Notification on Price Increasing of FiiO BTA30 Pro and BTR5 2021
Distinguished consumers,
As we all know, most productions have been hindered and even ceased in many areas since the outbreak of COVID-19, which had a huge impact on the HiFi industry.
1. Chip shortage: DAC chips were in short supply due to the COVID-19 and AKM fire. Since last year, the global chip shortage even forced many car factories to shut down. When a thing is rare, it becomes precious. The price of chips kept rising, which led to unavailability of chips even though manufacturers came with enough money.
2. The price of raw materials has increased. Since the beginning of this year, raw materials in different production stages have been rising, leading to increasing costs for our needed raw materials.
3. The cost of transportation has increased. The price of sea and air transportation have been continuously increasing yet without any improvement in effectiveness. Therefore, sales agents had to spend more money on the freight charge.
The above situations have brought big challenges to our sales agents and us, especially in the niche HiFi industry, which is more susceptible to the price of raw materials. Since the COVID-19, many brands have chosen to increase the retail price to share the increase in costs. For example, the price of TVs has increased a lot in the past two years. FiiO is a customer-oriented brand, and our pricing has always been recognized by consumers. Therefore, even though we have also faced the increasing cost of raw materials in the COVID-19, we still chose to bear some price pressures ourselves and sacrifice a portion of profits to maintain the supply and retail price.
However, the external environment is still the same this year. The costs of raw materials have been way increased so that we are unable to undertake it by ourselves anymore.
For one thing, as a manufacturer, we must have enough profit margins, so that we can continue to invest in R&D and provide users with better products and services.
For another, local sales agents also need enough profits to provide high-quality services for local users. Therefore, for the recently released BTA30 Pro and the BTR5 2021, we are forced to increase their retail price by around 10 USD (for the US market, other regions will be subject to the local prices), because the chip prices of these two products have risen too much. The price increase of the BTR5 2021 will take effect in December 2021, and the BTA30 Pro in February 2022.
Why would we suddenly announce a price increase at this time?
--In fact, the price of raw materials is fluctuating all the time, especially this year, which cannot be determined. We were expecting the price to be lowered. However, it is still rising. We really cannot stand the pressure. Therefore, we made this decision and gave enough time to the market for transition. Now there are still some stocks in our sales agents'. If you want one, don't miss the chance.
If the price of raw materials drops in the future, will FiiO reduce the price?
--We will decide based on the market situation. If the chip supply turns back to normal and the price is reduced, we will also consider reducing the price.
We FiiO will adhere to customer-oriented and cost-effective product concepts. The COVID-19 will finally pass and we will get back to where we should be.
Best regards,
Guangzhou FiiO Electronics Technology Co., Ltd.
