You're havin' a laugh...

The F1 circus is now very much in town in Singapore and many businesses have seen $$ signs appear in their eyes. From ice cream sellers to shoe shops and even bread shops, everyone is producing F1 related products or promotions.

Some are well intentioned - for example the 10% off high heeled shoes for women holding an F1 pass, for those who get invited at the last minute to Lewis Hamilton's victory ball and forgot to bring their own (even the well-heeled are looking for bargains right now - see previous posts).

Others are less smart - for example the ice cream seller who has creatively produced a range of F1 themed ice creams, which have temporarily replaced the normal menu and are being sold at vastly inflated prices. People aren't stupid - if they think retailers are taking unfair advantage, they will boycott (if the ice cream seller also had the normal range in addition and gave the choice, his sales will probably be higher).

I heard another example from my father last night - of an air show in the UK which had been hugely successful on the basis of free entry. This year the local council also thought they had the golden goose and started charging - the result? People still turned up in their hundreds of thousands, but stayed out of the official GBP5 enclosure and stood further back. The retailers suffered and no doubt next year less of both will turn up. Better to raise more money through allowing additional retail stands or increasing the charge to them.

Two morals
A successful deal requires both parties to feel like they have won.
Don't cut off the fuel that drives demand for your business by getting greedy.