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

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

#841

Post by giantrobot » Thu, Apr 10, 2025, 11:34 AM UTC

_t9ow wrote: post #807

refurb wrote: post #787

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, he said “"We borrow money from Chinese peasants to buy the things those Chinese peasants make” He did not refer to all Chinese as peasants. China would like you think that though.

While it is true that Vance did not literally refer to all Chinese people as peasants, I do worry that such rhetoric will stoke the flames of racially motivated anti-Asian/anti-Chinese attacks. I don't want to discuss whether he is genuinely racist; I think that's besides the point. Words can have a lot of impact, especially when uttered by a public figure in such a powerful position. I don't think it's unreasonable…

> I don't think it's unreasonable to expect the Vice President of the United States to carefully weigh the consequences of his words before speaking.

He did carefully weigh the consequences of his words. He deliberately chose the most inflammatory and insulting of possible words. Knowingly and intentionally.

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

#842

Post by gorbypark » Thu, Apr 10, 2025, 11:39 AM UTC

xpe wrote: post #123

Are comfortable and repairable shoes possible and sensible from an economic point of view? Any recommendations?

Comfortable is of course subjective, but my current go to for "fancy" shoes is Meermin. For about the price of a pair of higher end Nike or Adidas shoes that are just foam glued to fabric, you can get a pair of "traditionally made" Goodyear welted leather shoes. Meermin, for example, still does some manufacturing steps in China. As far as I know they sew together the leather pieces in China and then ship them to Spain for lasting / final assembly / polishing.

It goes to show how the big athletic shoe companies are taking the piss. Of course they have middlemen and retailers and whatnot who need to take their cut, but if I can buy a pair of nice leather shoes, made from leather from UK/French/Italian tanneries, with about a million steps done by a human, for the same price as some glued together foam and fabric...something is wrong.

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

#843

Post by hotfreqz » Thu, Apr 10, 2025, 11:42 AM UTC

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

#844

Post by grayfaced » Thu, Apr 10, 2025, 11:53 AM UTC

ninetyninenine wrote: post #719

grayfaced wrote: post #716

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they're selling on historical and folklore how much is that really pushing culture? Is Modern China the same culture as pre-revolution China? Friends, Seinfeld, Sex and the City had actual influence on people on a portrayal of modern New York. What's the equivalent show that has worldwide audiences interested in modern Chinese life.

None. There’s no equivalent Chinese show. Just like how a while back there was no equivalent industry. It will get there. Follow the trendlines of all the industries and if it matches what happened with the entire manufacturing industry, solar industry, and various other industries it will eventually surpass the US. Right now it’s quickly becoming on par with a lot of stuff in the west. Eventually it will surpass the…

I wasn't making a point about blockbusters though. Star Wars would fail my criteria as well. It's not about money it's about influence. The stuff you listed is the antithesis of that, watered down for a global audience. I'm talking about the "I want to visit CityX" because I saw what it's like and that's my vibe.

It's not a matter of growing the industry because it's already orders of magnitude bigger then what it costs to accomplish.

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

#845

Post by ZiiS » Thu, Apr 10, 2025, 11:53 AM UTC

Interesting article and substantively correct about the direct impact of tariffs. But is using a bit of a straw-man as a hook. It is very easy to buy decent quality sneakers for $2 wholesale, and Nike do sell a lot of $150 sneakers. No one assumes that they are just taking that as profit; it is mostly spent on advertising (sports sponsorships etc.) supporting retail etc. Fundamentally, they can and will choose to change the percentage they spend on raw materials and complex manufacturing techniques if that is what the marketplace demands.

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

#846

Post by ekianjo » Thu, Apr 10, 2025, 11:55 AM UTC

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…

> where China is equal to America on a per capita basis,

China is super far away from that and its demography is a time bomb that will get there first

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

#847

Post by DeathArrow » Thu, Apr 10, 2025, 12:03 PM UTC

mvc wrote: post #411

ajb wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are two parts to the fishing thing. From a pure economic perspective, fishing is insignificant. But within living memory obtaining food was a national security issue for the UK (during world war II). In a world in which states look not to grow their economy, but to harm others - and guess what, that's where we just arrived - not all industries can be considered purely on their revenue. Man cannot live on warham…

How much of a fish industry will remain when the North Sea is a battleground? Is there any fishing going on in the Black Sea at the moment? (genuine question)

>Is there any fishing going on in the Black Sea

Yes, but not a lot since the fish is very scarce and it supplies a small part of the local consumption. Romanian vessels used to fish in oceans. I presume Russian vessels, too.

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

#848

Post by anticodon » Thu, Apr 10, 2025, 12:07 PM UTC

forgotoldacc wrote: post #731

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…

India has a bigger population but they haven't risen anywhere near the way China has. China's rise was due to smart planning and investment in their people and infrastructure. The country went from peasant farmers to the manufacturing hub of the world in a generation. Now they're in the process of becoming a major hub of knowledge workers while keeping a strong manufacturing backbone. And one thing I rarely see menti…

India has no energy. It imports most of its energy. While China has lots of coal and burns it to provide energy for its industries.

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

#849

Post by hmmm-i-wonder » Thu, Apr 10, 2025, 12:10 PM UTC

gorfian_robot wrote: post #709

crazygringo wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a bold claim. Do you have a source for that?

subtlety is lost. I am saying they aren't selling you $200+ shoes. They are selling you a shoe that maybe costs them $10 and $190+ of "brand".

I would also say Nike WANTS to be a lifestyle brand, but in public perception they haven't been able to move out of an athletic shoe brand.

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

#850

Post by hmmm-i-wonder » Thu, Apr 10, 2025, 12:16 PM UTC

grayhatter wrote: post #51

xienze wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That completely discounts the strategic value of self-sufficiency. I mean, why not outsource ALL manufacturing and agriculture if someone else can do it cheaper? Surely that wouldn't come back to bite us, right?

Explain the strategic value like I'm 5? I see people reference this idea all the time, but I'm unconvinced it's actually valuable enough to be worth it given all the other downsides. I don't actually believe it's a positive value proposition. I see the argument for things of military significance. The common one is electronic components. But PCBs manufacturing is easy to spinup quickly. Which leave the critical compo…

>Look at how the US is being seen by the international community. The reputation we had as a strong ally and worthwhile partner has been badly damaged. Why would other nations want to help us now? How are we stronger alone, instead of having their eager support?

As a Canadian, you just made the argument for strategic value for us. The economic damage caused at the whims of a single person in control of our supposed closest ally is exactly why. The argument for economic "MAD" assumes one country wont be self destructive enough to cut its leg off to spite everyone else and "win" in a way that leaves it worse off.