Spotted Online – “Why Go to China?”
There’s a new post over at Global Toy News that explores the reason why toy company executives and staff spend so much time in Hong Kong and China, and in reading the post I was reminded of the Toy Town* book and its stories of how Hong Kong grew into a center of toy manufacturing after the end of WWII. Awesome book and recommended if you’re at all interested in how Hong Kong became so important to the toy industry.
The Global Toy News post, unsurprisingly much shorter than the Toy Town* book, states that the primary reason toy executives visit Hong Kong and China is to keep the product flowing smoothly and cutdown on possible loss.
“For toy company owners it is to keep their fingers on the pulse, the flow of goods, and money, the attention and interest of the factories. I have heard owners complain of financial losses as a result of not being at the factories in person. Of course, that can happen many ways, as you might well imagine.”
In my experience, trips to Hong Kong and China are more about resolving tricky manufacturing issues and finding inspiration than they are any sort of measure to stop losses. But I’m lucky in that the bulk of the overseas manufacturing we do at the office is through a reliable and trusted agent, so my personal experiences may be skewed slightly and not what most others deal with on a daily basis.
And in addition to the reasons stated already there’s one big benefit to visiting manufacturing partners in Hong Kong and China: It’s a very fun trip.
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- Hong Kong: ‘The real Santa’s grotto’ (edition.cnn.com)