School Uniform Competition

Introduction:

Research question: Is there fair competition in the school uniform industry using St Mary’s DSG and St Albans College and their suppliers as sample tests?

At St Mary’s DSG in matric we have the privilege of a new school uniform which includes a skirt, white shirt and a pair of heels or flats. After purchasing my school uniform I realised that the price for 3 pairs of my school uniform was very expensive and this was excluding all the other sport uniform and clothing needed for school. School uniforms are specialised clothing items that are specifically designed for a certain school and mostly are only sold at the school shop or external school uniform shops. Parents are willing to pay the allocated price for their child’s school

I will also evaluate parents in St Mary’s DSG and St Albans College’s view on the matter through a questionnaire. I will evaluate how price fixing and unfair competition contradicts the Consumer Protection Act and Competition Act of South Africa and how the need of the school uniform influences the purchase decisions of consumers also taking into account the layout of the store and how the pricing system affects consumer behaviour.

Through my research task I wish to fulfil the following aims: I would like to investigate if parent’s willingness to pay any price for school uniforms influence unfair pricing and in extreme cases price fixing. I would also like to investigate if school uniform shops adhere to the Consumer Protection Act through their business of selling school uniforms. Lastly I would like to show that parents don’t question the price of the school uniforms due to the fact that the uniform is a necessity which is only sold in one or two shops which influences the consumer decision to accept the current

Categories affecting consumer behaviour:

Personal factors: these are unique to each person and are influenced by their demographics which are defined as race, gender, social upbringing and age.

Psychological factors:

• Motives are an internal force such as a need to fit in, safety, love and belonging, self-esteem and self-actualisation which changes a person’s behaviour to wanting to satisfy or meet a certain goal.

• Perception: “is the process of selecting, organising and interpreting information inputs to produce meaning”(Alex,2008)

• Ability and knowledge: is the way a person learns and retains information allowing knowledge on a certain subject to change a consumers view on purchasing a certain product.

• Attitude: Is a person’s positive or negative feelings towards a tangible or intangible decision and these drive a person’s perceptions.

• Personality: Are a person’s internal attributes which define how a person behaves such as being competitive or