”Made in China” Ping.
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Posted on 09/21/2007 8:00:08 AM PDT by Hydroshock
BEIJING (AP) -- U.S.-based toy giant Mattel issued an extraordinary apology to China on Friday over the recall of Chinese-made toys, taking the blame for design flaws and saying it had recalled more lead-tainted toys than justified.
The gesture by Thomas A. Debrowski, Mattel's executive vice president for worldwide operations, came in a meeting with Chinese product safety chief Li Changjiang, at which Li upbraided the company for maintaining weak safety controls.
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"Our reputation has been damaged lately by these recalls," Debrowski told Li in a meeting at Li's office at which reporters were allowed to be present.
"And Mattel takes full responsibility for these recalls and apologizes personally to you, the Chinese people, and all of our customers who received the toys," Debrowski said.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
Yep, those of us in the business here are just shaking our heads and snickering. The chickens have come home to roost for Mattel, they cannot afford to retool their products now, way too much cost out of their pocket. They made their bed, they can lie in it with their commie masters telling them exactly how things will be.
Mattel. A formerly great company.
I think a letter to the Mattel company to let them know that I will never again purchase anything with their name on the product is in order here. They purchase cheap crap made by cheap labor that is defective and dangerous to those who buy it, and they apologize to those who made the cheap dangerous crap? No apology to the consumer who was placed at risk of health problems from this cheap crap? What a company.
Good grief.
Brilliant simile.
Now, if American companies would just stop hiring a drunk as their chauffeur.
I think this is a classic case of the cat telling the mouse what to say, when to say it and where to say it.
Because at the time, it made sense. It allowed companies to increase their profit margins without injuring their competitiveness vis-a-vis price.
China has injured their reputation as a manufacturing partner over the last decade, the consumer, who is now directly feeling it in the form of dead pets, lead paint in toys, flip-flops that leave chemical burns on your feet. Their combination of arrogance, incompetence, unreliability, illicit behavior, and their diplomatic stance have been brought to the forefront of the consumer mind.
This allows manufacturers to reposition their supply chains. Placing something on the packaging that says “Not made in China” is actually a viable part of the value proposition.
Had companies tried that before, they would not have been able to compete. They can now. Once Mattel makes their moves, you’ll see then dump China very publicly.
Believe me, everyone in manufacturing is looking at the hell Mattel is going through and deciding that China is not a viable manufacturing partner.
It had to happen sometime. Even Jack Welch admitted that the worst move he made as CEO was investing in China. It’s not like the empirical evidence wasn’t there.
Know what else you are not reading about? How outsourcing to India hasn’t produced the reductions in cost that had been expected or predicted by the hucksters promoting this move. The insourcing has begun again in earnest. I haven’t seen ANY articles about what an unqualified success moving any thing to India has become.
Mattel may or may not have made the Chinese manufacturer aware of this, but that is irrelevant. What is relevant is that Mattel didn't even bother inspecting a product that has its own brand name for possible defects before allowing said product to make it to store shelves. That's why the blame is squarely on Mattel's shoulders.
That certainly is an argument to be made.
But surely you cannot believe that Mattel owes Chian an APOLOGY?
Think of this as similar to the very sorries uttered by Colin Powell over the EP-3 spy plane incident, it was necessary to get the hostages out. Except in this case, the hostages are the toys Mattel needs to make this Christmas season a successful one. I think this kind of coercion will backfire. Every company out there that makes stuff in China will see this for what it is - an extorted and false confession. Why deal with this kind of stuff - along with product liability issues - when other East Asian countries provide better quality products with fewer worries (albeit at a slightly higher cost)?
“Note to self: Never buy from Mattel again.”
My older daughter is 36. I remember vividly the Barbie CRAP Mattel made when she was a little girl....Barbie houses so poorly constructed that they fell down every time she played with them. It was sooo frustrating for her. I took the time to write to Mattel and remember telling them that I would never buy another Mattel product...that Fischer Price were the toys of choice.
Mattel sent me a check for that Barbie townhouse. And yes, I never bought another Mattel product for her or my other child ever again.
Paging John Edwards and all the other blood-sucking trial lawyers.
Big fat target just openly declares culpability to keep its slave labor supply. They are a sitting duck for law suits.
Oh I’m sorry China for trying to poison American children. Politically correct suck a##es. Now lets show mattel how sorry we are for them allowing this and also thier apologies to China. Don’t buy anything with the Mattel label!
“The gesture by Thomas A. Debrowski, Mattel’s executive vice president for
worldwide operations”
I guess Debrowski wanted a place in all the International Business textbooks.
As “The Neville Chamberlain” of International Business”!!!
Mattel needs low-cost production facilities more than China needs Mattel's business
FREE traitors.
Crapitalists will BUY the rope from China, for "low, low prices", and hang THEMSELVES with it!!!
I say the same. No more Mattel toys for Christmas or birthdays or whatever, and that includes Barbie. What a bunch of cowards.
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