Posted on 10/20/2004 5:39:00 PM PDT by Willie Green
For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. moved an annual procurement meeting to China from the United States for the first time, meeting suppliers near the factories that turn out much of the world´s consumer electronics.
The four-day meeting, at which Wal-Mart decides on its global orders for electronics, started Tuesday in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. In March, Bentonville-based Wal-Mart held its annual global board meeting in China for the first time. "We´ve invited many Chinese vendors to this internal meeting," Michael Yuen, manager of the Wal-Mart´s procurement department, said in a phone interview from Shenzhen.
Wal-Mart, Kmart Holding Corp., Brookstone Inc. and other U.S. retailers are increasing purchases from China to benefit from lower costs, fueling a record $124 billion U.S. trade deficit last year. Average Chinese manufacturing wages are less than 5 percent of those in the United States.
Wal-Mart suppliers, including Sichuan Changhong Electric Co. and rival TCL Corp., have switched to producing liquid crystal displays and plasma televisions after the United States in April imposed anti-dumping tariffs of as much as 24.5 percent on conventional color sets made by Chinese TV makers.
Many of Wal-Mart´s purchases will be DVD players and flat-panel televisions to be sold under its own brand name, Taiwan´s Commercial Times reported. Tatung Co., Sampo Corp. and other Taiwan-based suppliers are attending the meeting, it said.
Tatung and Sampo spokesmen declined to comment.
I think there ought to be a law that prohibits anyone from buying anything from outside of the County where one resides. Afterall, how fair is it for someone to buy products and support workers in states half-way across the country.
Right under the wire - DING!
Dumbest Comment Of The Day.
Congratulations.
I sure hope so.
Same suppliers used by Target, K-Mart, Best Buy, CompUSA...any store chain doing business in the U.S.
It's called sarcasm and it is used to make a point. Apparently it is hard for some to understand.
See #4. We're even.
As they say on TV informercials, though, "But wait, there's more!" Here is a link to the Laogai Report, outlining just how Wal-Mart gets those "Low Prices, Always." The document is a 12-page PDF. Take a look at page 9, and read the article "The Truth Behind Wal-Mart's Low Costs."
Yep. I just hope that the Chinese plasma televisions lower the price of the televisions. What was wrong with flooding the market with Chinese televisions? None are made here in the U.S.
Wal-Mart meets it's Chinese suppliers in China? So? Where else would they meet them? France? (a la Hanoi Jean-pierre kerry?)
because its at the expense of japan and south korea - who support the US better then china.
I saw it. No biggie. You've seen the error in your ways!
For years I kept looking for a Walmart that only sold cheap stuff made in China. All I ever found were Walmarts that sold the exact same merchandise as every other chain store...but cheaper most of the time.
At first I thought it must just be part of the insidious Walmart plot...they were hiding the "other" stuff when I drove into the parking lot. Then I finally realized it's just plain BS.
Can you say UNION bullshit?
Good point. I'm not a big fan of governemnt interference in trade whether it be between U.S. citizens, neighbors, or people from one country to another.
Support your country--don't shop at Wal Mart.
I do some work with a Japanese company and the annual meeting is in Italy. Ok, there is a division in Italy too, but I think we only meet there for the food.
Easier to ply all the buyers and supplier managers with booze and dirty women in the PRC.
Cool!
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