By Claire Reilly
Following news that Ilve has reduced prices on selected products in its range, the brand’s marketing manager spoke to Current.com.au about the move (which affects six built-in ovens in the Ilve line-up), and Ilve’s drive to become more competitive in the built-in space.
Despite the fact that prices on some products have been cut by up to $600 in some instances, Daniel Bertuccio said it wasn’t a sign that Ilve was becoming less premium, or that it’s products were selling poorly. However, he noted that there was no point in staying quiet about the reductions.
“Dropping prices is not something that’s never been done before,” he said. “Many people have done it, it’s just that a lot people do it and keep it quiet. We’ve got nothing to hide, and people are going to find out about it anyway. It also gets people talking and that can’t be a bad thing.”
Click here to sign up for our FREE daily newsletter
Follow Current.com.au on Twitter
According to Bertuccio, the price reductions are designed to help retailers sell consumers up from a mid-range product to a more premium product, without a huge jump in price.
“We’re hoping that it will be a lot easier for the retail salesperson to sell up to our brand,” he said.
“So if you’re customer that was just happy to look at the mid-range products, we now believe that, with our premium product, there’s not a big jump between the middle and the top range. So it’s easier to up-sell into our brand which is what we’re hoping to do. It’s easier for the salesperson to get you up there.
“As opposed to a $1,000 gap, it’s easier to bridge, say, a $500 gap.”
For retailers looking to sell up to an Ilve built-in oven, Bertuccio recommends selling consumers on features.
“Our product is one of the rare hand-made products still available on today’s market, so sell on features of the product. Sell on what the brand is, as opposed to selling just based on price. Look at the features, look at the way thing is made, the quality of product, and sell on those things as opposed to focusing solely on attractive price.”
While the brand has reduced prices on built-in ovens as part of its broader built-in strategy, there are no plans to lower prices across the range, he said.
“Our freestanding product has stayed the same [in price], because it’s selling. We’re not worried about freestanding at all, we know that we’re leaders in that particular end of the market. And there’s no issues selling our built-in cooktops, they’re a superior product to a lot of other things that are out there. The built-in oven market is a lot more competitive than the built-in cooktop market.
“The built-in product is where we wanted to be a lot more aggressive and take market share and one of the quickest and best ways to do that is to be a lot more aggressive on the price.”