Or should I say rip-off. Yves has just commented that Ortiz Anchovies cost in Europe about 8.5 Euros a 90g tin.
In Australia Ortiz Anchovies are imported by wholesaler Simon Johnson who charges $14.95 for a 47.5g tin. That’s a 100 per cent mark-up.
What a clever man growing fat on his these sorts of mark-ups. I wonder if the mark-ups on other products are as large?
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{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
Mmmmm – Dont start me on that one either Ed. Some importers give importers a bad reputation.
I noticed Provender http://www.provender.com.au sells them for about the same price. I want to try these anchovies now! I love them raw though, especially in a caesar salad rather than cooked on a pizza. I hate it when they turn pasty.
I think Papa Stickyfingers – bon vivant extraordinaire – gets his at Casa Iberica along with Manchego and Chorizo whenever he goes to get supplies for paella. Not sure what he pays, but it’s got to be less than Simon Johnson.
This reminds me of many foods that gourmands get caught up on that has a large part of fashion to it.
Some brands of Fleur de sel is a good example…people paying big buck’s for it (and it is great I know). But when you compare local products such as Murray River Pink Salt it is an outstanding product at a better price. It is now my preferred premium salt.
On to Ortiz Anchovies. I acknowledge they are magnificent Anchovies (at a trumped up price for sure). But I don’t think we need to look past basic demand and supply to understand how the market has set this price in Australia…and fashion plays a role here too.
I just wish there was a decent local product to fill this space…until then, maybe we need to get an underground Ortiz supply chain going. It could be sold in the underground restaurants that none of us know about.
retail is generally triple the wholesale cost, isn’t it? i’ve never seen Ortiz in Casa Iberica, but agree with Goldie that they are the same price wherever you can find them in Melbs – stockists at Prahran Market charge the same as SJ.
it is the price we pay for being so far away?
Would love to know who Movida’s supplier is
Lauren, in gourmet food retailing, retail is usually less than double wholesale. Depending on overheads, 40-60% markup. A few places get away with 100%. SJ is very expensive – there is a range of products I have got from them (wholesale) that sell on the company’s own website in Europe for significantly less than SJ’s wholesale price – sigh… Mind you, purchasing from SJ, they have taken care of the nightmare of freight (airfreight if perisable), import duties, quarantine, distribution etc…
Steve, maybe this is the start of a campaign.
Everyone, SJ is to sole or at least main importer I believe according to the sticker on the back of the packets I have bought so that’s why we are stuck with the high price everywhere.
Andrew, underground anchovies. LOL. Maybe I could get a wine wholesaler to stick a couple of cases bought wholesale in Spain into a container and send them over. The cost would be about $12 for a wine case sized box I believe. I’ll then sell them online for half the price – postage included!
Annie, I don’t mind paying a premium for thefreight, duties and distribution but 100% on top of the retail price in Europe is a bit steep.
I wonder if SJ paid for the recent editorial spot in Sunday Life magazine – ’3 ways to use Anchovies’, sporting a big photo of the Ortiz Anchovies?
Not to mention their brain-dead policy on gift vouchers. You don’t get change on them, so have to spend them all at once. They won’t even split them into smaller denominations.
I have to be careful what I say here. SJ imports and wholesales, then wholesales to himself where he then applies nice retail margin……….. no less than 2 bites at the cherry.
Just eat it when you can afford it then…..that will make each time you eat it (preferably with friends, I guess….for me food is tasteless when eat alone) that much more memorable….no??!!
Or if you can import it and willing to sell to us cheaper, please let me know too….
Came back from Spain in June 2009. Ortiz anchovies were E2.70 a tin in an upmarket supermarket, about $5.20 a tin!!!! I bought 8 tins
Patricis, that’s great. I keep meaning to check the price of the anchovies Movida are now importing. they come in a big round tin. They must have got pissed off with the outrageous prices too.
Most things in Australia are overpriced! Someone is making a lot of money here and robbing a lot of people!
but we are not in Europe we are on the other side of the world!!!! how would any of you know what percentage of markup Simon Johnson is chaging if you are basing this on a supermarket in Spain you are wrong!!!! think about what it takes to get a product to the other side of the globe and the costs involved!!! remember where you live and if you still don’t like it then move to Europe!!!! If it wasn’t for Simon Johnson then we would not have the array of gourmet goods that we do!!! well done Simon and keep it coming there are some of us that appreciate and can understand what and why things cost what they do
Andy,I know it costs about $1 to bring a bottle of wine over in a refrigerated container. So I’m guessingitcosts less than 10 cents to bring a tin of anchovies over – not $10.
Ed, Its not that simple!!!! wine distributors are sending way more pallets of stock so the price for import will be alot cheaper Simon Johnson may only get one or two deliveries per year of a certain product !! I own a store and sell Britsh pantry goods which are 4 times the cost than in UK stores !! they are this much because the importer may only get 6 deliveries per year instead of a huge amount of stock every week!! the cost involved is in the Import!! if import is that cheap then why has Coles and Woolworths not got these products on there shelves at low prices!!! because they can’t!!!!! By the way I don’t work or Simon Johnson I have an imdependent Gourmet Store ;0)
Andy, fair enough although I’d still imagine they still come in with a lot of other stuff in a container. I suspect importers like this will have a lt more trouble in future as the internet makes cost much more transparent.
Amazon sells them.
Thanks David…although Amazon won’t ship them to Australia sadly.
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