Made in USA preferred in America - AND in China?

[werepossum]

Thought this was pretty cool, if true. http://www.appliancemagazine.com/news.php?article=1628714&zone=0&first=1

Consumers in U.S., China Are Willing to Pay More for Appliances Made in U.S.
Nov 16, 2012 Printable format
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More than 80% of U.S. consumers - and even 60% of Chinese consumers - are willing to pay more for products labeled "Made in USA" than for those labeled "Made in China," according to The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

Appliances were among the "Made in the USA" products that consumers were willing to pay a premium for.

One of the most important reasons for the preference: a large majority of consumers in the United States and in China feel products from the United States are of higher quality.

BCG surveyed more than 5,000 consumers in the U.S., China, Germany, and France, in September 2012, regarding their attitudes toward the value of the Made in USA brand and their actual buying behavior.

The results show U.S. consumers are willing to pay a premium for the Made in USA brand, although the premium varies from 10% to 60%, depending on the product.

The report found that almost 60% of U.S. consumers chose a Made in the USA product over a less-expensive product from China at least one time in the month before the survey.

The report found that almost 50% of Chinese consumers prefer a product made in the United States to a China-made product of similar price and quality.

The premium that Chinese consumers are willing to pay ranges from about 10% to almost 80%, for some products.

More than half of Chinese consumers bought a U.S.-made product instead of a less-expensive, made-in China product at least once in the month before the survey.

"These findings suggest that there's a big opportunity for manufacturers and retailers to command a price premium by promoting the Made in USA brand--not only in the U.S. but also in China," said Harold L. Sirkin, a BCG senior partner and coauthor of the research. "Retailers may want to adjust their strategies to capitalize on the strong consumer interest."

The findings support previous BCG analysis showing that the U.S. is becoming increasingly attractive as a location for making certain products for the U.S. market and as a base for global exports. The U.S. has improved its cost competitiveness compared with China and the advanced economies of Western Europe and Japan, leading BCG to estimate that higher U.S. exports--combined with production "reshored" from China--could create 2.5 million to 5 million new U.S. jobs in manufacturing and related services by the end of the decade.

"The higher brand value of U.S.-made goods is a further reason why companies should rethink their global manufacturing footprint and consider the U.S. as a manufacturing location," said Michael Zinser, a BCG partner who leads the firm's manufacturing work in the Americas and is a coauthor of the Made in America, Again series.

I don't know the accuracy of this survey, but it's encouraging. The major appliance manufacturing sub-industry was one of the last we lost, and hopefully we can take it back before it's all gone. It was a stone cold bitch to be unable to find a front-loading washing machine made in America.

The report also says this is not the case in Europe, where consumers strongly prefer products made in their own countries.

 

[postmortemIA]

yeah, if Chinese know what they are making is crap(ish), wouldn't they rather want something higher quality and more expensive?

also prefer != will buy

 

[Doppel]

They know better than anybody how their Quality control is 🙂

 

[First]

Yeah that's been known for a while actually. I know from personal experience the Chinese see American-made as both a status symbol and as legitimately high quality product.

 

[DucatiMonster696]

Nice....lets start pushing the our brand "Made in America" in China. 🙂

 

[Svnla]

I do not know about China (haven't been there yet) but in other countries in Asia (especially developing ones) , products with well know American brands such as Apple Iphone, Levis jeans, Crest toothpaste, Dell laptop, etc. = high status/well to do.

The rich in Asia are willing to pay top money to get them. They also believe or perceive rather, that American products = safer and higher quality.

<<------ is building his business between Asia and US.

 

[Anarchist420]

I know from personal experience the Chinese see American-made as both a status symbol and as legitimately high quality product.

Kind of like how black people drive the nicest cars and how they like the bottle milk due to their high prenatal testosterone exposure which causes all sorts of problems. Just more evidence that the China and America will go to war against each other because they're just alike in that regard due to big govt... the two binded big govts were made possible by Clinton actively "normalizing" (regulating through treaties, that is) trade relations, a weak currency all of which comes from a not so good population whom are no worse than I. Too many Americans lack the ability to reason just as too many Chinese people lack the ability to reason just as I lack the ability to reason. Belligerents lack the ability to reason so they're usually the ones on the ground or at least in combat or are the state-like rebels.

OTOH, it's not really our fault because we've been tinkered with so much by the globalists. It's all really due to the U.S. govt which controls the U.N. Empire sucks and there is very little I can do about it.

 

[Engineer]

also prefer != will buy

This. These people say that they "prefer" but will buy the Made in China because it's cheaper. Already proven.

 

[Abwx]

If given enough budget the chinese can do very good quality products
still at lower costs than equivalent us made products.

As for quality , Germany and Japan are the most regarded origins
wherever you go in this world.

 

[Matt1970]

More than 80% of U.S. consumers - and even 60% of Chinese consumers - are willing to pay more for products labeled "Made in USA" than for those labeled "Made in China," according to The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

If that were the case we wouldn't have had a nearly $800 Billion trade deficit in 2006 and more foreign cars on the road than you can count. Sorry, I don't buy it.

 

[maddogchen]

Yeah many asian countries will prefer Made in USA which is like luxury items in china. Even though I'm willing to pay more for a made in Germany BMW. I can't afford one so I buy a Honda.

Most Chinese prefer American but can't afford it so they buy Chinese. But if they were richer they would or even richer buy German or French

 

[Engineer]

Yeah many asian countries will prefer Made in USA which is like luxury items in china. Even though I'm willing to pay more for a made in Germany BMW. I can't afford one so I buy a Honda.

Most Chinese prefer American but can't afford it so they buy Chinese. But if they were richer they would or even richer buy German or French

I'm not sure the Chinese government would give them much of a choice to buy USA stuff anyway. They'll tax the crap out of it before it gets there.

Asian government promote their own products and most of their citizens adhere to that very strictly. Just do business with a Japanese company in the US (such as Toyota, Hitachi, etc.) and they will specify Japanese components in their machinery 100% unless a part cannot be found.

 

[God Mode]

I had a lot of problems dealing with Chinese products. Their main problem for me is consistency and quality control. Also, communication from their upper management to the middle managers and workers frequently becomes an issue. In the end, it becomes more expensive than going with the established company from the start.

 

[Charles Kozierok]

The problem is that "made in the USA" doesn't mean what it used to. These days, it usually really means "assembled in the USA with 90%+ of the parts coming from overseas, so we can say it was made in the USA".

I had a problem with my washer a year ago and asked the appliance repair guy which brand he'd recommend as a replacement. He answered "none of the above". In his opinion, they are all crap, all engineered to fall apart after a few years so you need to buy a new one.

But what about the fancy, expensive ones that rich people put into their mansions? They pretty much use the same parts -- people are paying for the brand name, appearance, and an undeserved reputation, and since they can just afford to bring repair people in if there's a problem, they don't really care much how often stuff breaks.

 

[werepossum]

This. These people say that they "prefer" but will buy the Made in China because it's cheaper. Already proven.

Lot of truth to that. One metric was whether the respondent had actually purchased a more expensive American-made product over a cheaper Chinese-made equivalent within the last month. Over 60% of American respondents had, and over 50% of Chinese. Of course, one could purchase ONE America-made product and a couple dozen Chinese-made products and meet that standard . . .

The problem is that "made in the USA" doesn't mean what it used to. These days, it usually really means "assembled in the USA with 90%+ of the parts coming from overseas, so we can say it was made in the USA".

I had a problem with my washer a year ago and asked the appliance repair guy which brand he'd recommend as a replacement. He answered "none of the above". In his opinion, they are all crap, all engineered to fall apart after a few years so you need to buy a new one.

But what about the fancy, expensive ones that rich people put into their mansions? They pretty much use the same parts -- people are paying for the brand name, appearance, and an undeserved reputation, and since they can just afford to bring repair people in if there's a problem, they don't really care much how often stuff breaks.

That's true. My last Whirlpool washer lasted just five or six years before the transmission went out and I've been told that's about average. I went to buy a Maytag, but they are now owned by Whirlpool and three different salesmen told me that Maytag now has more problems than Whirlpool, which everyone seemed to agree was the best. Unfortunately even though I was willing to try another Whirlpool, NO store we could find had ANY American-made washers. We finally bought a Samsung because I prefer a Korean company producing appliances in Korea over an American company which has farmed out its work to Mexico, Canada and Europe. (Ignore that little voice that says we bought it because my wife thought it was pretty and had cool features.) If an American company exports its manufacturing, my loyalty is exported with it.

Same with SUVs unfortunately - the small SUVs I've looked at are at most 60% made in USA and Canada. The only high percentages are the very large SUVs which I can't afford, don't need, don't want, and aren't environmentally friendly. Far too often "Made in America" is either a facade, or not available at all. How can we choose "Made in America" if it isn't offered?

 

[zinfamous]

So if consumers prefer the label, what is to stop China from simply re-labeling their shit?


:hmm:

 

[werepossum]

So if consumers prefer the label, what is to stop China from simply re-labeling their shit?


:hmm:

LOL They actually did that under either Bush I or Clinton, I forget. We authorized "Made in America" zones in China which flew American flags and whose products (made entirely by Chinese workers under Chinese laws) were legally labeled "Made in America". That lasted exactly until it started to be known, then the practice died a very quick death indeed.

 

[K1052]

That's true. My last Whirlpool washer lasted just five or six years before the transmission went out and I've been told that's about average. I went to buy a Maytag, but they are now owned by Whirlpool and three different salesmen told me that Maytag now has more problems than Whirlpool, which everyone seemed to agree was the best. Unfortunately even though I was willing to try another Whirlpool, NO store we could find had ANY American-made washers. We finally bought a Samsung because I prefer a Korean company producing appliances in Korea over an American company which has farmed out its work to Mexico, Canada and Europe. (Ignore that little voice that says we bought it because my wife thought it was pretty and had cool features.) If an American company exports its manufacturing, my loyalty is exported with it.

There are still some us appliance makers but it's mostly the higher end stuff (Sub Zero, Viking, Wolf, etc come to mind) that's still being made here, though even some foreign companies like Bosch and Elextrolux make slighty lower price point appliances in the US.

I also ended up with a Korean w/d set recently, mainly because I had very narrow clearances and they made the only models that would physically fit. Otherwise I would have bought Bosch (always been happy with their appliances).

 

[werepossum]

There are still some us appliance makers but it's mostly the higher end stuff (Sub Zero, Viking, Wolf, etc come to mind) that's still being made here, though even some foreign companies like Bosch and Elextrolux make slighty lower price point appliances in the US.

I also ended up with a Korean w/d set recently, mainly because I had very narrow clearances and they made the only models that would physically fit. Otherwise I would have bought Bosch (always been happy with their appliances).

I didn't look much at the very high end stuff, just what's available in Lowes, Home Depot, Sears, Best Buy, etc. But while I'm willing to buy a $1,200 American-made washer over an equivalent $800 foreign-made washer, I simply can't afford to buy a $2,000 or $3,000 designer washer even if it were made in the USA (which the ones we saw weren't.)

Incidentally we've bought a range, a refrigerator and a freezer within the last year, and all were made in America. Just a washer we couldn't find.

 

[Engineer]

LOL They actually did that under either Bush I or Clinton, I forget. We authorized "Made in America" zones in China which flew American flags and whose products (made entirely by Chinese workers under Chinese laws) were legally labeled "Made in America". That lasted exactly until it started to be known, then the practice died a very quick death indeed.

I've seen companies flat out lie about Made in the USA. A certain automotive company was not supposed to send a certain Ford item to Mexico and it did anyway. It then brought the item back to the USA and did a small, value added service to the item and sold it to Ford as Made in the USA. If US companies can do it to their own stuff, China won't have a problem doing it.

 

[SparkyJJO]

If that were the case we wouldn't have had a nearly $800 Billion trade deficit in 2006 and more foreign cars on the road than you can count. Sorry, I don't buy it.

Tell me the last time you saw a Chinese-built car here 😛

 

[Howard]

If given enough budget the chinese can do very good quality products
still at lower costs than equivalent us made products.

As for quality , Germany and Japan are the most regarded origins
wherever you go in this world.

Don't forget Switzerland.

 

[bignateyk]

Well, the "Made in China" that is sold in China is far worse than the "Made in China" that is sold in the US. I don't blame them.

 

[PingSpike]

The solution is obvious. More legislation must be passed to allow Chinese made goods to be labeled "American Made". Perhaps a Chinese province can be renamed to America or a new word "mäde" can be put in the dictionary that means "sold in". I'm just brain storming here, but you can rest assured our government officials are hard at work creating a system of loopholes that will allow them to muddy the waters even further.

 

[shira]

Thought this was pretty cool, if true. http://www.appliancemagazine.com/news.php?article=1628714&zone=0&first=1


I don't know the accuracy of this survey, but it's encouraging. The major appliance manufacturing sub-industry was one of the last we lost, and hopefully we can take it back before it's all gone. It was a stone cold bitch to be unable to find a front-loading washing machine made in America.

The report also says this is not the case in Europe, where consumers strongly prefer products made in their own countries.

My wife is a Chinese national, living in Chengdu (the capitol of Sichuan province), and the prevailing view there (and I'm sure in all of China) is that Chinese goods are of low quality. American-made products are highly prized in China and often considered status symbols. But American-made products are much more expensive, so most Chinese buy Chinese products.