Made in ............................
Reading about inferior foreign can openers, and Malcolm having difficulty in finding products "Made in England", suppose also applies to Wales, Scotland and N Ireland, it got me thinking why.
Is it the fault of consumers for wanting everything on the cheap,and the throwaway culture or the superstores for wanting cheap products to make massive profits.
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I don't want any goods 'on the cheap' cariadon -- just things that work properly.
My can openers clamp onto the rim of the can and cut nicely thro' it so that it comes away neatly without leaving a finger amputating sharp edge. One in the house & one in the 'van.
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I’m not sure how people conclude that paying less for a cheap product, leads to larger retail profits. On the contrary, I imagine that Harrods earn a larger profit from selling a single can opener, than Poundland do on a cheapie. Somewhere between the two, lies a ‘sweet spot’ where the balance between quality and price is optimal for the customer. For most people it’s economics which dictate our buying choices, which might include buy cheap today and replace later. Many of us started with shoestring budgets and young families, which doesn’t mean that we were foolish just because we enjoy luxury equipment in our dotage.
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Not quite sure what you mean by "superstore" but I imagine something like a large Tesco or ASDA supermarkets, or maybe IKEA? That type of store relies on volume of sales rather than a high mark-up on the individual item. Although if they are sourced from China the mark-up could also be quite high. It's probable that in the main they can't compete on the choice that you might find in Lakeland or John Lewis so they have to tackle it from a price perspective. It's clear from the people on here who say they shop at Aldi or Lidl that price is often the main driver of their shopping habits so many might be prepared to buy cheap and as you say buy twice? As to being Made in England I somehow wonder how much in the way of kitchen gadgets are. That is not to say that products made in China can't be of good quality it depends on the original specification and price band. After all aren't all iPhones made in China?
David
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Problem is. Even British brands are made in low rent areas.
Today I am listening to a premium Ruark Radio, made in China.
Yesterday I bought a Dyson vacuum cleaner. Made in Malaysia. My Clark’s shoes, made in Vietnam. Bought a pair of Hunter Wellies recently? Made in China. On the foot wear front I do have a pair of Church’s shoes made in England, but owned by Prada. You can’t win
The rule of thumb is if it says designed/engineered/concerted in England, then it won’t be made there
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If you put in a search for uk companies in you area you'd probably find quite a few, from small rural producers to the larger companies and suppliers to various companies. It's nice to see the "made in X" bit but you'll probably find something made here unseen in a lot of things.
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There are these. I think they are made in Germany.
Certainly not cheap.
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It's clear from the people on here who say they shop at Aldi or Lidl that price is often the main driver of their shopping habits
Not really clear David. I shop at both Asda and Lidl when at home. The reason that I use Lidl is not down to price. I prefer their meat and veg in the main. I find their meat better in general.
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The UK always does well at producing low volume high quality things. The trouble is, and it's not just the UK, they can't compete with often high tech low wage (relatively) economies like China. I remember years ago that Kenwood set up their own factory in China to produce kettles and toasters. This means you can buy a toaster for £20/30 which will give you perfectly good service. On the other hand if you want a British built toaster a Dualit toaster will cost over a hundred pounds depending on model. The advantage of the Dualit is that any part of it can be replaced or repaired so they can go on for ever whereas the £20 toaster is often not economic to repair so people usually replace.
David
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