You are in Charge of White Spot Pipes: Would You do Anything Differently?
- Thread starter mikethompson
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Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Personally, Dunhill doesn't float my boat. I would change their shape to Peterson shapes, but with better made stems. And make sure the "White Dot" doesn't fall off. Yeah, hand off pipes to Peterson like they did with their tobacco.
The White Spot division of Dunhill seems to be doing rather well, particularly in the Asian market.
For those of you who have grandchildren of elementary school age, consider investing in Mandarin Chinese courses for them.
For those of you who have grandchildren of elementary school age, consider investing in Mandarin Chinese courses for them.
We said the same thing about Russian courses in the 70’s and Japanese courses in the 80’s. Both prescriptions were obviously premature. China has a massive demographic problem looming in the very near term (see this recent article for one take on its “grow old before growing rich” dilemma: China bets on productivity over population to drive its economy - Taipei Times - https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2021/05/15/2003757425). Unlike the West, Asian countries are unwilling to fill the population gap with immigration. It’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out. Remember the key aspect of competitive advantage is the part which measures your relative, not absolute, position.
In their present position, White Spot has both high price and volume, which in marketing is the absolute sweet spot. To fall off the price somewhat and try for greater volume would be absurd in a stable or shrinking market. And despite their prices being off-putting to many, they have a solid customer base that is loyal, or fiercely loyal. The prices make me and others a bit angry, but that's part of their allure to others. As new management, the challenge would be to maintain that place. If what you want is a fine smoke, dozens of worthy brands can fill your need at relatively moderate prices.
Nothing kills a luxury brand quicker than moving downmarket; their strength comes from being Veblen goods (ie items which experience upward sloping demand curves). If Dunhill did this there’d be a brief sales pop followed by rapid erosion of the current distribution channel. Making Dunhill “less elitist” would drive away most of the current customer base. When luxury companies want to expand into the lower end of the market they create new brands to avoid contaminating the old one. In this instance Dunhill already did that with Parker a century ago.
jguss, I agree. Examples abound, especially in the rag trade (clothing manufacture). High end brands, as exemplified by the $475 t-shirt on this thread, that go into mass market clothing often sink their brand. That t-shirt customer isn't buying a t-shirt; the shirt is just an emblem of something else. It reminds me of the painting of a pipe labeled, "This Is Not A Pipe." That's White Spot.
The perception of high-end creates the market for it. Go downstream and the goods are no longer perceived as high-end.
Wacky. I think it's a shame that people spend good money on what I read is just another machine-made pipe. Think Brebbia/Rossi/Butz-Choquin. Whatever Dunhill had passed away about 1965.
But I do adore their shaping and that dark burgundy stain.
Wacky. I think it's a shame that people spend good money on what I read is just another machine-made pipe. Think Brebbia/Rossi/Butz-Choquin. Whatever Dunhill had passed away about 1965.
But I do adore their shaping and that dark burgundy stain.
If I had to introduce changes, to assert my presence as the new big shot in charge, I'd cancel that ridiculous microphone pipe. If we needed something extra up-market (expensive) I'd have them add tasteful semi-precious or even precious stones (for the $4 K model), small tasteful ones that wouldn't add much weight.
Get it out of the hands of volume internet sellers. Improve the perception of exclusivity. Accentuate straight grains. If they're not straight grains, make them really ugly. More rare metals, more gemstones, more limited editions. Target the Bugatti set. It's an upmarket product, so make it even more so. RAISE PRICES.
Except for shunning the fan base. Dunhill is no longer a company affiliated with pipes or pipe tobacco. White Spots aren't Dunhills.
I'd partner with J.F. Germain and sons, charge $100 US more for every pipe, and give a "free" tin of Esoterica with every pipe.
See if I could get ken barnes and barry Jones to teach people about making pipes, and make sure to get video of all that stuff. Keep them on as advisers to help keep up quality control. You know the people who actually know how to make high quality in a factory environment, with premium prices. Oh and also get George Dibbos on contract as an adviser for the best way to make pipes or how they were made during a certain time period.
See if you could get the basic pipes or shapes made through Briarworks so they wouldn't smoke like shite. Then hand finish. Keep the price the same. Then have popular carvers make a design, make x number to put out special editions. Then pair with ebay sellers and have them sign NDA's, and have someone smoke a bowl or two out of a number of the new pipes. Send those "lightly smoked" pipes to the ebay sellers and funnel them to the estate market, so you can actually current reviews and evaluations on the how the pipes smoke. Reinforcing the continued high price.
IF that works at all then you could go about reopening a factory, license some briarworks machines. See if you could make a go of it. May have to open a factory in France or Italy to get people who know how to make factory pipes.
See if you could get the basic pipes or shapes made through Briarworks so they wouldn't smoke like shite. Then hand finish. Keep the price the same. Then have popular carvers make a design, make x number to put out special editions. Then pair with ebay sellers and have them sign NDA's, and have someone smoke a bowl or two out of a number of the new pipes. Send those "lightly smoked" pipes to the ebay sellers and funnel them to the estate market, so you can actually current reviews and evaluations on the how the pipes smoke. Reinforcing the continued high price.
IF that works at all then you could go about reopening a factory, license some briarworks machines. See if you could make a go of it. May have to open a factory in France or Italy to get people who know how to make factory pipes.