Following a recall from 2006 (see the details from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission) , Reebok has just been fined a record US$ 1 Million for their violation of the US Federal Hazardous Substances Act.
The facts are pretty well known (a 4 year old kid died of lead poisoning after swallowing a made-in-china bracelet given away by Reebok), and the manufacturer's efforts to "fix" the issue (a 500,000+ pieces recall), communicate on it and prevent it from happening again seem real.
What is interesting here is that it sets a speaking example of the cost of non-quality (US$1 M for the fine, plus the cost of the worldwide recall, plus the purchase cost of 500,000 bracelets - probably around US$ 500,000). We are talking about a financial loss for Reebok of at least US$ 2 M I believe (and I am not counting the brand image damage).
I guess it makes the relatively small investment for setting up proper quality controls in China worth it...
I think proper quality controls are ALWAYS a good thing. But considering the cultural gap and possible miscommunication (due to differences in languages and culture) when doing business in for example China, it is even more important to take control and check the quality of your orders.
Posted by: China Business Blog | March 19, 2009 at 05:15 AM
vendors can list their entire channel in an easily searchable format. This helps buyers find local or specialist resellers. http://www.conjungo.com
Posted by: mkumarphp | April 11, 2008 at 06:49 PM
To appreciate this improvement of quality, consumers have to be equipped
with screens that can restitute images and sound systems of the same quality
as the programming as well as possess a decoder adapted to the chosen system.
For broadcasters, it is important that the public is aware of home display
capabilities related to HDTV. At the same time, broadcasters need to know
about the conditions upon which their content is likely to be distributed.
Television broadcasters have to work together to set a uniform standard
of presentation for making their HDTV services more attractive. Europe's
national broadcasters, the members of the European broadcasting union,
support the "HD ready" label.
Posted by: mkumarphp | April 11, 2008 at 06:45 PM