we all know that the more famous mid-range clothing brands like Nike and Gap etc have various
factories around the world that produce their line of clothing. supposing that you were out for
a new pair of jeans from Gap for example, and you came across one which is made in china and the
other made in turkey, but both of the same desired design. instinctively, based on the
country of manufacture, which would you favour?

assuming then that you favour the made in turkey one, would you be willing to pay more (say maybe 100HKD) for it
considering that it is of the exact same design as the made in china one?

Hmmm....you will find more and more companies are producing their products in greater China or other countries that can be produced cheaply like Turkey, Vietnam, etc. For clothing I don't really think it really matters that much in quality and price. Did you know that some Evisu jeans are produced in Macau and not in Japan!!!!

On the other hand, for Japanese electronics, they are now moving to China to produce their goods to reduce costs. That said, their products produced in Japan carry a price premium compared with the same product manufactured in China. Most people in HK are willing to pay the extra price premium for quality assurance.

[ Last edited by  asia-play at 2-10-2009 00:36 ]

It matters for some things , motorbike gear I only buy stuff made in Europe , Dainese used to be excellent quality gear then they moved production to vietnam and the stuff was dangerous to wear the traditional triple stitching went down to single stitching and there was no QA involved. I crashed once at very high speed and these leathers fell apart.(quality assurance)

Granted Hein Gericke also moved to Vietnam everything is finished and QA'd in Germany before it hits the shops.

Other things I reckon there isn't much choice ie where else are you going to buy stuff from? , laptops and all such like bar maybe Asus all come from China/Malaysia etc.

But I think the cheaper made in China isn't a good thing , (namely as the workers dont exactly benefit much) and the fact that because its so cheap to just make anotehr one quality assurance is completely lacking. I went through 7 routers made in China in a period of 4 months , it was cheaper for me to just bin the router and be sent a new one. I'd rather pay a premium than be replacing it constantly.

Also I think everything is being made disposible which isn't a good thing , in that the this helps to deskill the population even more , maids in many HK homes means people don't know how to cook or clean its not even a difficult task!.

In the 1980s everybody knew how to fix cars , boilers and such like , today ? , it breaks get a new one. Its why alot of people dare not go adventure touring like I did they have utterly no ability to fix things , and such a situation terrifies them.

In the past, it used to be a brand name. Goods 'made in Japan' are supposed to carry a subtext "high quality control". Now? No longer matters i think.

I agree with Kennichi; it definitely does matter.

When companies globalize production they implicitly move all the burden for quality control into their QC process itself.  While that sounds sensible on the surface you actually lose a lot of quality when you transfer work from a skilled labor pool with a history of craftsmanship to an unskilled labor pool with a very different set of standards.  While the QC department may be the final check on quality, unless you're doing 100% QC checks (and who the hell does that?) you're at the mercy of your labor force.

Now in some things it matters more than others: having a skilled worker running your forging process for metal alloy cranks is going to save you from errors that QC would never even find, but do you need that same level of skill for sewing a pair of jeans?  Probably not, and the ultimate saving grace is that no one's life depends on the jeans, whereas the crank might be going in an aircraft engine.

So with a skilled labor pool, steeped in a tradition of craftsmanship, you have multiple lines of defense against defect production.  With an unskilled, lowest cost labor pool it's all on your inspection process.

[ Last edited by  TheButler at 2-10-2009 04:29 ]

For Nike/GAp and similar range brand, not really matters.....

But i would never pay premium price for higher end brands or luxury goods.
sorry but I dont trust Made In China.
Maybe I see it differently 10 yrs down the road when LV and hermes is also made in china while IWC, Panerai or Tiffany factories all move to the inland.

Evisu is really quite an interesting brand. it ain't exactly a high street mid-range label but it definitely does not
belong to the 'elite' clothing lines like Prada, Zegna etc. i visited its Savile Row boutique in London a couple
of times and yes, many of their products carried the "Made in Macao SAR" tag. now, i have a mate who swears
by their range and his wardrobe is chucked with the Evisu stuff. winter or summer, there will be an article of
clothing on him that is Evisu.

once, i asked him that since Evisu was his fashion staple brand, does he know where his clothes were
manufactured? he said of course he does and that 90% of his Evisu gear is made in macao. i replied that
technically speaking, "made in macao" could be intepreted as "made in china", would it then make a
difference if the tag read "made in china"? and he said quite quickly said yes! he felt that to spend
that kind of money on a shirt or pair of jeans, he would need to assure himself that the quality was
worth his money and he associated "made in china" with poor quality instantly.

he was willing to stop spending on his favourite clothes label purely based on the country where it
was manufactured. and i asked if the pricing was lower based on the fact that it was "made in china"
and he hesistated: "how much lower?"

guess there will always be a market for the "made in china" brand despite the misgivings of the
consumer.

For some product lines of Evisu, some are still produced in Japan, like their limited edition lines. Even Burberry have moved their shirt production lines from the UK to China because of cost.

The point is that most brands will get their mass product lines manufactured in lower cost producing countries and keep their flagship products manufactured in their home country or country with quality production standards.

The Apple iPhone is assembled in China, no wonder why there are so many problems with the product

Same with Civi gals and WGs....

I agree with Hunter here. For a pair of jeans it 'shouldn't' matter where they are made. This is of course assuming that QC standards are the same in either country. However, I'm sure most ppl will have some point heard/experienced the same product but made in different country, having different durability. A typical example that comes to mind would be shoes.

As for the 'made in China' issue or moniker, I think this is a very traditional and maybe a very 90's approach to it all. Yes, China products are cheap and Yes in some cases they aren't very durable but 'made in China' doesn't always mean it's a lesser product.

For all the other iPhone users out there, have you checked what's written on the back of your iPhone? it says:
'Designed by Apple in California Assembled in China'

LOL, iPhone was mentioned whilst I typed my reply.
I don't think the iPhone has physical problems but I do agree it may have software issues. Mine has only every frozen on me once and that's in over 6 months of everyday usage.

Talking bout shoes. It really does matter, the quality sucks, even if it is full leather inner and outer. China has yet to reach the standard.
China shoes are ill-fitting are caused blisters and corns all over your toes.

We should stick to European-made leather shoes. Comfy and long lasting....

Hey, sorry if I didn't make it clear. What I meant was that an example where manufacturing countries made a difference was shoes
Typically, when we think of quality shoes we think Italian, very unlikely that anyone will think of China (unless they've only worn Chinese shoes )

I think your all wrong about shoes. The most expensive pair of shoes I have, bought on impulse in a moment of insanity, are from 'agnes b'. They're made in France and I've hade to stick both soles back on after they came unglued. My favourite shoes - Timberland, made in China; Lacoste, made in Vietnam and MBT, made in China. All high quality products.

Timberland - back in the old days when it was Made in UK, it was perfect. I bought one 2 yrs ago for outdoor adventure,  I got blister on my toes. I blame it bcos it was made in china.

Lacoste/MBT - never bought one before.

Well maybe different foot fits different shoes.

As for Agnes B, it is crap. Fashion brand. Even for the clothings.

Shoes of european, I mean A.testoni and Berluti.
My dad's favourite - Bally, but not now, some also made in Asean and China.
My personal favourite for office wear - Salvatore Ferragamo.

I think you get QC problems in many countries, but in my experience Chinese factory bosses don't want to waste money on QC, and the staff don't have a strong concept of getting it perfect.

On the other hand, Japanese bosses and staff are often perfectionists. I don't think I've ever had problems with Japanese electronics made in Japan.

On the other hand, Japanese electronics that are made in China do seem to have more problems. Chinese brands are even worse. Sharp vs Shinco = quality vs low cost

i'm sure all of us are familiar with Abercrombie & Fitch. the brand itself is synoymous with quality. unfortunately,
outside of the States, they only have boutiques in a few other countries (UK and Japan). just a word of warning
to all A&F fans...if a shop in HK sells A&F clothing, you can be almost 100% certain that it is a fakie. there was talk
that A&F would be expanding their operations to include more countries in Asia (HK being one of them) but as yet,
this has not happened.

the thing about A&F clothing is that they are produced in several different countries but China is not one of them.
countries include Vietnam, Marianna Islands and Macao (although some fakes carry the Made in Macao label as well).
i have 2 deer brook white polo shirts from A&F, one made in Vietnam and the other in Marianna Islands. so i conducted
my own personal test: i hand washed them 2 times, machine washed them 3 times and let them hang out in the summer
sun on 2 occasions (both shirts together at the same time).

now this is QC at its best: both of them showed no different signs of wear! its almost as if they were
produced in the same factory in the same batch. no yellowish hint (as is common with poor quality white clothing), no
shrinkage and the fabric remained as strong as when i first got them.

i have seen differences in quality of other clothing brands where their lines are produced in different countries but
A&F is really amazing! they got their QC and production method down to the detail.

Just a final reminder to all A&F fans: They are never "Made in China" on the label! One of the few brands that have not
cost-cut to the mainland...yet.

A&F will soon be hitting Asia soon with Hong Kong being the first market being targeted.

Let's wait and see if the products sold in HK are not manufactured from the Mainland...

they have already been in Japan for quite awhile. then there followed this period of stagnation where they announced plans to go further in Asia (with HK as the next market.)
actually, i think they have a larger following in HK than in Japan. would have
made more economic sense to establish the flagship in HK but well, could be commercial red
tape or whatever, but glad its finally coming to fruition

'Resisting' the "Made in China" label is probably one of the greatest challenges that A&F (and
any other clothing company in their position) would face. Yes, you are quite right bro, i remain
quite skeptical whether they can continue to maximise profits without having to move
production operations to the mainland.

But as with the Evisu brand, i'm sure that they will reserve
production of their premium lines with their current bases at the very least. A&F should not
need to move their operations completely into the mainland.