Clothes and shoes -- more expensive in China?

Clothes and shoes -- more expensive in China?
Apr 15, 2008 20:57
MUDDIEDKNEES Points: Join Date: Apr 1, 2008 Status: offline	I noticed that many popular brands of clothing, accessories, and shoes (and perhaps cosmetics) are more expensive in China than in other parts of Asia and even the west. Nike, Levi's, Lee, Esprit, Guess, etc. -- they are all a lot more expensive here. Also, some consumer electronics, like Viao and Apple laptops, are grossly overpriced. Considering that most clothes and consumer goods are made in China, this seems ridiculous. Does anyone know why?

Apr 15, 2008 20:57

MUDDIEDKNEES
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I noticed that many popular brands of clothing, accessories, and shoes (and perhaps cosmetics) are more expensive in China than in other parts of Asia and even the west. Nike, Levi's, Lee, Esprit, Guess, etc. -- they are all a lot more expensive here. Also, some consumer electronics, like Viao and Apple laptops, are grossly overpriced.

Considering that most clothes and consumer goods are made in China, this seems ridiculous. Does anyone know why?

Apr 15, 2008 21:27	#1
LEONARDO Points: Join Date: May 21, 2007 Status: Offline	Well, MUDDIEDK, the goods you mentioned ( Nike, Levi's, Esprit, Guess, etc) are foreign brands. Some of them are imported from foreign countries. The government charges high customs for these goods. Hence, the cost increases. Cosmetics belongs to luxury goods. The government has imposed strict controls over the import of luxury goods. The customs may be much higher than other imports.

Apr 15, 2008 23:58	#2
GARYKINKADE Points: Join Date: Jan 8, 2008 Status: Offline	LEONARDO....a question. Are some of these name brands manufactured in China then exported to U.S. and elsewhere and then imported back to China?

Apr 16, 2008 20:52	#3
DODGER Points: Join Date: Jul 15, 2007 Status: Offline	I have bought Levi jeans for $15.00 Aud and Polo shirts for $6.00 in Beijing .Perhaps it depends on where you shop? Dodger.

Apr 16, 2008 21:13

LEONARDO
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>>LEONARDO....a question. Are some of these name brands manufactured in China then exported to U.S. and elsewhere and then imported back to China? <<

Yup, Garykincade, it happens quite often. Some foreign name brands outsourced the manufacture. The goods were made in China or Vietnam where the labour cost is cheap. Then the goods might be "exported to US and elsewhere and then imported back to China."
Sometimes, some Chinese went abroad to buy foreign name brand products.After openning the package, to their disappointment, the "Source of Origin" was clearly labelled : "Made in China".

Apr 16, 2008 21:28

MUDDIEDKNEES
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<<I have bought Levi jeans for $15.00 Aud and Polo shirts for $6.00 in Beijing .Perhaps it depends on where you shop?>>

Dodger, I'm impressed--you know how to haggle. =)

I buy fakes myself and all you need is patience and a calculator to get good price. However, I was referring to the stuff sold by the actual brand owners in outlets and department stores. Why do they charge so much? Does the availability of high quality knock-offs cause them to focus on a high-end niche market? This doesn't seem to be the case in other Asian counties (Thailand, Singapore, HK, Philippines) where knock-offs are just as prevalent as they are in China.

Apr 17, 2008 19:44	#6
DODGER Points: Join Date: Jul 15, 2007 Status: Offline	Muddiedk, I'm not sure that I bought Knock-offs as the packaging with the swing tags etc looked kosher to me. I would never shop at a Brand store as the margins are too high. But when you factor in the rent and the cost of the shop fittings etc they need a high mark up. Dodger.

Apr 17, 2008 20:14

MUDDIEDKNEES
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I believe you got high quality knock-offs, which have become very common. I personally suspect that factories outsourced by the big brands to produce the originals have close relationships to the factories that produce these knock-offs. It's not surprising that they have access to the same tags, zippers, fabric, lining materials, etc.

One thing about shops--I agree that they can be a major cost, but most big brands maintain well fitted shops in key areas, even when they are not profitable, as a form of advertising. Having a presence in key areas ensures long term brand recognition (thus profitability) despite the seemingly unjustifiable cost of maintaining fancy physical stores.

Apr 18, 2008 08:22	#8
DODGER Points: Join Date: Jul 15, 2007 Status: Offline	Muddiedk, I may have bought over runs from the same factory. It would be too expencive to copy all of the detail. But agree that the brand stores do exist to push the brand name. Dodger.

Apr 18, 2008 13:22	#9
GARYKINKADE Points: Join Date: Jan 8, 2008 Status: Offline	Thanks for the response LEONARDO. It's a shame the Chinese people(workers) can't get a break on name brand clothing(or merchandise in general) that they produce, but it appears from the thread(s) that the problem has been somewhat solved.

Apr 18, 2008 20:05	#10
MUDDIEDKNEES Points: Join Date: Apr 1, 2008 Status: Offline	Thanks for the interesting exchange, Dodger. It is very possible that you got overruns. I've heard that you can even buy overruns (actually, products that leave through the factory back door) of relatively expensive cell phones that are not supposed to be sold in China.

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