Make-up brand Illamasqua says high Australian prices 'unjustified'

I noticed Illamasqua's "Australia Fight for a fair beauty price" campaign on their Facebook page a couple of weeks ago & have been following it with interest since then. I wholeheartedly agree that we Aussies pay through the nose for cosmetics for no good reason. What makes me a little suspect is that I could understand if a brand like Australis Cosmetics or Face Of Australia had a campaign like this (and I & a lot of Aussies would get behind them too) but Illamasqua? Their prices aren't exactly cheap! Sure it's clever, but I can't help feeling that their agenda is purely marketing.

I saw this article on News.com.au today & it basically calls the company out on pulling a publicity stunt & trolling customer data through their petition.

Do you agree?

Make-up brand Illamasqua says high Australian prices 'unjustified'

From: news.com.au

AN international cosmetic brand says the inflated prices Australian consumers pay for make-up are not justified.

UK brand Illamasqua, who themselves charge Australian consumers up to 70 per cent more for the same product, says the justification used for charging higher prices is inconsistent.

The brand, which retails through Myer in Australia, has launched a campaign to “fight” for a fair price for Australian customers.

But consumer group Choice says the campaign is a cleverly disguised marketing exercise and is aimed at data mining consumers.

Illamasqua says they will drop their prices to match those charged in the UK if they get 20,000 signatures from consumers, but those who sign must commit to buying the brand’s products.

The petition has received 10,000 signatures in 10 days.

Around 70 per cent of the cosmetics and toiletries sold in Australia are imported and retailers point to taxes and import duties, transport costs, higher wages and more expensive rent to explain the price difference.

Illamasqua Founder Julian Kynaston said: “In our investigations, none of these, or even a combination of all of these, account for such a huge price variance.

“Which leaves us to conclude the reason brands are more expensive in Australia is that most have always done so, so others follow suit.”

Mr Kynaston said that when Illamasqua entered the Australian market two years ago they looked at what was “normal” for the brand’s closest competitors in the market and priced their products in the same range.

“At the volumes we currently sell we would make considerable losses if we just dropped our prices,” he said.

Choice spokesperson Ingrid Just said the campaign was smart marketing and was tapping into consumer sentiment.

“If they were absolutely genuine then they would just reduce their prices,” Ms Just said.

Ms Just said by signing the petition consumers are giving Illamasqua their contact details, which is rich information the company can use to email future marketing.

IBISWorld analyst Craig Shulman said that the advent of online retailing did not drive cosmetic prices down as was expected.

“There does appear to be phenomenon that people are still paying these prices, and as much as people complain in the end the dollars are forked over for these products,” Mr Shulman said.

Large international cosmetic retailers such as Sephora have an online store but do not ship to Australia.

Leading brands such as MAC have a separate Australian website that charges customers higher prices than in the US. The US website does not offer international shipping.

Overseas sites such as Rock the Catwalk and All Cosmetics Wholesale offer significant discounts and cheap shipping, but stock a limited product range.