The coronavirus pandemic has made its adjustments to all industries worldwide, but I would like to note that there are both negative and positive aspects. According to statistics, sales of sporting goods have almost tripled during the pandemic.
People have become more conscious of their health, adhering to proper nutrition and all kinds of outdoor activities. Because the borders were closed this very hot summer, people tried to get on the water in every possible way.
Why Are SUP Board Prices Going Up?
Against this background, SUP-boards and wakeboards with wake surf have become very popular in the city. But along with this growing trend of popularization of water sports, there is also a rising trend in prices, and every day this sad statistic is noted more and more.
Unfortunately, this has affected absolutely all industries in the world market. We do not know for everyone, but we want to tell.
Why Are the Prices of Sporting Goods Rising?
There are several reasons why commodity prices are rising.
- Rising prices for raw materials
- A complication of supply chains
- Increasing the time and cost of customs clearance procedures when importing goods into the Russian Federation
- Huge demand for finished products
- The unstable economy in the world
Let’s now dwell a little more on each point.
The rise in prices for raw materials implies the purchase of primary materials and accessories for factories and factories to produce sports equipment and equipment, which must be obtained, transported, and processed for further production.
Back in the spring, people in a panic tried to invest their savings in the construction and purchase of real estate. My house is my fortress.
Because of this, the demand for materials needed for construction has sharply increased, and these are, accordingly, almost the same materials needed for the production of sporting goods (metal, polymers, synthetic fabrics, chemical mixtures, etc).
Therefore, now everything in the world is more interconnected than ever. The world economy is trying to resolve these issues, but due to rising prices for raw materials and an increase in the cost of goods, the price of the final product will also rise.
Difficulties in Supply Chains
Not every consumer knows how this or that wakeboard or SUP board appears on the store window. If even before the pandemic it was a little easier, then the current situation in the world dictates new rules.
Since most of the advanced factories and plants are located in China, the extracted and produced raw materials and materials for the production of sports equipment and equipment need to be transported from developing countries to these factories.
Then it is necessary to carry out shipments of finished products from China to Europe, the USA, or the Russian Federation. And after passing through customs clearance, the goods must be distributed among the cities and delivered within the country so that it finally reaches the shelf of your favorite store.
With the onset of the COVID pandemic, anti-COVID measures were introduced everywhere, restricting the movement of people and goods.
Each country and even individual regions that care about the incidence figures on their territory impose their restrictions (quarantines, travel bans, import restrictions, additional hygienic examination, etc.).
And in parallel, the cost of wages increased due to the inability to use the cheap labor of migrants. Everywhere, increased sanitary requirements were introduced for workers in ports, warehouses, ships, etc.
For example, it used to take 4-6 days to transport cargo with wetsuits from the city of Sihanoukville in Cambodia to the port of Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam for loading onto a ship for further shipment to Russia.
Now, due to closed borders, a Cambodian truck driver cannot cross the border into Vietnam and must leave the cargo for a 2-week quarantine in a temporary storage warehouse. And only after quarantine can the cargo be picked up by another car with a driver from Vietnam, who will take it to the port for loading onto the ship.
However, because the cargo arrived from another country, it may be re-quarantined before being loaded on board, or it may be required to obtain additional permits or certificates for it.
As you understand, the costs of all these additional procedures (renting containers and temporary storage warehouses, complicating transport chains, obtaining additional permits and declarations) are borne by the importer, who is forced to compensate for these extra costs by increasing the final price of the goods.
Increasing the time and cost of customs clearance procedures when importing goods into the Russian Federation.
The Federal Customs and Tax Services of the Russian Federation, as part of protecting their citizens from unscrupulous merchants and implementing the import substitution program, are constantly introducing a huge number of more and more bans, restrictions, and requirements for goods imported into Russia.
And since the start of the pandemic, the growth in the share of customs duties and, especially, obtaining permits for the import of products has increased several times.
So in modern Russia, international quality certificates used in all developed countries do NOT work. To import goods into the Russian Federation, an importer needs to obtain a local Quality Certificate or a Declaration of Conformity exclusively from accredited Russian certification bodies.
To do this, before importing a batch of goods, it is required to conclude an agreement with a specialized laboratory that has a certain license, obtain permission from the customs authorities to import product samples for testing.
Prepare protocols for compliance with the technical regulations of GOSTs developed in the 80s in the USSR, register the results in the state system … and only after that, it is possible to import into the Russian Federation the products described in the received certificates or declarations.
And for additional protection of Russians, we have introduced the National Marking System “Honest Sign” in our country, according to which each unit of goods, before crossing the border with Russia, must be marked with its unique crypto-code purchased from the Center for the Development of Advanced Technologies in advance.
And what do you think, who ultimately bears all these additional costs? That’s right – on you and the final price of the goods!
Increasing Demand for Finished Products
Demand creates supply, but not this time! At the beginning of the quarantine, factories were idle for a long time, so many companies simply did not have time to produce the required amount of goods in such a short time, and pre-orders were already being placed several years in advance.
The production queue grows up to 2-3 years from the date of the order because it takes at least 3-5 years to build and commission new plants.
We are experiencing a huge shortage of products, and deliveries are constantly delayed and rescheduled due to production delays, transport problems, and customs inspections.
The anti-COVID Stay home – safe lives strategy has only added to the interest in buying outdoor sports equipment worldwide. COVID has shown that our life is fragile, and we only live it once.
Many people have realized that it makes no sense to hide behind 4-meter stone walls and continue to accumulate their savings under the pillow – that there is nothing more valuable than their health and the well-being of loved ones.
Is there a better way to improve your health than getting your own SUP board and regularly spending time on the water? Today, the unstable economy in the whole world does not give any guarantees yet.
The pandemic disrupted the rhythm of the entire global economy. Under the current conditions, manufacturers cannot plan their output normally, and factories and plants that produce goods cannot physically produce the required volume of products.
The Unstable Economy in the World
Unfortunately, so far, the forecasts are disappointing. Already, factories are in full swing producing products for the next season, made from raw materials purchased at a higher price than before.
Therefore, it is not profitable for factories to sell the finished product at the old price. The price from the factories will be increased.
After going through the whole new chain of logistics and customs clearance, which will leave their “trace,” the final price of the imported product into the territory of the Russian Federation, as you understand, will be much more expensive than last year.
We will very much hope for further economic stability and the stability of the ruble exchange rate, which will be able to slow down at least a little the rise in prices for sports goods and equipment.
In the meantime, we recommend that you do not delay the decision to purchase a product in our online store, especially if it suits you perfectly and you like it.
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