Tim / all,
I noticed no one else piped in after we last talked shop. An interesting and related development is happening for our group at the moment. While demand for our innovation and development services has lessened from our Chinese clientele, a better alternative is showing it’s potential. We’re working with one of our guys on the ground in China and a newly formed distribution arm to export ‘made in the USA’ products for sale in China. As you’d expect, we’ve had to filter the potential products based on the chance and speed-to-market of knock-offs but this is an opportunity for which we’d been waiting nearly 5 years - only now is it feasible, as the Chinese middle class is beginning to show true purchasing power along with an equal desire for Western brands.
While we might selfishly hope to see a continuation of less manufacturing in China with a parallel rise of a return to US manufacturing, I’m not so sure that will really happen. I think other developing regions will simply take the torch of low-cost labor from China - so we’re going to bet our investments on products made here that offer true value-add and have unique appeal to targeted groups of Chinese consumers.
As I can share more in the coming year I will do so. We’re excited about the idea of turning the tables for the benefit of both sides.