Dandi Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 I've done the 'they don't just make tat in China, they make everything' argument ad nauseum. No-one seems to want to hear it. Unfortunately, it's at a stage where there is simply no domestic manufacturing facilty for many common and essential household items in the UK, whatsoever. That's not to imply there's anything wrong with the ones coming from China. Anyone know why northern Italy is so good/competitive for moulded plastic products? Doesn't make any sense to me- all I can think of is that the transport to Europe is too bulky for the Far East... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNACR Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 Anyone know why northern Italy is so good/competitive for moulded plastic products? Doesn't make any sense to me- all I can think of is that the transport to Europe is too bulky for the Far East... Yes, pretty much it, with plastic containers, costly to ship. Those ubiquitous Really Useful Boxes are one of the few things actually manufactured in this country as they're too pricey to ship. Met the guy who started the company at some social gathering or another. He was an accountant who got fed up of the crappy cardboard boxes offices used for filing so decided to come up with a better alternative. Judging by the offices I've seen virtually no-one has bought them for that intended purpose, I can only assume people have bought them for other purposes of their own initiative as he had seen pretty impressive sales growth. Although with plastic boxes etc. there's the transport factor Italy has a much bigger consumer goods manufacturing sector than this country and are quite dominant in several sectors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frozen_out Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 Was talking about this with cut glass just the other week. Most that you see now - even at the more expensive side - seems to be pressed. No 'sharp' edges - clearly been formed rather than cut. Got some nice older pieces from slovakia, which are cut, and ring like bells. Can't find anything to match them in the main uk shops. Only Crystal will ring. Glass will always sound dull, no matter what the quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruffneck Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 Most stuff like this is just 'playing on the name' - as in old Blitish craftsmanship. 99% Stoke on trent has been closed and/or outsourced to china! Your decanter prob cost no more than .90p to mass produce! Xie Xie/doh jeh - for the business! Yes Actually i saw something the other week that surprised even me Box of chocolates , chocolate from Belgium but made in China. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNACR Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 Yes Actually i saw something the other week that surprised even me Box of chocolates , chocolate from Belgium but made in China. Have to be quite careful these days with confectionery. A fair bit now comes in from China, particularly stuff specially for Halloween or Christmas. Things like the icing hand finishing on long-coded foods like Christmas cakes have to be watched. I just don't really trust foodstuffs from China after all the tainting scares. Having said that, it's very difficult to avoid Chinese honey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruffneck Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 The motorcycle industry in the Sixties/Seventies is a good example of complacency. The Japanese products were derided as vastly inferior to what we were churning out in the Midlands. Look at them now! Yes ,Japan did put out poor quality tat back in the day. Now their workers get paid much higher wages they are putting out top notch stuff. Chinese stuff will always be rubbish unless they lift wages so the workers give a damn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
singlemalt Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 Oh, how the other half live.... people who use an intermediate recepticle to transfer water from the tap to the specific personal drinking recepticle. Now that it class Rodders, class. On a related note, I purchased 4 Whisky tumblers today from Wilkos for the full retail price of 80p (20p each). Daylight ******ing robbery I sincerely hope that you're not intending to drink whisky out of those cheap glasses!?!?! Half of the enjoyment of whisky is to use a glass that's almost as expensive as the bottle of whisky itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikhail Liebenstein Posted January 10, 2010 Author Share Posted January 10, 2010 Not sure what this has got to do with HPC but take a look at Cumbria Crystal. Hand Made in the North West (probably the only UK manufacturer to still hand cut by skilled craftsmen). It does look very nice. You don't know if they stock any down south? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sms26 Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 It does look very nice. You don't know if they stock any down south? According to their website they have a number of retailers in the south of England http://www.cumbriacrystal.com/store-locator.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eek Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 (edited) Yes ,Japan did put out poor quality tat back in the day. Now their workers get paid much higher wages they are putting out top notch stuff. Chinese stuff will always be rubbish unless they lift wages so the workers give a damn. You've got that backwards. Poor quality tat sells for low prices so wages are low. High quality tat sells for high prices so wages could be higher. However because the tat is of higher quality it will either take more skill to make or require more automated help. Both of those items ensure higher wages. You need to invest and spend money for quality. If you are willing to pay for it $500 will pay you a fake watch exactly identical to the retail version. You can also buy a really, really poor quality one for $5. China (often the same factories) can provide both quality and cheap tat. Guess which ones our profiteering retail establishments buy and leave the made in china tag on and which they buy but replace the tag. Edited January 10, 2010 by eek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0q0 Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 (edited) BRC warns of a tough 2010 ahead for retailers Retailers face 'very tough' 2010 Retailers are facing a "very tough" 2010, despite posting upbeat Christmas sales figures, the head of the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned. BRC director general Stephen Robertson said consumer spending may not grow in the face of tax rises and continuing economic uncertainty. "There will be tough sales and perhaps no growth," he said in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph. Marks and Spencer has already warned that 2010 trading will be difficult. AT A GLANCE M&S - like-for-like sales up 0.8% in three months to 26 December John Lewis - revenues of £500.8m in five weeks to 2 January. Like-for-like sales up 12.7% Next - like-for-like sales up 3.2% in 22 weeks to 24 December Asda - said it had a 'solid' Christmas Majestic Wine - like-for-like sales up 11.7% in nine weeks to 4 January Ocado - like-for-like sales up 30% in four weeks to 26 December Shop Direct - sales up 6.3% in six weeks to 1 January Sainsbury's - like-for-like sales up 3.7%, excluding fuel, in the 13 weeks to 2 January. Meanwhile, low-cost fashion retailer Peacocks said on Sunday that its like-for-like sales, which pulls out the impact of new store openings, rose 17% in December and early January. Mr Robertson added that householders were also choosing to save more. The RBC is expected to report on Tuesday that industry-wide sales in December were at least 4% higher than the same month in 2008. It comes after retailers including John Lewis, Next and Sainsbury's all reported strong Christmas trading. Upbeat festive figures are also expected this week from supermarkets Tesco and Co-operative. Likely tax rises With a general election due to take place before the summer, all of the main political parties have vowed to tackle the UK's public deficit, which currently stands at £178bn. This will likely mean both tax rises and spending cuts. A new 50% top rate of income tax for those earning more than £150,000 will come into effect from April, and Labour has announced that National Insurance will go up from 2011. While the Conservatives have put more focus on budget cuts, shadow business secretary Ken Clarke said earlier this month that a Conservative government would not rule out raising taxes. Some commentators expect that if the Conservatives win power, VAT may go up from 17.5% to 20%. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/business/8450553.stm Published: 2010/01/10 16:42:26 GMT © BBC MMX Note the article ends with a suggestion Tories may up VAT, but let's not forget since 1997 Labour has done nothing but put up taxes (eg NI) and introduce new taxes all around, Labour are as far from a low tax govt as is possible to be. Edited January 10, 2010 by The Last Bear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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