Aero booked up in hard times?

[gfirob]

I just ordered a bootlegger from Aero in Scotland and Amanda told me it would be 8 weeks for delivery because they were inundated with orders.

Does it seem odd that expensive, hand-made jackets should be in such hot demand when the world is descending into financial ruin?

Of course, I ordered one, without thinking about the economics of it. Maybe I answered my own question...

Rob Gardner

 

[Hawk_Eye]

The low value of the pound against the dollar is a big factor.

 

[John Lever]

The low value of the pound against the dollar is a big factor.

Don't forget the Euro, Germany is their biggest customer base, bigger than the US by far.

 

[Longshanks]

Economic downturn

The recession, while genuinely hurting many, does happen to give some a great excuse to defer the kitchen redo, put off the hi-def-tv upgrade, cancel cosmetic house maintenance, etc. The money saved on all of that versus an Aero jacket? Well, when you think of it that way...
On the other hand, I might benefit from an elementary economics course...

 

[Tomasso]

They may have laid off staff.

 

[eClairvaux]

They may have laid off staff.

I don't think so. But over here (Germany) private consumption is not significantly slowing down these last few months, despite the financial crisis.

Don't ask me why, but people don't seem to believe the crisis will hit them as hard. That's at least what the polls tell us.

 

[bobbyball]

I am sure things at the moment are quite good for exporting goods to the Europe and the US.

Jacket Nuts will always find a way of beating the recession to feed their addiction (I of course include myself in this description).

 

[H.Johnson]

One of the purposes of the UK government letting Sterling sick is that it should improve the balance of payments through exports. That policy has been criticised, as it is said that the UK no longer has a manufacturing base - Aero is to be applauded for providing a worthy exception.

 

[MEDIUMMYND]

Quality items will always sell i bet a good percentage of Aeros customers are from the UK.

 

[solomrus]

hmm.

i ordered my half-belt thru mark in january.

this week is numba nine.

i'm hoping that mine shows up this month.

regards

--r

 

[auxair]

I ordered my Anniversary A-2 Seal Brown HH and pre-war Irvin through Mark in the first week of Oct 2008 (i.e. 21 weeks). Still eagerly awaiting their delivery.

 

[OneEyeMan]

Woah, that's a long time!!
Probably got caught up in the Christmas rush.
Lenny

 

[nickn5]

I was also informed about three or four weeks ago by Aero that a leather jacket of mine needing repairs (a new waistband) would take at least two months, maybe more, as they are so busy. Eastman leather didn't even reply to my query, so they must be even busier...

N.

 

[Raymundo]

According to what I have read, the Sterling may drop more vs the dollar and may even be in parity with it in the future. If this happens, I would assume Aero will raise it's prices. Time will tell.

Ray

 

[matrioshka]

Think of it like this...

If you had to buy one leather jacket, knowing that you wouldn't be able to afford one for a few years, what would you buy? It could be the last big splurge for some people...

You know you'll get your money's worth out of it.

M

 

[rnrswitch]

I purchased a bootlegger just over 8 weeks ago and still have yet to receive it. I was told it would most likely be done before the 8 weeks, but I haven't heard anything. I ordered through the US distributor and he hasn't been all that much help in giving me a more up to date ETA on the jacket. He seems to ignore my emails...

 

[bbc1969]

I ordered my first custom made leather jacket today. It is an Aero Highwayman. I ordered via Aero USA. Mark advised it would be at least 12weeks at this point. I was very pleased with his attention to detail, and exchanged at least a half dozen emails with him in 24 hours. Plus, I decided not to pay via the ebay link. His last email said it was ok to call in the evening, and I got him at around 7:30PM his time.

He was still working on orders. The better exchange rate has led to an increase in orders according to him.

 

[PaulC]

Incidentally,I've just ordered a brown FQHH Barnstormer and according to Will,i'm the first UK based order they've had for over a month...USA,Japan,and in Europe,Germany are leading the way at the moment.The turn around is still 8 weeks..He said despite the current climate they're having a great time of it,and are absolutely inundated,which is good news...unless you're waiting for a jacket of course.

 

[bobjones]

I ordered my brown FQHH Highwayman today, and was told it should be about 8 weeks, taking me well into May and probably too warm to wear here in the BA.

At this point, anyone in North American/Europe ordering should probably just accept that Aero is clearly overwhelmed with orders given the weakness of the pound, and that the next time you will be able to really wear your new jacket will be in Sept/October.

There is little point to trying to rush the order now, by leaning on Aero because even if they hustle to get it out you might get just a few weeks of wear, anyway.

Bottom line, best time to order is probably June, when Aero is a bit slower and by the time they finish/ship, it would be arriving in time for the Fall Leather Jacket Wearing Season.

 

[rnrswitch]

I would like to retract my statements above, as it seems like it was meant to be some type of large complaint about the service from the US distributor.

I was more trying to give the impression that Aero is inundated with orders to the extent that all in the process: distributors, manufacturing, etc. are backed up.

I, like the poster above, was overwhelmed by the support during the ordering process which Mark gave me. He had an attention to detail and even threw in some extra details on the jacket for free.

I just can't wait to get the jacket and hope I get it soon as Cali is heating up at the moment.