An open letter from Leo, to our customers:

On December of 2002, Schott informed us that they intended to stop all internet sites from selling Schott products.  The logic behind this decision was to take control over their brand image and to have the official Schott website as the sole place to buy Schott products online.  We have had a very good relationship with Schott for over 25 years.  During the last 3 years we have been in the top 3 for US retailers.  But Schott didn't think we portrayed the image Schott wanted and wanted to "raise" the prices for their products.

Over the months that followed we had many conversations with Schott.  At first they agreed to extend their deadline until the Spring which eventually got pushed out until Summer.  They still wanted us to be a retail customer and continue to sell their products in our regular store.  They also offered to let us continue to sell on our website if we charged full list price.  We normally sell their products both online and in the store at about a 20% discount.  We didn't that was fair to our online customers as they would be charged more than walk in customers.

Eventually we decided to end our purchasing relationship with Schott.  There were several reasons for this decision:

1. We have about 700 Schott jackets in stock and sell about 500 per year, which 90% are sold online
2. We felt Schott's actions were price fixing in nature
3. Schott's quality has declined in recent years and they have started to import jackets made outside the US

Since we are no longer able to get new inventory, we have decided to sell off our existing inventory at reduced prices.  We are in the process of updating our online catalog to remove items that are no longer available.  Some things like the 141, size 40 in black are already gone.

As always, we appreciate your business.  We look forward to providing you with the best products at competitive prices.

Leo