Tyres & Accessories recently asked its diverse readership – comprising of manufacturers, wholesalers – retailers and everyone in-between, what they thought about the recent spate of price increases. For their part the manufacturers claim rocketing raw material prices have forced them into a corner, with regard to end-product price increases. However wholesalers and distributors are likely to feel that these increases are an attack on their margins, which can only be remedied by passing the cost onto the consumer, therefore making retail more difficult.

T&A asked readers: Are price increases a necessary evil, or just the result of prudent financial planning on the part of the manufacturing business? 60 per cent of those that responded put price increases down to the nature of supply and demand, while the remaining 40 per cent said manufacturers had more ‘business orientated’ motives.