This Week’s Weekly Want is inspired by the values cited in That ‘Made in U.S.A.’ Premium, which ran in this Sunday’s New York Times. Consumers want a lower price point but what they are sacrificing is quality. Domestic manufactures can’t compete with the race to the bottom overseas prices, but if the debate becomes quality or quantity, we can be the heart of quality.
The average price of a garment sold in the United States is $13.49, according to the NPD Group, an industry researcher. That low price is largely a result of sales at extremely low prices by huge retailers like Walmart, Target and H&M — sales that are made possible by efficient supply chains and purchases of products from low-cost countries like Bangladesh and Cambodia, said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at NPD.
But keeping costs low, which consumers now expect, can often mean lower quality.
“In many cases the product that we buy today does not have the same, higher level of standards that we saw in earlier years,” Mr. Cohen said. “Are you buying a T-shirt that’s lighter than it used to be? In many cases, absolutely, yes. They had to take things out to keep the price the same.”
Read the full article here
Amen.