Jason Busch at spend matters blog argued that a pair of $500 business shoes from the American manufacturer Alden probably is a bargain. The style of the typical business shoe from a manufacturer like Alden is more or less the same year over year. Busch points out that the classic model Cordovans therefore are guaranteed not to go out of style. On the other hand, they will not be in style either. If you can live with this, I agree that a pair of more or less handcrafted expensive shoes can be a very good purchase. The cost per day used is probably the same as a pair of cheaper shoes but during the total life cycle, you will wear shoes with better fitting, made by finer materials and you will resist the buy and through away culture.
My reflection is that most people are pretty careless on how they spend their hard earned money. People normally do not perform a spend analysis to understand where they should focus their sourcing effort. They seldom aggregate volumes by asking relatives, friends and neighbours to join a sourcing process. People very seldom try to negotiate in a shop. But even worse, people tend to be impulsive instead of defining their real need, finding the right supplier and considering the Total Cost of Ownership, e.g. for shoes. I guess this is why the low price retailers are so successful.
By the way, I prefer English shoes.
November 28, 2008 at 9:44 am
[...] purchase – but also one where personal preference and quality (TCO) plays a big role (not unlike buying a pair of shoes). With a professional background in purchasing I consider myself a rational agent and based on [...]
December 12, 2008 at 12:13 pm
[...] Group AB During the past year, shoes have been a topic that has been on the agenda both here at Purchasing Transformation and on Spend Matters. While both of these posts have dealt with the TCO and lack of (personal) [...]