Manufacturing question

[artie]

philip sewell has a very interesting thread going about logos.

It has branched out to cover more aspects of business and has reminded me of a question I often ask myself.

I can go in to B&Q and buy, for instance a drill driver which is made up of hundreds of parts, I'm guessing here , but in any case many parts which have to be made transported and assembled etc for £49.99

In the same shop I can buy myself a hammer, made of 3 or 4 parts non moving, no complicated assembly process for £40 or more.

How come?

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Volume of manufacture could be one factor. There must be far more basic and mid-range drill-drivers sold around the world than top-quality £40 hammers.

Could also be an element of marketing - a small range of loss-leader or low-margin power tools with high turnover, or a high profit margin on slow-moving high-spec items.

 

[Doug B]

I’d guess it boils down to manufacturing costs & in particular labour, I’m always astounded when I see something like plastic clothes pegs for sale at 99p a packet.
The shop to stay afloat will take half of that price to pay for its overheads yet they can be manufactured & shipped half way round the world for around 50p

 

[Sandyn]

I'm constantly astonished by how cheap some of my purchases are. Then a couple of months later, I learn why!!

 

[D_W]

Not sure what the hammer is, but if it has a hickory handle, good proportions in the head, hard faces that have a reasonable polish...it's probably harder to make cheaply than the drill.

There won't be many parts in the drill that cost much in materials, and those that do will be overlabeled (e.g, if the motor claims to be 400 watts, it'll draw 250 or 300 when you actually test it, etc). the bits that would be hardened bushings in a proper tool will be zinc or plastic.

 

[KingAether]

Another thing to consider is a hammer, if treated well, you wont buy again so its marked high. A drill, looked after well, might last a few years and get replaced so they can afford to price them low as a consumable. Also that's a low-end drill vs a decent retail-level hammer, you could get a hammer for 12~ thats more equivalent to the drill.

 

[RobinBHM]

The secret is 3rd world labour rates.

I can remember going to my local market in the early 80s and buying reasonable quality but non label jeans for about £15 to £20. Now you can buy them from Tescos for £5