Buzz Paths

Common Sense For Common People


Made In China

March 27th, 2008 by Rich Szabo

Recently I purchased a set of Taylormade TP woods, Driver, 3 and 5 woods. The price was ridiculous to say the least but they have a great reputation and are supposedly some of the finest golf clubs around. The three clubs cost me $897.97 not including sales tax.

Now you would think for that price they would be made in the good old US of A. WRONG! Upon closer inspection of my new found babies, I noticed on the shaft of each club a label that reads ( and in VERY small print I might add): “Clubhead Made In China, Shaft Made In China, Assembled in the USA”. Click on the photo for a full size image.

So what’s that all about? If these clubs cost Taylormade $50.00 total to have made in a sweat shop in China it’s alot. Nowhere on Taylormade’s website does it say that the components of each club is Made In China.However, after some careful digging I found that Taylormade Golf is owned and operated by Adidas. Going to the Adidaswebsite I found the following:

What We Do

For over 80 years the adidas Group has been part of the world of sports on every level, delivering state-of-the-art sports footwear, apparel and accessories. Today, the adidas Group is a global leader in the sporting goods industry and offers a broad portfolio of products. Products from the adidas Group are available in virtually every country of the world. Our strategy is simple: continuously strengthen our brands and products to improve our competitive position and financial performance.

adidas Footwear, apparel, accessories

Reebok Footwear, apparel and accessories

TaylorMade-adidas Golf Golf Equipment: metalwoods, irons putters, golf balls, footwear, apparel and accessories

Activities of the company and its more than 150 subsidiaries are directed from the Group’s headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany. Also located in Herzogenaurach are the strategic business units for Running, Soccer and Tennis as well as the Research and Development Center. Additional key corporate units are based in Portland, Oregon in the USA, the domicile of adidas America Inc. and home to the strategic business units Basketball, Adventure and Alternative Sports. Reebok Headquarters are located in Canton, Massachusetts. TaylorMade-adidas Golf is based in California. The company also operates design studios and development departments at other locations around the world, corresponding to the related business activity.

adidas Sourcing Ltd., a fully-owned subsidiary headquartered in Hong Kong, is responsible for worldwide sourcing.

Effective December 31, 2007, the adidas Group employed 31,344 people.

Our Values:
The adidas Group strives to be the global leader in the sporting goods industry with sports brands built on a passion for sports and a sporting lifestyle.

We are consumer focused and therefore we continuously improve the quality, look, feel and image of our products and our organizational structures to match and exceed consumer expectations and to provide them with the highest value.

We are innovation and design leaders who seek to help athletes of all skill levels achieve peak performance with every product we bring to market.

We are a global organization that is socially and environmentally responsible, creative and financially rewarding for our employees and shareholders.

We are committed to continuously strengthening our brands and products to improve our competitive position.

We are dedicated to consistently delivering outstanding financial results.

So, needless to say I feel totally ripped off. Sure they are dedicated to consistantly delivering outstanding financial results. All their stuff is MADE IN CHINA for a fraction of what it would cost here in the States.

After that little eye opener, I decided to look around the house and see what else wasn’t made here. WHat I found was mind boggling! Here’s what I found:

2 computer desks purchased from Staple’s were MADE IN CHINA

My flatbed scanner MADE IN CHINA

Kodak Easyshare Digital Camera MADE IN CHINA

3 Hewlett Packard 4300 Printers MADE IN CHINA (Label Printed in USA) Can you believe that?!

Hewlitt Packard Computer Monitor – MADE IN TAIWAN

Breadman Bread Machine – MADE IN KOREA

Mr. Coffee Machine – MADE IN CHINA

Mr. Coffee coffee grinder – MADE IN CHINA

Hamilton Beach Electric Teapot – MADE IN CHINA

Bionaire Air Purifier – MADE IN CHINA

Radio Shack Cordless Telephone – “Custom Made for Radio Shack in CHINA”

Cuisinart Litttle Pro Plus Food Processor – MADE IN CHINA

Ryobi Drill Press – MADE IN CHINA

Sharp CD Player – MADE IN CHINA

Techniques Stereo Receiver – MADE IN SINGAPORE

Black & Decker Circular Saw – MADE IN MEXICO

And here’s my best find……

I bought a US Open hat last year in an Offical PGA Store at O’Hare Airport for $24.95. Now, the US Open is the United States Open Golf Tournament. One of the biggest run by none other than the USGA. The United States Golf Association. Key words here are “United States”. Guess what the label inside the hat reads? You guessed it MADE IN CHINA!

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Musical instrument manufacturers are dropping like flies. Most of the biggies Conn-Selmer, Yamaha are now having alot of instruments made in China and still selling them at their old Made In USA prices. In the industry these instruments are called ISO’s (Instrument Shaped Objects) because they are far from a quality musical instrument. Some of the instruments are so bad, most decent repair people will not even touch them when they come in.

I’ll save my musical instrument rant for another post.

So, look around your house and see what is actually made in the USA. You will be suprised at what you don’t find. And everyone wonders why our economy is in the crapper. I’m wondering myself. If all these American companies are having all their products made elsewhere VERY cheaply and they are reaping huge profits, how is it that we are in an economic down turn? My guess is because ALL THE AMERICAN WORKERS WHO WOULD NORMALLY BE MAKING THESE PRODUCTS ARE OUT OF WORK! So our really great American Companies are doing business and financing a Communist country. It’s almost laughable except that it’s killing our country.

And now Congress wants to give Illegal Aliens worker visas. I’m sorry but I just don’t get it.

Here’s a book I just ordered and can’t wait to read. A friend suggested that I read it.


And finally:A 2002 Farm Bill passed by Congress mandated country-of-origin labeling for seafood, beef, lamb, pork, fish, fruits, vegetables and peanuts, but the Bush administration has delayed its implementation for everything except seafood until October 2008.So why are they waiting? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm?

Here’s an update. I emailed Taylormade on March 27th.. Here’s the initial response I received:

From: TaylorMade Golf Consumer Feedback <consumer.feedback@tmag.com>
Reply-To: TaylorMade Golf Consumer Feedback <consumer.feedback@tmag.com>

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:24:42 -0400

<> Thank you for contacting TaylorMade Golf,

We value your questions and comments and believe wholeheartedly in
listening to and servicing our customers. We will respond to your email
as promptly as possible, usually within one business day. Should your
question be of an urgent nature please feel free to contact our Customer
Service Department at 800-888-2582 (6A-5P Pacific Time) and we will be
more than happy to assist you. We apologize for any inconveniences.

In the meantime, hit ’em long and straight with TaylorMade clubs and
Maxfli balls, and look good doing it in adidas shoes and apparel!

Sincerely,

The staff at TaylorMade-adidas Golf

http://taylormadegolf.com
http://adidasgolf.com
http://rossaputters.com
http://maxfli.com

Since I never heard anything from their customer circus department I emailed them yesterday and sent them a link to this article. Here is the reponse I received today:

<> Date: Tue, 08 Apr 2008 08:02:48 -0700
To: Rich <rwszxxx@xxxx.com>
Subject: Re: Re: Your message has been received by TaylorMade Golf (KMM2001361V65034L0KM)
From: TaylorMade Golf Consumer Feedback <consumer.feedback@tmag.com>
Reply-To: TaylorMade Golf Consumer Feedback <consumer.feedback@tmag.com>
Thanks for the email.

I can assure you that the golf industry is very competitive, and
TaylorMade does not try to take advantage of the customer with
ridiculous pricing; the market just wouldn’t allow it. One would be hard
pressed to find any major manufacturer in the golf industry not using
components from China. It is necessary to compete. We are committed to
making the best performance golf equipment in the world. The components
from China do not deviate from this mission, as the best players in the
world use these clubs on the PGA Tour. When many companies compete, the
consumer wins. There are many costs associated with club making and
distribution, and making our clubs in China is one way can keep consumer
cost at a minimum.

Thank you again and we wish you continued success with your golf game!

Best Regards

http://taylormadegolf.com
http://adidasgolf.com

<> Not even a real person’s name on the email. I am at a loss for words. “The consumer wins”?!?!?!? I think not. THe consumer gets ripped off.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, March 27th, 2008 at 4:38 pm and is filed under Economy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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