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How much do you think it costs to make a pair of Nike shoes in Asia?

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Re: How much do you think it costs to make a pair of Nike shoes in Asia?

#691

Post by TulliusCicero »

marenkay wrote: post #664

This makes a good argument against centralized production and knowledge. It would economically be much more reasonable if any good could be produced anywhere at any time. Smaller production facilities for localized sourcing. Would IMHO also be much more in line with a free market. Everyone would be free to source goods in any country or location of their choice. Coupled with open knowledge this could be a truly free…

You're asking for decentralization. There's a reason you often get centralization in industries: higher productivity due to network effects and/or economies of scale. Even within China this is true, as some areas are particularly known for manufacturing (or specific types of manufacturing).

Spreading things out sound good until you realize it's doubled your costs or halved your productivity.

Re: How much do you think it costs to make a pair of Nike shoes in Asia?

#692

Post by danwills »

Thanks for that threadreaderapp link neonate!

For some reason there's no reply-link to your post, but this is the first time in a very long time I've even read a twitter thread because of how much more pleasant it was at threadreaderapp!

Very interesting analysis/breakdown of the various layers of costs as well!

Re: How much do you think it costs to make a pair of Nike shoes in Asia?

#693

Post by gnopgnip »

SV_BubbleTime wrote: post #200
aimor wrote: post #89

Trying to summarize the summary for myself From a $100 shoe that sells for $76: - $24 goes overseas (22 cost, 2 freight) - $8 goes to the US gov't (3 import, 2 Nike tax, 3 Footlocker tax) - $33 goes to US employees or businesses (5 Nike marketing, 11 Nike expenses, 17 Footlocker expenses) - $5 goes to Nike (11% return) - $6 goes to Footlocker (8% return) But now with 100% tariffs, it's a $100 shoe that sells for $100…

Is there a reason, be-it special buildings, tools, skills that shoes can not be made in the US to avoid the tariffs? If Nike shoes exceed the cost of domestically produced shoes, isn’t that… like… kind of the point?

You can buy made in USA sneakers like New Balance 990 series. Generally all the materials except the sole are US sourced. Retails for $200 a pair. What kind of sneakers do you buy?

Running a manufacturing business in the US is more expensive. Consumers largely won't pay more, it's a limited market. The machinery for molding soles only makes economical sense at a large scale.

Re: How much do you think it costs to make a pair of Nike shoes in Asia?

#694

Post by spaceman_2020 »

lolinder wrote: post #244
rayiner wrote: post #42

Americans need to get over their view of “Asia” as being about making shoes. When I was working in engineering in the early aughts, we mocked the Chinese as being able only to copy American technology. Today, China is competitive with or ahead of America in key technology areas, including nuclear power, AI, EVs, and batteries. We need to anticipate a future where China is equal to America on a per capita basis, but f…

Be careful extrapolating based on China's current population and demographics. Too much of our armchair assessments of China's velocity is based on their meteoric rise on the backs of a historically large working-age population—a population that is now rapidly aging out of the workforce with nothing to replace it thanks to the one child policy. The US's demographics aren't stellar, but they're a lot better off than m…

It’s a little more nuanced than that. Western demographics are largely propped up by immigration, which brings with it its own sociopolitical challenges. What you gain in demographics, you might lose in social cohesion and political stability.

Re: How much do you think it costs to make a pair of Nike shoes in Asia?

#695

Post by IndrekR »

dmoy wrote: post #570
stevage wrote: post #473

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't find Lego especially expensive. And Lego is way more difficult to manufacture, has very exacting functional requirements and extremely good QA.

Lego is pure IP (both from LEGO itself, and then e.g. Disney or whoever is behind the theme of a given set). If you get sets designed in China and made at the same factories that make Lego bricks, they're like 1/3 the cost. If you get sets designed in not-China but obviously ripped off ("Star World" sets that are 1:1 copies of Star Wars legos), also in the same factories, it's like 1/10 the cost. The manufacturing is…

> If you get sets designed in China and made at the same factories that make Lego bricks, they're like 1/3 the cost.

Lego does not outsource brick making. They tried it out back in 2005 with Flextronics in Hungary and got a painful lesson. Lego runs all their factories themselves now.

Re: How much do you think it costs to make a pair of Nike shoes in Asia?

#696

Post by lolinder »

spaceman_2020 wrote: post #694
lolinder wrote: post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Be careful extrapolating based on China's current population and demographics. Too much of our armchair assessments of China's velocity is based on their meteoric rise on the backs of a historically large working-age population—a population that is now rapidly aging out of the workforce with nothing to replace it thanks to the one child policy. The US's demographics aren't stellar, but they're a lot better off than m…

It’s a little more nuanced than that. Western demographics are largely propped up by immigration, which brings with it its own sociopolitical challenges. What you gain in demographics, you might lose in social cohesion and political stability.

It's a lot more nuanced than that. China's internal diversity is much higher than Westerners typically understand, and their social cohesion and political stability are less well maintained than their external-facing image would lead you to believe.

Re: How much do you think it costs to make a pair of Nike shoes in Asia?

#697

Post by spaceman_2020 »

IncreasePosts wrote: post #520
Symbiote wrote: post #417

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yesterday your vice president referred to the Chinese as "peasants".

Something like 35% of China's population works in the agriculture sector, many of whom are poor with little or no land holdings living in small villages. Is there a word for that kind of person?

Would you call a midwest farmer in the US a “peasant” or just a farmer?

Let’s not pretend that peasants and farmers represent the same thing

Re: How much do you think it costs to make a pair of Nike shoes in Asia?

#698

Post by spaceman_2020 »

electrondood wrote: post #682
Symbiote wrote: post #417

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yesterday your vice president referred to the Chinese as "peasants".

Fair, but he's not exactly a shining beacon of the best we have to offer.

Half your voting population deemed him to be fit enough to represent them

Re: How much do you think it costs to make a pair of Nike shoes in Asia?

#699

Post by spaceman_2020 »

lossolo wrote: post #132
rayiner wrote: post #42

Americans need to get over their view of “Asia” as being about making shoes. When I was working in engineering in the early aughts, we mocked the Chinese as being able only to copy American technology. Today, China is competitive with or ahead of America in key technology areas, including nuclear power, AI, EVs, and batteries. We need to anticipate a future where China is equal to America on a per capita basis, but f…

This. Anyone who doesn’t believe it — please go spend some time in Shenzhen, Shanghai, or similar cities, like I did. I just got back from China. I’ve been (also lived and worked) to the U.S. many times, and I can confidently say that China’s tier-1 cities are on another level when it comes to development and QoL (and not only T1 cities, I was in smaller regions in the north too). It’s also incredibly clean, super sa…

Cousin was in China last month. Left Shanghai for a meeting in Beijing in the morning. Was back in Shanghai by night

All via train. In cities that are 1300km apart.

Re: How much do you think it costs to make a pair of Nike shoes in Asia?

#700

Post by dom3k »

Symbiote wrote: post #381
dom3k wrote: post #366

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No need to wait at no window. After you activate Alipay, just click on "Transport" and create a metro card for Beijing. Scan code on enter, scan on exit, pay the sweet low fare automatically. One app, 30+ cities.

"Activating Alipay" requires using an identity card or passport.

You don't have to wait at the ticket window though. Privacy? Maybe not. But convenience? At every corner.
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