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Posts Tagged ‘prices’

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Volcanic Ash & Euro Worries Hit Branded Memory Stick Market

Monday, May 17th, 2010

The market for branded USB memory sticks is under severe pressure at the moment from two unanticipated sources; the continued disruptions to flights caused by the volcanic ash drifting over the UK and the financial markets worries over the state of the European economy.

Just a few months ago the sky was clear and blue and free of ash and no one gave any consideration to a few strangely named volcanoes in Iceland. With a few exceptions the flights operated by couriers like UPS, TNT and DHL were all flying in and out of the UK with boring regularity and shipments of branded memory sticks from our factories were arriving on time every day. Today there is a nervous air of uncertainty about things.

At the height of the volcanic disruption some orders were being delayed for up to a week and when you’ve got hard and tight deadlines to work to this is a nightmare. Fortunately where there were real issue for our clients we were able to work with them and provide solutions from our UK stock but not every supplier is in this fortunate position.

Today a couple of weeks on from the height of the problems we are again faced with the spectre of further airport closures and restrictions in UK airspace. Not a helpful situation in an industry that really does work on a “just in time” basis.

Branded Memory Sticks

Branded Memory Sticks

As if further delays to shipments were not enough the Pound (£) has slumped against the Dollar ($) on continuing worries over the state of Europe’s finances and a widening trade gap deficit! Today the £ is struggling to make it above $1.44. Last week we expected it to break back through $1.5 and in our wildest dreams we’d even hoped it would start to climb back towards the heady days of $1.8 we were spoilt with not so long ago.

So we now have the double whammy effect of climbing prices and uncertainty over delivery times. Who’d be a supplier of branded memory sticks in this market? Well at USB2U we like a challenge and despite all the apparent adversity we’re still confident we can offer not only some of the best prices in the market but we can also give you as much reassurance as we can about delivery. Of course we can’t compete against the forces of Mother Nature but we do monitor the situation daily and we do use a range of couriers to give us the best chance of ensuring any “open routes” are used. Failing that we always carry UK stock as a contingency.

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Volcanic Ash & Euro Worries Hit Branded Memory Stick Market

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UK Election Results Hits Price of Branded Memory Sticks

Friday, May 7th, 2010

Although there are a few seats still left to be declared it’s already obvious that no party in the UK general election will gain a sufficient majority to prevent a hung Parliament. Political commentators have been predicting this in the run up to what has turned out to be one of the most closely fought elections in recent times so whilst it has not come as a great surprise the financial markets are reacting badly to the result.

Shares on the UK Stock Exchange have crashed in early morning trading and the pound has fallen dramatically against the dollar. The markets have already seen significant falls over the last few days on the back of worries about the Greek economy and the European bail out plans. The results of the UK election coupled with concerns about the UK’s high borrowing levels mean the markets are going to be very turbulent places for the foreseeable future.

Branded Memory Sticks

Branded Memory Sticks

For any company looking to buy branded memory sticks or custom USB flash drives in the short term this is bad news. The vast majority of memory sticks in the world are manufactured in China and purchased in US dollars. The pound has now fallen 5% against the dollar in the last 2 days and the stark reality of this is that prices of branded memory sticks will have to rise by 5% to compensate.

It was thought that the currency markets had already factored in a potential hung Parliament in the UK into the exchange rates but the results coupled with the wider, global economic concerns have seen further falls.

If you are seeking quotes for branded memory sticks over the next couple of days be prepared for any prices you are given to be valid for very short periods of time, e.g. 1-2 days. It’s unlikely that any supplier, given the current uncertainty in the market, is going to be able to guarantee prices longer than this so check the terms of any quote carefully.

It’s too soon to say when and if the markets will settle down and some stability returns to the currency exchange markets and in turn the UK price for branded memory sticks. At USB2U we will do all we can to ensure our customers continue to get the best possible price for their branded memory sticks.

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UK Election Results Hits Price of Branded Memory Sticks

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Branded Flash Drives – Prices Driven Up By Greek Worries

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

The economic turmoil in Greece is unlikely to enter the mind of anyone looking to source branded flash drives in the UK but the reality is that the current issues in Greece have a direct bearing on the price of flash drives. Why? Well, USB memory sticks, like many other PC components and peripherals are purchased in USD ($) from the factories in China.

Today’s announcement by rating agency Standard & Poor’s to downgrade Greece’s debt to “junk” because of concerns that the country may default has hit the European stock markets hard and most European currencies have fallen dramatically against the dollar (USD).

The impact of this is that prices for memory sticks will increase by circa 2% with immediate effect and all new quotes will only have a very limited “valid for” period because of the increased volatility in the market.

Prices Driven Up By Greek Worries

Branded flash drives are more susceptible to short term currency movements because orders are placed on the factories and paid for as customers confirm their requirements. Whilst some forward buying of stock does take place the wide range of styles, colours and memory sizes coupled with the fact that many customers are now taking advantage of options to pantone match body shells etc. makes it impossible to forward buy too much.

With the improvements in global transportation and the ability to manufacture and ship within days rather than weeks most branded flash drives are now manufactured to hence why an unstable currency and financial market has such a dramatic bearing on price.

Hopefully the issues in Greece will be resolved soon or at least brought under some degree of control and confidence will return to the currency markets.

In the meantime if you are looking to buy branded flash drives be prepared for some short term volatility in pricing and don’t be surprised if you’ve purchased flash drives in the past to find that prices are now higher than when you last bought them.

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Branded Flash Drives – Prices Driven Up By Greek Worries

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