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China Syndrome
August 2, 2007
So, last time there was big recall news – RC2’s – I made it a point of taking both RC2 and the Toy Industry Association to task for what I considered overly cautious, in some cases evasive responses to the media. It’s good to see this recall handled considerably more proactively.
Mattel CEO Robert Eckert went so far as to actually apologize to the public in the company’s press release announcing that it was recalling 83 SKUs from its mostly Sesame Street and Dora-licensed Fisher-Price lines because the company’s contract supplier in China had used lead paint on the products. Here’s his quote:
"We apologize to everyone affected by this recall, especially those who bought the toys in question," said Robert A. Eckert, Mattel’s chairman and CEO. "We realize that parents trust us with what is most precious to them – their children. And we also recognize that trust is earned. Our goal is to correct this problem, improve our systems and maintain the trust of the families that have allowed us to be part of their lives by acting responsibly and quickly to address their concerns."
Kudos to Mr. Eckert. It’s good to see a statement coming out of a corporate behemoth like Mattel that sounds crafted by humans, not by some word processor in the legal department...
Lots of people have popped up in the media to comment on this latest recall of products made in China. My favorite quote, though, comes not from someone in the toy business, but from “China expert” Rob Collins. Personally, I’d never heard of Collins until today. I don’t know how he came by his expertness about China, but I do know that he has a book coming out on August 6 called, Doing Business in China for Dummies, which sounds like something many of us here in the USA should maybe leaf through next time we’re on a trans-Pacific flight.
Here’s Collins’ quote: "Remember, there's still tainted toothpaste on the shelves in China made from a derivative of anti-freeze and there's no plan by the Chinese government to remove it from the shelves. If the Chinese people don't care about their own safety, how are you going to instill them to care about quality manufacturing processes for U.S. consumers? Even the Chinese government, for all of their public chastising, really does not have the capability to manage the product and food safety issues.”
Of course, it’s fairly absurd to say “the Chinese people” don’t care about their own safety. I’ll guess that they do – at least some of them. (And “some” is a lot when talking about China.) Even the Chinese government has begun to react publicly to the outcry in the West about the quality of product coming out of the country…sometimes that reaction even includes executing people, so things are certainly getting serious on their end. Let’s hope it’s not all for show.
One thing's for certain, whether you're talking about a factory in China, in Brazil or in Los Angeles: If it's not your factory producing your products, you never can truly know what’s going on when you turn your back. Can you fully trust your business (and your reputation) to someone who promises to do absolutely everything you want them to do and do it unbelievably cheaply, especially knowing that someone down the street will go even further to get your business if given the opportunity? That sort of blind faith is a giant risk, and China expert Rob Collins goes on to predict that “we're going to see a lot more of these situations until American manufacturers take charge of quality control by overseeing all phases of production and quality control on a 24/7 basis.” Unfortunately, I’d predict he’s right about that.
If I knew Rob Collins, I’d suggest that he title his next book, “How Not to Get Dummied by China.”
Posted by Cliff Annicelli on August 2, 2007 | Comments (1)
