Why China so big in the RW game compared to rest of world

[Guest rolexuk]

Is it just China who produce replica watches? If so why only China?, youd think a few more countrys would be in on the act wouldnt you. I know some more expensive replica watches claim to be swiss made, but yet still get shipped from china lol. China China China seems that's where it all happens. Nothing wrong with China they made me a nice RW just curiosity post.

[chronoluvvv]

lower cost of production with the easy ability to ship worldwide probably works in their favor

[Ezio]

lower cost of production with the easy ability to ship worldwide probably works in their favor

1+

[fitmic]

Corruption is a main factor I think.

Don't forget the hundreds or thousands of manufacturers of watches that are willing to make some rep parts.

When China is able to fully stop the counterfeit production it will pop up in another low cost but "technically advanced" country.

Preferable a non democracy where corruption is wide spread.

[fraggle42]

China is in an economic position where they're coming out of where we were last century and want to catch up *quickly*.

 

Whilst they're learning and improving production techniques an easy way of saving money doing that and having half decent goods is to skip the damned expensive design stage and copy other items.

 

A lot of western stuff IS made in China which means there are factories out there that have all the western technology and very high QC controls, etc, but they're far from common and require a large cash injection from the west.

 

China is famous for copying anything. Cars, TVs, watches, shoes, trainers, drugs, phones, etc, etc.

 

I think they will have caught up with the west in another 20 years, maybe 10, the quality of "non western comissioned" goods will be just as good and use their own designs. The prices will go up as they start having to pay the workers more and doing their own designs but will still be cheap, and the competition will drive down western good prices. A side effect of that is they will need to improve their ethics to be universally accepted, so replica cars, phones and watches will vanish in 10 years I think.

[panerai153]

Very interesting. I expect that it's a combination of many things, a skilled work force (intelligent people who are trainable and eager to work), the presence of advanced technology that has become necessary because of their production of goods for the Western world, and probably most important a business climate where their is minimal harassment from the authorities. The Chinese government realizes that a stable reasonably satisfied workforce is the best deterrent to social unrest. Lots of folks out of work and unsure of their future translates to social disruptions. So while making knock offs of everything from drugs to airplane parts to watches to handbags, is certainly illegal, it provides employment for a significant number of people and that makes the government happy.

 

Unfortunately, the Chinese may be pricing themselves out of the market, at least for legal goods. There was and interesting article in the New York times this morning, about businesses here in the USA that were again looking toward Mexico as a place to relocate factories and production. Some of the factors sited were the increasing costs of labor in China, in some instances labor prices have doubled over the past few years, the distance from the USA which both makes it difficult to travel back and forth to factories in China, as well as the time it takes for goods to reach the USA from China, generally 6-10 weeks for containers. Also some businesses have complained that the quality of their products is inconsistent, and if items arrive with problems or flaws, it is difficult to replace them in the companies supply chain. Certainly, this doesn't mean that businesses are going to abandon China and suddenly all those thousands of factories are going to be silent, but it is food for thought going forward. Maybe the rep business will become the most lucrative of all Chinese businesses!!

[JKDDUDE]

Well, I for one am damn glad China is China. First, I'm in no position to judge anyone and second, I have a full box of pretty quality reps! Call me a selfish SOB, but that's how I look at it...

[zero_deficit]

In a nutshell and super simplified

 

1) Poor practical mechanisms in place to address/enforce intellectual property rights. Without IP, no benefits from innovation, no urge to innovate, no investments in innovation - alternative, replicas. Panerai153's comments are very true. In a country where economic growth and social stability is the main objective, the idea of IP just gets relegated to the bottom of the priorities list

2) China's national 'Medium and Long Term Plan for Science & Tech development' plan. In it, they detail a concept called "indigenous innovation" which effectively encourages copying others

3) Enormous existing watch manufacturing industry. Rep makers get their parts from these legit industry who have achieved economies of scale

4) Deep cultural roots that see replicas as a-ok

5) Exploding consumerist middle class who see luxury items as status symbols -> drives up domestic demand

6) Often ignored or not realised, but many Chinese manufacturers make replicas as a way of gaining valuable design and manufacturing skills to which they later use to make legit products

7) Already well established replica industry that contributes much to the economy. The state is reluctant to stop this (other than some token demonstrations such as driving a steam roller over some 21J stuff to appease the West)

 

Of course it's enormous manufacturing engine, low wages etc etc. But i see those 7 points I mentioned as what makes it distinct from other manufacturing powerhouses like India or the US.

 

Oh and on the topic of the US, not many people know this, but the United States had started out as a country employing very similar strategies to what China is doing now. The 18th century US govt supported Americans trying to replicate European books, machinery and techniques from the British textiles industry and their copyright laws at the time didn't really grant much protection to any one other than Americans

[importr]

Being a communist and secretive state, China has been reverse engineering other countries products for decades. From heavy machinery to Kalasnikovs. It's like second nature and part of the manufacturing Industry.

The counterfeiting is just the latest consumer offshoot of the old regime

[panerai153]

I had a friend many years ago that had a bicycle shop in our town, sold lots of mid to high end bikes over several years. He went to a big bicycle trade show every year, It was out west, maybe San Diego, or somewhere on the west coast. He used to laugh about the Chinese coming to the show in hoards, all with cameras. those guys would take photos of new bikes, and gear from every angle. Within a few months, they were selling exact copies of Shimano and Campagnolo brakes, shifters derailleurs, etc. as well as whole bicycles for much less than the real stuff. He told me that they banned cameras, and the next year they all showed up with pencils and drawing pads, sketching the parts!! I believe they even had to stop people and search them for drawing supplies!! So as was said, they are masters at reverse engineering. I believe  I saw a photo of a Chinese knock off of our stealth fighter a few weeks ago!!  

[Guest rolexuk]

Thanks for good posts

[H3RACL3S]

A really interesting post !

Tempus fugit, utere.

[ProMariner]

Corruption is a main factor I think.

Don't forget the hundreds or thousands of manufacturers of watches that are willing to make some rep parts.

When China is able to fully stop the counterfeit production it will pop up in another low cost but "technically advanced" country.

Preferable a non democracy where corruption is wide spread.

Democracy doesn't mean non corruption, the most corrupted countries are not those who we are thinking trust me, but I get your point.