LONDON: The Brexit squeeze on UK consumers tightened on Friday as Apple Inc. and Electrolux AB responded to the falling pound by charging more for their products in Britain. Apple quietly raised the cost of some of its machines including the “Mac Pro” by 20 per cent overnight, while Sweden’s Electrolux said it’s boosting the prices of its home appliances by 10 per cent.
With inflation already accelerating at the fastest in two years, price pressures are likely to mount as the weakest pound in three decades forces up the cost of imports just weeks before Christmas. The price hikes came days after “Marmitegate” saw supermarket Tesco Plc battle with supplier Unilever over the cost of goods and Microsoft Corp. began charging Britons more for some of its software. “We will see more price increases, possibly more at the higher end of the market, and we’ll see a significant squeeze on real incomes and then we’ll see how it plays out,” said Kit Juckes, a London-based strategist at Societe Generale SA.
Apple began charging £2,999 ($3,650) for its “Mac Pro” desktop machine, up from £2,499 earlier in the week. The “Mac Mini” now retails at £479 compared to 399 pounds. The US prices for the Mac Mini and Mac Pro haven’t been changed. “Apple suggests product prices internationally on the basis of several factors, including currency exchange rates, local import laws, business practices, taxes, and the cost of doing business,” an Apple spokesman said in a statement. “These factors vary from region to region and over time, such that international prices are not always comparable to US suggested retail prices.”
Electrolux Chief Executive Officer Jonas Samuelson said in a telephone interview that “we need to compensate” for the cheaper pound by raising prices of its goods such as fridges and washing machines. Separately, British Airways owner IAG SA blamed the pound as it cut its earnings outlook for the second time since the Brexit vote.
