S&S Cycle and Crane Products recently announced that it is replacing the Internet Reseller Policy (IRP) with a new Minimum Advertised Price policy (MAP), which will require retailers to be in compliance by March 31, 2012.
The MAP policy applies to all advertised pricing including print, radio, television, internet media and new product sold on auction websites. Unlike the IRP, the MAP policy will allow retailers to actively promote and sell S&S parts on e-commerce sites provided prices shown are not less than its manufacturer’s suggested retail price.
Five years ago, S&S Cycle instituted an IRP that restricted online sales of S&S products. The company says that much has changed since that policy was developed, with e-commerce becoming a rapidly growing retail channel and many of its resellers investing in online solutions.
According to S&S, the IRP limited the ability for resellers to effectively market and sell its products against competitors supporting online sales.
Unlike the IRP, the MAP policy will maintain the price integrity expected for premium brands like S&S and Crane, not only in online advertising but in all forms of communication including radio, television, flyers, posters, newspapers, catalogs, coupons, mailers, and email.
The S&S website has been modified to communicate important information about the company's new MAP policy in the dealer section. In addition to the policy itself, the section includes a form which resellers can use to report advertising that does not conform to the policy, and a current S&S MSRP list.
For more information about the policy, visit
www.sscycle.com/map_policy.php.