- This post is FOCUSED on "Premium" helmet models because, well, that's what I sell. I'm not talking about the $100-$300 helmets, from manufacturers that most of have never heard of. I'm talking about companies that "State" they are premium labels.
- China has the "ability" to make good products. Machines can be programmed to do just about anything these days. Those with jobs in China are thankful.
I'm a HUGE believer that quality comes with HERITAGE. Consistency breeds quality. To me it's simple. If you work in a company that has a history of building quality products, and the factory is in your backyard, there's a great chance the quality will be amazing. If a worker has a "personal" connection, company pride, that will reflect in a products quality.
Now the other side of the coin; if you're simply showing up, under paid, and your primary motivator is NOT being replaced by the thousands standing outside the front factory gate, quality could suffer.
I'm the proud owner of an iPad. LOVE IT. The other night I saw a documentary showing how the iPad was manufactured in China. Huge companies, 10's of thousands of workers, and working on a line stuffing parts into an iPad case. Much of the work didn't appear super technical. Each worker had a well defined task such as, "insert the battery into the case."
Steve Jobs admitted that Apple manufactures their products overseas because, as a company, they can't afford to manufacture it here is the USA. Too expensive. Too much regulation. Does this go for helmet manufactures too?
Lets take a product like Bell. I'm using Bell simply because it's the poster child for subject matter of this blog. A US born company, who has moved many of their operations overseas. While I'm sure the Chinese workers are happy to be working, producing Bell products, they have ZERO connection to where the Bell brand was created. It's a paycheck.
Bell manufacturers most of it's motorcycle helmets outside of the USA. While they might have an inspection station or two here, almost everything is build outside of the US. China, primarily. Bell also manufacturers a motorcycle helmet, built in China, which sells North of $550.00.
My question is, can a $550.00 helmet stack up against a $550.00 helmet manufactured in Japan, or Europe? I guess it's how you look at it...
- You could argue that since building stuff in China is VERY cheap, this Bell helmet is actually a $850.00 helmet if built somewhere else. Like, say, in the USA...
- Or, Bell makes their helmets in China to MAKE THE MOST MONEY POSSIBLE. If they trimmed their profits to that of other manufacturing companies, they could keep the price @ $550.00 and build it ANYWHERE.
I'm a small business owner, and I'm a STRONG supporter of the Capitalist System. Profit is GOOD, and without it, companies don't exist. Like me, EVERY company figures out where they want to go, and how THEY want to get there. I'm also aware that you can't please everyone. So be it, they can shop somewhere else if they're not a good match with the companies values. Such is life.
Also, I could careless if my sandals, belt, iPad, iPhone, or any other product is manufactured in the China. Lets face it, it allows companies to make huge money, because overhead is much lower. However, many of the premium helmet products are HANDMADE. Not simply loading a battery, but a skilled craft that takes YEARS to master.
Now lets use Arai as an example; At the Arai factory, it takes years before an employee "earns" the privilege of various tasks. Years of "proving" themselves skilled to handle the more critical stages of construction. It's more of an "Art" than a cog in the wheel, grinding out a helmet. They also have a personal connection with the company, and the Arai family, who still own (and runs) the company. Those that work in the Arai factories are not simply Numbers, but rather respected artisans.
It's more of a "Family" than a company.
It's a HUGE leap for me to think a chinese worker could show such care. That's just me...
This is more about what I "Personally" associate with "Premium". Granted, VERY few products are 100% made, anywhere. In a global economy, that simply doesn't make sense in many cases. However, Bell is an American brand, and when a brand so "American" is made primarily outside the US, it gives me a twinge in my gut.
It would be like the Ford Motor Company closing down EVERY USA factory, opening a Chinese factory, employing chinese workers, and claiming nothing had changed. Even if the quality was the same (or better) it would NOT be the same in my eyes. Oh, and yes I know many parts on a Ford are made outside the US, but I can still point at a Ford factory here in the USA.
Brands like Bell are great examples of what happens when a company looses it's identity. Could Bell make their motorcycle helmets in the US? Yes, they could, but like ANY company, profit can take center stage.
When do we, as consumers, push companies back to our shores?
Granted, we shop @ Walmart for the deals, and Bell isn't the only US born company manufacturing their products elsewhere. I just feel that if these companies moved home, trimmed the fat, made awesome products, and put "MADE IN AMERICA" front and center on their product labels, they could be even more successful.
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