B&Q hits out at 'yo-yo' pricing - and rivals hit right back
Published: 10 January 2013
B&Q has slammed kitchen and bathroom retailers that it says bump up the prices of their products in order to be able to slash them later - while B&Q itself, it claims, has the lowest prices in the kitchen market.
However, its rivals have hit back, accusing the retailer of hypocrisy over its complaints about 'yo-yo' pricing. And B&Q is laying itself open to further criticism because its claim to have the lowest prices is based on research by www.kitchen-compare.com. The website compares the cost of kitchens from just three retailers, B&Q, Wickes and Homebase, and is already
accused by some in the industry of being biased towards B&Q.
B&Q told The Sunday Times that other retailers were misleading consumers by doubling the price of some kitchens in the run-up to Christmas and then cutting them again in the sales. But competitors told the newspaper that B&Q was "pushing an agenda...retailers had been pursuing a 'high-low' pricing strategy for 'donkey's years' and B&Q had exposed it only because it scrapped the strategy..."
In a statement, B&Q confirmed: "Last year, B&Q took the decision to be the first in the kitchen and bathroom industry to ensure that every kitchen or bathroom is at an everyday low price, rather than practise the price establishment strategy that others in the market engage in."
And the statement goes on: "Independent research by www.kitchen-compare.com, from the last 15 weeks before Christmas, reveals that B&Q has consistently kept the lowest prices in the kitchen market on comparable kitchens."
However, the fact that B&Q used the website for its research - and to establish the pre-Christmas price rises in Homebase and Wickes kitchens quoted in The Sunday Times - is sure to rile rival retailers. After diyweek.net reported last year's launch of the website, several posted comments questioning its independence. And in a statement released to DIY Week this week Homebase accused the website of misleading consumers.
It said: "We support the principle of providing customers with clear, fair and accessible information to assist them in the important decision of buying a new kitchen. Kitchen-compare.com does not give an accurate picture of kitchen comparisons, as it excludes regular promotional packages and does not always compare like-for-like kitchens.
"The biggest problem with kitchen-compare.com is that it is comparing apples with pears. A white gloss kitchen can vary by thousands of pounds depending on the workmanship, materials and design of the units and appliances, which is not taken into account by the comparison website. For example a wrapped PVC work surface versus melamine faced chipboard or soft close doors versus non soft close doors."
Homebase also said it had made no changes to its base kitchen unit prices since June 2012, and it defended its "genuine offers which fully adhere to the law and guidance governing pricing and promotions practice.
"As with many kitchen retailers we run promotions during the year...This could include a 50% or 60% discount on the base price, or a package which includes free appliances. We are so confident of our competitiveness that we will price match on any like-for-like product when provided with a written kitchen quote plus refund 10% of the difference."