PART FIVE - Commentary & SignificanceThe
Mayfair has been largely ignored by collectors; yet it was one of
Victa's most enduring designs. I have argued here that the Mayfair was
Victa's first
true Stencil Brand lawnmower.
There has been some good recording of what - at first glimpse - was an
earlier rendition of the stencil brand in the form of the
red Model 5 machines seen on these forums. However, I feel that particular machine
was most likely not a stencil mower, but a lawnmower built for one or
two large clients. Its story has not been told.
The Mayfair appeared in
1965 for specific purposes - that it could be
sold to various dealers in order to combat the opposition manufacturers.
Victa's
John Mason tells that story in an associated article
(see
Related Reading).
Initially the name 'Victa' was not associated with the Mayfair, but
within a couple of years it was an open secret. Both the stencil Mayfair
and the store brand spin-offs associated Victa with the products.
The main purpose of the Mayfair, though, was to offer a
compromise between the duality of interests emerging in the industry - the
hundreds of small atomistic Victa dealerships, and the emerging
Mass Merchandisers.
The mass merchandisers were not like the large, old Department Stores -
who offered after sales service, spares and repairs, all in-house. The
new breed just
SOLD - at discount prices - and relied on the dealer
network for everything else.
The Mayfair was commercially political in that it walked a tight-rope
of competing interests for the times. Victa were living on borrowed time
though - the days when manufacturers (like Victa) could dictate selling
prices as a condition of dealership were coming to a close. The
Trade
Practices Act of 1972 essentially changed the commercial balance in
favour of Big business. A buyer could buy 250 (or much more) store brand
mowers at a 'special price' and sell at a 'special price'. One argument -
unconvincing - said that the consumer would be the winner. Today, never
have lawnmowers been cheaper - but it has come at a high price.
The rest is history.--------------------------
Jack