Provo Craft

News

home: news: press releases

All Press Releases

Cricut clarification

Dear Interested Reader,

We have noticed the postings regarding the Cricut Personal Electronic Cutter™ and have grown increasingly concerned at the number of misperceptions or misinterpretations of our policies that exist, most of which seem to be centered on the Minimum Advertised Price policy. Understanding that MAP is new to the crafting industry, we would like to clarify our policy and address various concerns around its implementation and enforcement.

Provo Craft unilaterally implemented a Minimum Advertised Pricing policy on certain products within the Cricut line to protect the brands image and long-term legacy in the marketplace. The Minimum Advertised Price policy is an advertising policy not a pricing policy. MAP policies have often been successfully used in many other industries for similar reasons. Our policy does not include in-store or point-of-purchase advertising. Any retailer can choose to advertise the Cricut product line for any advertised price they would like within their stores. The MAP policy does not restrict or otherwise influence the prices at which products are actually sold. Retailers are free to sell the products at any price they choose.

The MAP policy was distributed to every retailer who was interested in becoming a Cricut retailer. Each new retailer had to acknowledge they read the MAP policy and understood that a violation of it could result in termination of that retailer as a Cricut retailer. This acknowledgement is not an agreement, as Provo Craft unilaterally implemented the MAP policy and unilaterally enforces it. We must, at all times, unilaterally enforce this policy regardless of the size of the retailer or their placement in the marketplace. This means that we must treat all violators equally without negotiating with the particular retailer.

There has been much speculation with regard to who has violated the MAP policy, the manner in which violations have occurred, and who Provo Craft has enforced it against. Because we truly care about each of our customers, we do not disclose the identity of those who have violated. We are treating any violators of the MAP policy equally without regard to the size of the customer. It is important to note that no retailer would receive communication that they violated the MAP unless there had been an actual violation to the policy. Because the use of a MAP policy is new to our industry, there has been some confusion as to the purpose behind it. There may be those who violated the MAP policy and received a suspension letter who believe they were targeted because of their size. To the contrary, Provo Craft is unilaterally enforcing our MAP policy for the protection and benefit of all of our Cricut retailers.

I would also like to help with the Internet shopping cart questions. Anyone can place a product into a shopping cart on any Internet site and see the price the product is being sold for. This has nothing to do with the MAP policy and would not be a violation to it. However, the domain outside of the shopping cart is considered advertising and that is governed by the MAP policy. For example, it is not a violation of the MAP policy if there is a note on a site that states Place in shopping cart to see your price and the price is shown inside the cart. However, if there is an advertisement that indicates a price which falls below the MAP policy prior to actually pulling up a shopping cart, it is advertising and would be in violation of the MAP policy.

There may be times when Provo Craft sees a need to update their MAP policy in some way. At which time, we send communication to all retailers regarding the update.

There have been questions regarding who owns this wonderful product line. Provo Craft is proud to offer the Cricut product line to our customers. We are the exclusive owner and manufacturer of the Cricut product line including the Cricut machine and cartridges. We have no plans to sell the product line to any other entity. It is and shall remain a Provo Craft exclusive product.

In closing, we care about our independent retailers and their success and understand the challenges that exist in a competitive marketplace. We have been working on strategies that will better differentiate each segment of our industry and look forward to having a forum at the upcoming CHA Winter Tradeshow where we an share these with all of our independent retailers.

Most sincerely,

Cathy W. Davis
Director of Communication and Training
Provo Craft and Novelty, Inc.

SOURCE:Provo Craft and Novelty Spanish Fork, Utah - December 15, 2006

For additional information please contact:
Media Relations
Provo Craft™ & Novelty
mediarelations@provocraft.com
www.provocraft.com

February 6, 2009
Provo Craft Unveils the Yudu™ Personal Screen Printer

February 6, 2009
Provo Craft Demonstrates New Cricut® Cartridges at CHA Winter

February 6, 2009
SpongeBob SquarePants Swims to the Cricut

February 6, 2008
Provo Craft Releases New Cricut Solutions Cartridges

May 14, 2008
Provo Craft's Cindy Wilson Honored for Helping Parents of NICU Babies Preserve Memories

June 11, 2008
Provo Craft Unveils the Cricut Jukebox Cartridge Station

May 29, 2008
Provo Craft's Cricut Expression Receives Honorable Mention at Utah Innovation Awards

February 12, 2008
Cricut Expression Named Best New Product by Readers of Creating Keepsakes Magazine

February 12, 2008
Robert Workman, Tifie Earn Recognition from Craft & Hobby Industry

February 6, 2008
Provo Craft Releases Cricut DesignStudio Software for Cricut Machines

November 19, 2007
Provo Craft™ Invited to Participate in Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

Provo Craft™ Releases In-Demand Cricut Cartridges