Quality stuff

A few days ago, my girlfriend bought 3 shorts for $10 in Toa payoh. In fact she needed only one short for her camp in pulau ubin but she bought 3. Before this, she had been to world of sports to see nike and branded shorts selling at $50. After buying the 3 shorts, she regretted cos it was too ugly for her and the quality is poor. For her shoes, she found that buying cheap shoes at $20 is penny wise and pound foolish. No doubt she save a little money at first, but the shoe will give her problem like broken heels and discomfort later on. She changed a few pair of shoes till she is convinced that she will buy branded goods with quality.

For myself, the experience is similar. The shoes I bought from China were really cheap but the discomfort and the sight of the shoes made me feel that I am cheap. It is the same as my luggage. I bought one from China, thinking that it is a good bargain. But after using it for only one trip, the handle broke. My hush puppies shoes was durable, comfortable and very stylish. I had wore it for 4 years before giving to my brother.
Countries like China and India producing ultra low cost stuff must realize there is no short cut to success. Their low cost goods might at first attract customers but eventually the customer will realize that they are taken for a ride.

In the next few years, the economic crisis in the US and the world will widen the gap between companies with quality, branded stuff and those with poorer quality and non branded stuff. Who are the expected winners and losers? I suspect the main winners will be US, Japanese and European companies. The losers will mainly be China and Indian companies who are exporting poor quality goods.

Currenly US is losing the economic race because of the subprime crisis. Let us hope new technologies and products developed in US will helped the US to remain a leader.

Sometimes in life, you don always have to win. Sometimes, losing means winning and winning means losing. Losing an argument with a partner and winning a relationship. Losing an argument with a customer and winning a sale.