in the highest band so that is to add €13,129 plus a surcharge of a further €6,214 for it exceeding the threshold of the highest band (sorry not enviro friendly me :)). So that is €83,143 in a straight comparable price. Oh and 1% additional VAT as well; so grand total €83,974.43. So somehow with further transport, weaker currency, tax equalised, someone is making that difference about €25K per vehicle sold.

It is way too simplistic to link pricing to Brexit and fluctuating currencies. Ultimately goods are price in accordance with what people are willing to pay for them. Very little resemblance to any other logic.
 
I'm after a 24-70 II which I'm going to need in the next 5 months at the latest.

Wondering whether to get it now or hang on to see if it shows up in a winter cashback promotion. Downside is that the price will most likely start creeping up. Can get it sub-£1300 UK retail right now.
 
chuckles said:
Great.... 31.42 million people in work and your 100,000 + Garry's contribution I have nothing to worry about :)

Now, if this country still produced goods and didn't have a massive import/export deficit I too could be optimistic. The only thing we were/are good at is Financial Services and it seems as if the Financial Passport we held dearly is about to be compromised!

And please don't tell me to push on and get on with it. It's very much in the hands of greedy CEOs and politicians... the little man in the street has very little he can do apart for pay his taxes and import duties!
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So much wrong with that! We are a manufacturer. I object to the nonsense 'the only thing we are good at is FS' there is considerable evidence to other leading businesses. Dyson, f1 / mclaren, loads of high tech, leading edge biotech, pharma, just to name a few. We will not loose London as a FS powerhouse of the world. Our economy is too great. As for greedy CEOs well the usual reason for a 'business' is just that to make money. If CEOs or other leaders further that aim than they, we, deserve a reward for that contribution. Sure there are rum uns but a vast majority of the leaders I have met are passionate about succeeding and frankly it matters not what is thrown at us, that which we have no control off, we will do our best. All businesses are facing the same environment - those that get it right are the winners. A meritocracy if you will. I'm ok with that and have confidence and will not give up.
 
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