By Patrick Avenell
SYDNEY: With news that the Australian dollar fell to a four year low of $0.69 against the US currency, and speculation it could go as low as $0.65, comes questions about the price of imported electrical goods as Christmas approaches.
In The Australian today, Gerry Harvey downplayed suggestions that the drop in the currency would diminish consumer spending, JB Hi-FI CEO Richard Uechtritz said it would not need to translate to higher prices.
However, at least one small appliance supplier has today predicted that it would need to raise the price of its products. Sunbeam CEO David Jackson confirmed that rising costs at the manufacturing and importing level is set to result in a price increase.
Talking exclusively to Current.com.au, Jackson said that Sunbeam will be forced to raise prices to cover rising costs. It is important to note that Sunbeam is not profiteering, or looking to engineer greater earnings, but rather responding to a severe fall in the value of the Australian dollar.
“Sunbeam will implement a price increase before Christmas, in an endeavour to partially recover some of the product cost increases resulting from rising material, labour and freight expenditure,” said Jackson.
“These increases will vary across the range depending on the product.
“We will be forced to increase prices as a result of the changing financial markets early in the New Year. This will be across all products, however the amount of the increase is difficult to determine until the dust settles.”