American consumers may joke about how so many products are “Made in China” these days, but Bloomberg Businessweek is hearing that plenty of Chinese consumers now prefer products with a “Made in America” label, particularly as a differentiator online.
“Fears of being cheated or buying fake goods” is behind all the “Made in the USA” interest, CNBC reports. Even if the products are made in China, highlighting “quality domestic production to gain a sales edge” is becoming increasingly common on the mainland.
As labor costs increase in China, U.S. companies, particularly small and midsize ones, are starting to produce domestically and then export. As Americans continue keeping a tight grip on their wallets, e-commerce and access to ports has made this new wave of exporting possible.
“Inside regional U.S. airports, entrepreneurs are boarding international flights to pitch products,” according to CNBC. “Workers at U.S. ports are loading more containers, packed with everything from U.S.-origin lumber to glass.”
“It used to be that if you said more or less you wanted a low-cost manufacturer, you go to South America and Asia,” Hal Sirkin, senior partner at The Boston Consulting Group, told CNBC. “If you wanted a high-cost manufacturer, you go to Europe and the U.S. That’s no longer true.”
The loss of so many U.S. jobs overseas (offshoring) in recent years has yet to subside, but the reshoring of American manufacturing jobs has helped. “The bleeding has stopped,” Harry Moser, president of the Reshoring Initiative, which monitors U.S. manufacturing, told CNBC. Exports, though, keep going up and hit a record high in March.
As China Law Blog points out, picking the right overseas manufacturer is crucial since it can mean the difference between turning out a safe product and one that draws major lawsuits.
One thing that’s also made in the USA that consumers elsewhere probably wouldn’t like to see imported: rude salespeople.
A recent study found that consumers actually spend more at high-end brands when they aren’t treated well, CNNMoney reported today. Shoppers of such high-end products apparently want to feel that they are in an exclusive club, and being welcomed as “one of us” by a snooty shop assistant reinforces the feeling that they’ve made it.
Of course, plenty of nations likely have their own (homegrown) insolent sales staff and don’t need to import any more.
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