PopUp Hitch adopted new minimum retail/resale price (MRP) policies on July 1, 2020. The company has a brand protection policy for dealers and a quality assurance policy for distributors. According to Derrick Bruenger, sales and marketing manager at PopUp Hitch, the decision to adopt the policies resulted from a handful of distributors and online retailers continually offering deep discounts on PopUp Hitch products. Bruenger said brick and mortar stores that tried to compete were not left with much of a profit margin.
The hitch and towing product manufacturer did not have an MRP policy prior to July of this year.
“We tried to avoid going that direction and tried to communicate with some of the ones that were causing issues,” Bruenger said. “We had no choice but to protect our brand.”
Bruenger added that PopUp Hitch’s goal was never to be price leaders, but rather to offer good products at reasonable prices.
PopUp Hitch is working with third-party tracking service TrackStreet to enforce the new MRP policies and issue violations. TrackStreet will issue a warning to first-time offenders and formal violation notices to second- and third-time offenders. Any retailer who violates the MRP a fourth time will be no longer be allowed to sell PopUp Hitch’s products, and further violations will result in legal action by PopUp Hitch.
The new MRP policies are legal documents and, as such, apply to all of PopUp Hitch’s retail and distribution partners. Bruenger said the company will not show favoritism to any retailers/resalers over any others.
“Everyone is going to be treated equal across the board,” Bruenger said.
Click here to see the full dealer MRP.
Click here to see the full distributor MRP.
Click here for an MRP/MSRP price guide.
