First Marmite, now Macs.
The pound has dropped by 18% versus the dollar since the Brexit referendum (and similar against the euro, yen, and other major currencies), creating a headache for foreign companies selling their wares in the UK. To defend its profit margins, Unilever recently hiked prices for Marmite and a range of other products at British supermarkets.
Apple has followed suit, raising prices across its entire range of laptops and desktops in the UK. The company apparently timed the price increases to coincide with the launch of its new Macbook Pro yesterday. Prices for older models are now as much as 25% higher than before.
Here’s the breakdown:
Apple’s online store in the UK also shows that the 11-inch Macbook Air is no longer available for sale, adding weight to the notion that its entry-level laptop range won’t last for much longer. We’ve contacted Apple to ask why the prices have been increased.
Apple did the same for mobile devices. When the iPhone 7 was launched last month, it took the opportunity to raise prices across its iPhone line in the UK, and included some iPads and accessories for good measure. iPhone prices were raised by 16% at the time.
Apple is not the first tech company to hike its UK prices. Microsoft is raising its cloud computing prices for businesses by over 20%.