Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Adidas defends price of All Blacks jersey

Updated at 9:33 pm on 8 August 2011

Adidas is continuing to defend the price of its All Blacks Rugby World Cup jersey in the face of mounting criticism from retailers and fans.

The recommended retail price is $NZ220, but people can buy it for less than half that on the internet.

Rebel Sports, one of New Zealand's biggest sellers of the new jersey, met with Adidas on Monday in a bid to sort out what it calls a pricing fiasco.

General manager Rod Duke says his stores are not selling the jerseys at the rate he would have expected because the jersey is cheaper online.

Whakatane Sportsworld owner Tony Bonne says sales had also been unexpectedly flat and decided to make a stand and offer the jersey for the online price on Friday. He says he quickly sold out.

On Monday, Adidas released a statement saying the New Zealand price is reasonable and retailers are at liberty to price the product to their customers as they see fit.

The company attributed the price differences due to the relatively high cost of doing business in New Zealand and recent currency fluctuations.

The Retailers' Association says the price difference shows why online purchases from overseas should have goods and services tax (GST) added to provide an even playing field for local shops.

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