Slingshots Front Up! Are applauding or sceptical?

Forums › 2degrees (including Slingshot, Orcon, Flip, Stuff Fibre, MyRepublic, 2talk and Vocus) › Slingshots Front Up! Are applauding or sceptical?

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gzt

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#1115815 26-Aug-2014 12:53

http://frontup.co.nz/

It's marketing, and consistent with Slingshot's aim to be seen as a low cost money saving provider. Some of the items are badly researched and contain simple inaccuracies. I do not expect to see any replies there. But they do have exactly valid points with some items. If any take off in social media that is where I expect to see brands focusing a response. For the most part the brands will not care. The local 'authorised' distributor will care but unlikely to respond to the situation creatively.

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wasabi2k

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#1115818 26-Aug-2014 12:59

Please stick to being an ISP and keep your sensationalist, unresearched marketing initiatives to yourself.

Thanks.

What’s our goal?

We want to make sure Kiwis are treated fairly, and charged fair prices.

Nope - your goal is to gain mind-share and make people thing you're a good guy out for joe user, in order to gain market share and profit.

i'm sure it will be a hit on Facebook - YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT NZ COMPANIES DID NEXT!

gzt

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#1115822 26-Aug-2014 13:04

gnfb: Slingshots Front Up! Are applauding or sceptical?

Weakly applauding and very sceptical. It looks entirely like a token effort unable to sustain momentum. But if one or two valid items take off maybe it could expand.

gnfb

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#1116138 26-Aug-2014 21:49

I think I can see good and bad in the comments made. Its nice to see the kiwis coming to the barricades to defend there honour. Heaven forbid let it be said that one kiwi bro would take advantage of another !

Of course Slingshot is doing it for the kudos from the public its a business do you think its there for its health!

Just like very other "Green" organization and the Power companies that sponsor sport etc etc.

BUT

I hate seeing anyone being taken for a ride I'm not that naive to think that it will not continue no matter what is done. But if slingshot adds a bit of light to price differences so be it

We only need to think back a few years how much did it cost to phone the uk per minute? Then phone cards came in and suddenly the price dropped by god knows how much! to cost cents a minute.

Is an English Man living in New Zealand. Not a writer, an Observer he says. Graham is a seasoned 'traveler" with his sometimes arrogant, but honest opinion on life. He loves the Internet!.

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quentinreade

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#1117175 28-Aug-2014 11:44

Hi guys,
Thanks for your debate – some interesting points in there!
In a nutshell, we launched this because we can.
We have the resources to build a site and throw some manpower at it in a bid to highlight an important issue that hasn’t been highlighted well enough by anyone else.
The pieces have all been written by freelance journalists without any input from us (other than some suggested categories).
New topics are being suggested on social media, and these are being looked at. If there’s anything factually wrong, then please comment on the site and let us know. AND, we’d be stoked if companies would explain/ present their case.
Samsung Fronted Up – and that’s admirable I reckon.
Yes, it meshes with our brand – we are a value-led ISP, and we think that average Kiwis deserve to pay reasonable prices for goods and services.
There’s no wider conspiracy at play – for those of you who are wondering :) - it’s just an effort to highlight an issue, and we hope it will garner some support and take off under its own steam.
Personally – I would love to know why milk’s so expensive. It’s made here – it should cheap be I would have thought. I’m awaiting Fonterra’s response while my children knock it back like no-bodies business.
Cheers guys!

(and yes – the UK broadband price failed to include the homeline rental – sorry about that – that’s now been changed)

EDIT: spelling and layout :)

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freitasm

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#1130481 17-Sep-2014 10:14

Press release just received:

New Zealanders are paying a premium for products but the companies who set the prices either don’t care or are refusing to justify their mark ups, according to Frontup.co.nz.

Big name companies, including Fonterra, Apple, and Nike, were asked by Frontup to explain the excessive prices Kiwis pay for the goods and services they provide, but all three failed to respond.

While the likes of Samsung, Steinlager and NZ Beef and Lamb did respond, of the almost 30 products and services reviewed in the past three weeks on the website, the majority of companies targeted did not take the opportunity of a right of reply.

Frontup.co.nz, which is written by a team of independent journalists and backed by Kiwi-owned ISP Slingshot, reviews the price of goods, compares the price to other countries, and then asks brands and companies to explain themselves by “fronting up” to give their reasoning for the premium cost of the product.

Slingshot general manager Taryn Hamilton says it’s clear from the hundreds of comments and responses on the Front Up Facebook page that consumers want answers about why they are paying so much.

“It’s just a shame most businesses couldn’t be bothered to respond, or seemingly don’t care about the high prices consumers are paying for their products.

“But probably the biggest reason these companies don’t want to front up is because there is no excuse for the higher prices New Zealanders pay compared to people overseas.”

The price of milk was one of the most startling cost differentials, with Fonterra’s Dairy Dale brand costing $1.70 per litre. In US a litre of milk costs the equivalent of NZ$1.20 and in Britain NZ$0.86. This is after taking into consideration our GST and exchange rate differences.

Fonterra, New Zealand’s biggest company, made contact only after stories about Frontup’s investigations, including the price of milk, were highlighted in a Sunday newspaper story and on TV One’s Breakfast. However, it didn’t follow through with a written response and justification for its prices.

Other examples of sky high Kiwi prices include:

Nikes - $220 in NZ, equivalent of NZ$131 in US
Sunglasses - $274.90 in NZ, equivalent of NZ$185.00 in US
iTunes (NZers pay 35% more for same music as Americans)
Lipstick ($19.99 at Warehouse, equivalent of NZ$6.65 in US)
Hamilton says consumers should continue the cost conversation that has been sparked by Front Up and make companies more accountable – and ultimately force them to front up.

“The goal of Front Up was to make sure Kiwis are treated fairly, and charged fair prices. That’s clearly not happening and now it’s time for the consumer to take the price they pay for goods and services into their own hands.”

He says there are a number of ways to do this, including everything from buying direct and importing goods from overseas, to contacting retailers and importers, local MPs, and Consumer Affairs Minister, Craig Foss, to complain.

“People don’t need to take the sticker price of an item as being what they have to pay. Everything is negotiable. Haggle and barter with retailers because they would rather have a lesser margin than not have a sale at all.”

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Nebbie

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#1130656 17-Sep-2014 13:28

An interesting one on Milk In New Zealand, the problem for us is our Milk is sort after by China, USA and many other countries that are willing to pay allot more thus this pushed up the local cost of milk in the local market for example its possible to buy organic NZ milk from china for around $20NZD per L, The same with our lamb and beef meat products, 99% of the beef animals in New Zealand is extremely sort after and tasty. I was in Washington DC a few years back and on the menu was NZ beef the price of that was extreme expensive compared to local beef however the local beef is grain feed and New Zealand beef is mostly Grass feed this affects the quality of the beef.

NOTE: a milking cow will not be turned into good quality beef because a milking cow produces allot of milk thought its life time the quality of the meet is low however its better for mince, sausages etc... processed beef.

I was bought-up on a dairy farm and my father is still in the industry.

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