China and Quality (or lack there of)
I went to a local retailer (hardware type of store) the other day to pick up a few hand tools for our warehouse. As I approached the store, I saw a couple of Chinese knock-offs of the Series 7 chair by Arne Jacobsen. These were horrible representations of this chair, but the likeness was there and I knew without looking that they were probably selling them for about the cost of freight. As I entered further into the store, I also noticed an upholstered arm chair and a contemporary swivel chair as well. So, as I grabbed the tools that I needed and was heading out the door, I noticed the price on the “series 7 chairs”, $39.95, I wasn’t too surprised, but I was thinking that this was a new low. But then I noticed that the price tag said “Per Box” and then “2 Per Box”
So, under $20 per chair. Now that is a new low.
When I got back to the showroom, we had a discussion regarding the boom going on in China and we touched on a point that I thought might be worth mentioning. It seems to me that most of the product coming out of China is of lesser quality. The metals and materials seem inferior, the fittings and the finish as well. From what I understand, labour is cheap in China. So why are they not spending just a little more time, using better quality materials and manufacturing a better quality product?
It seems to me that if they doubled the quality of that chair, then they wouldn’t have a terribly bad chair for the price. (I’m only talking quality, not design) So, that chair might now be $40 and be twice as good in the quality department. Personally, double isn’t quite enough, but you get the idea.
So, when are they going to start to realize that more and more people are demanding quality these days and that this is becoming a larger part of the market everyday. The car industry in Asia has already caught on, so I am going to bet that it is only a matter of time before their furniture industry does as well and if that ever happens, then lookout. Luckily, China is still very lacking in the “original design” category and I think that this is where the big hitters have got an advantage. China seems to want to take the easy road to furniture manufacturing and to date, that hasn’t included much time coming up with their own original designs. But then maybe someone out there can prove me wrong.
Of course, there is another problem that we are going to have to deal with soon, billions of dollars in disposable furniture, that will all be coming to a landfill near you in the very near future.
Tags: arne jacobsen, china, chinese, imported furniture, knock off
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:22 pm
Have you ever, EVER put an original piece versus a high quality reproduction? There are some crappy reproductions coming out of China, but believe me, reproduction retailers are not selling them. A couple of years ago, I had a Womb chair that I unfortunately gave away. So I started looking for another one and to my suprise, another retailer was selling a reproduction to the original. I too was weary, but I have the chair now and I will tell you that the quality is not lacking at all. I agree, some knock offs are really bad, but I’ve bought from another retailer with a passion and I love their Womb chair, Barcelona chair, and would definitely recommend them
September 5th, 2007 at 2:13 am
I am in complete agreement with Diane, as both an exporter and retailer of "knock-offs" or unlicenced reproductions, I know that many of the very cheap versions of designer furniture manufactured in China are poor in both construction and finish. However there are some very good ones too. I retail a version of the Eames lounge chair and sell it for the equivalent of USD$1,850, according to my customers, it is every bit as good as a Hermann Miller or Vitra version, and several have commmented that the quality is actually better. The same also applies to a Barcelona chair i sell for a similar price and I receive similar remarks. Incidently, I also offer customers licenced versions, they pay the money and make their own choice.
September 30th, 2007 at 6:02 pm
Living room lamps can add so much value to your home as well as give it a feel of class and elegance.
July 9th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
This is a fairly predictable event, it happened before and is happening now. First the economy focuses on what it can do well with cheap labor, cheap knock offs, then people start getting training and quality of the knock offs improves. Given enough time those people become highly trained and start producing their own products for the same reason any one else would, because they want to. I personally feel kind of sad knowing that in ten\twenty years cheap products from China will be no more. If you need any proof just look to Japan.