The price is a more important element in our decision process to buy a part. Attractive or dissuasive, it leaves no one indifferent.
In the current context where fast-fashion brands are failing to comply with the rules of transparency by hiding the reality of their costs, we decided to reveal the real price of a Valet de Pique leather goods item.
What is a fair price? How does it really translate on a Valet de Pique item? Our goal, to share the trust you have given us by buying an item from our house.
To help you see things more clearly, we've decided to put together a short guide to our various expenses in the design of a Valet de Pique bag.
What is a fair price?
It's not by chance that we have already made an article about this subject. At Valet de Pique, product transparency is one of the most important levers. Our motivation: to offer you a price that suits you as well as us.
The right price, what does it really mean?
Our first reflex is to go to the nearest dictionary and read: "the fair price is the amount that corresponds to the current market value of a product". It is therefore simply the price corresponding to the value of a good without adding a prohibitive margin.
After having shared with you our production process by presenting our knowledge, our craftsmen and of course our workshops through our social networks or even old articles, we would like to go even further by presenting you the costs related to an article of leather goods.
Many of you have asked us, through comments on our social networks or responses to our newsletters, why a handbag can cost 100 € in many stores and 350 € at Valet de Pique?
I'll turn the question around and explain to you "why our leather goods can't cost 100 €".
In order to share our vision with you we have chosen to take a concrete case of the brand. It is our iconic model, Émile, the PTT schoolbag. Our Emile schoolbag costs 350 €; explanations:
For the production of Emile we have 6 expense items:
Raw materials and production:
The raw materials and labor corresponding to 40% of the bag.
They correspond obviously to the most important part of the valuation of an article of leather goods. Several data are therefore taken into account,
The raw material:
As you can imagine, natural raw materials (leather, wool, etc.) are much more expensive than synthetic and artificial materials (polyester, polyamide)
At Valet de Pique we have chosen a thick leather, resistant while being supple and soft to the touch. Vegetable tanned leather. This tanning technique allows a resistance to the ravages of time, it has the advantage of being ecologically more ethical.
The workmanship :
The time spent on the manufacture of an article, the knowledge brought for a result, the finesse of the work ... The Made in France remains an unfailing cost of our articles. We have already made an article on this subject
The part devoted to raw materials and production is the most important part of a piece of leather goods Valet de Pique. It represents 40% of its price. For an article costing 350 €, 140 € are allocated to this part. (excluding tax)
The VAT:
As with all companies residing on the national territory, the company Valet de Pique is subject to VAT. This tax represents 20% of the final price. This amounts to 70 € of the cost of the bag.
Communication and specific events:
Like all companies, we have a budget for our communication. This budget is allocated to our social networks, our shootings, the videos of our different workshops... all the means engaged to make you discover our novelties and enlarge our community.
The realization of videos, photos, promotion via social networks (sponsored post), influencers, communication with the press, represents about 6% of the real price, or 21 €.
The cost of one-off events is reduced in relation to the period, we are almost sad not to pay it anymore. It is the place where we meet you, like our recent corner at BHV Marais.
This fee is 3% of the cost, or 11 €.
Logistics and set-up costs:
Receiving, storing, packing, pampering the ordered Valet de Pique items can require up to 4% of the cost (14 €)
The term "incorporation fees" is a bit barbaric but corresponds to the reality of a company. These costs correspond to the registration fees of an article, the lawyers' fees, some costs that we forget even as a consumer, about 3% of the total cost or about 11 €.
After paying all these costs, the exact amount of the margin realized on a binder Emile is about 83 € (remaining to pay many internal costs to the company and its development, rent, salary ... ).
Indeed, at Valet de Pique the delivery is offered, which reduces even more our margin without impacting the final price and that without counting the salary of the trainee!
We have therefore presented our costs in full transparency. The Made in France has a cost which certainly reduces our margin but which corresponds in any point to our values, those which we wish to transmit to you through our articles of leather goods.
