May 9, 2013
Is Georgie Pie’s pricing too high?
The news media is covering an apparent public backlash over the price of reintroduced Georgie Pie pies.
Is $4.50 for a steak and cheese pie too expensive?
It wasn’t easy to track down past prices for Georgie Pie pies, but thanks to an old ad on YouTube, I found out that in 1993, small Georgie Pie steak and cheese pies cost $1 and large ones $2.
It’s not clear what size the new pies will be. However, if we use the
Consumer Price Index to get an idea of what those 1993 prices would be today, we get $1.60 for a small pie and $3.20 for a large.
Ignoring the CPI for a moment – you can get a decent pie for $3.50-$4.00 in your bog standard, average dodgy bakery. Posh ones in some cafes are going for $8-$9 (which is a bit silly)
So $4.50 – not stupidly high, but it would have to be a really good pie for it to be considered a value purchase. And as much as I fondly recall Georgie Pie, one thing they were not, is a really good pie.
11 years ago
If you’re happy with a fairly dodgy pie there are plenty to be found for under $2.
11 years ago
There’s an interesting blog post from Kris, who used to work at Georgie Pie in the ’90s. He notes that when the dollar menu was increased ($1 to $1.10, etc), even though it was a tiny, understandable rise, there was a huge customer backlash. People loved paying $1 for a pies even more than they loved the pies.
The Georgie Pie documentary also notes that the pricing structure meant that Georgie Pie had an incredibly slim profit margin on the pies, and that’s one of the reasons they went bust. Apparently they actually used good quality meat, which is a significant cost!
So it seems that while GP fans are dreaming of a return of the $1 pies they enjoyed as students, the factors of inflation, increasing food costs and McDonald’s understandable desire to make a profit is going to rule out the return of cheapie pies.
11 years ago
As a comparison price point I wandered down the street (Dunedin) to the Coupland’s bakery where they were $3. But I should note that, assuming a same general level of pie quality, they do not maintain eating areas, patron toilets, or other people space costs.
11 years ago
This is one piece of nostalgia I don’t understand. Georgie Pie was terrible. It still is the only place I know that would sell you a “steak” pie with mince in it, the argument being that it was “a higher grade” of mince. I’m hoping for horse.
11 years ago
James, that’s a bit rude isn’t it! They’re trying their best you ungrateful little rodent!
11 years ago