8 October 2008
The saga of LinkWise Furniture, Conforama and allergies from your sofa
Posted by Roger under: Bad Suppliers; China News & Events; Manufacturing & Production; Non-English; Quality Control (QC) .
Melamine milk anyone? Once again, quality concerns are back in the headlines, this time concerning tainted milk (or shall I say for a second time, as this already occurred once before). Tainted, tainted, tainted. Its all about tainted. First we had fake baby formula. Then tainted pet food. There were recalled tires and lets not forget the recalled lead paint toys from Mattell. Toxic toothpaste was in there somewhere. Oh and rivers flowing with benzene.
Today’s news brings French buyers of Chinese-made recliners complaining of rashes via a comment posted on our blog today:
Hi there – wonder whether you have heard about the Conforama (french furniture leader outlet chain) Leather sofas scandal? Those sofas were made in China, by LinkWise Co Ltd in Dongguan. Your web site is always quite well informed and strangely, do not find anything about this subject. Any related info/comment? Based on your expertise, how can importers avoid this ? How to trust them ….? I appreciate your expertise on this ? Thanks
Ah, never a boring day in the middle kingdom. 
I had read about this a while back but had not had the time to comment on it. For those who are unaware of this story, customers in France who bought Chinese-made recliners from the retailer Conforama are complaining of stinging allergic rashes and infections. The company has had to recall 38,000 of them. In a nutshell, the factory added to the chairs more then ten times the normal amount of an anti-mold chemical. A couple of quick stories on this to bring you up to speed:
- French Company In Hot Seat Over Toxic China Chairs
- French itch with complaints over Chinese chairs
- Latest China scandal: toxic chairs
The Made in China brand has taken a hit in a very public way with articles in Forbes and the International Herald Tribune just to mention a few of the major publications hot on the topic. But what I really worry about all this, is that people will walk away with the general idea that anything which comes from China is low quality and potentially unsafe. From a consumer standpoint this may be a reasonable viewpoint. But from the manufacturer, producer, wholesaler or importer of anything Chinese made this is completely the wrong lesson to walk away with. In some regards, if the end consumer has this idea, the individual or company bringing in the product is just as responsible for this, as the the manufacturer engaging in quality fade.
A few years back, a close friend gave me some excellent advice on China:
“In the west everything is goal oriented, while in China, everything is process oriented. In the west, we spend time working to achieve the goal of getting the contract signed. I like an arrow pointing to a dot. Once the contract is signed the goal has been accomplished. The job is done. But here in China, negotiating the contract, and everything that comes after it are all just small steps in an ongoing process. Its more like beads on a string, or teeth on a zipper.”
This applies directly to all parts of life in China and especially to manufacturing & importing, where as quality control inspections, pre-shipment inspections and ongoing checks are all “par for the course.”
So what can importers do to avoid this?
Recognize the differences / Realize who you are dealing with.
At the ground level, make no assumptions that the supplier will operate under the same set of motivations as you do. This is in fact the foundation for most of the misunderstandings, problems and issues that will occur. For example, assuming that they will do a good job on a project based on expectations for future business is one of the most common wrong assumption. Some prior posts on this subject:
- Chinese suppliers/foreign customers – sleeping in the same bed but dreaming different dreams
- Just because we are (supposedly) getting smarter on these topics, does not mean the Chinese will learn a lesson and change (or shall I say, at least not change at the rate we expect them to).
- We are not in Kansas any more. Figure it out. Its not like “just like back home“
Stop being so naive / Get smart
If you are a new importer, then listen up – this means you. My favorite quote from new importers is “what could go wrong?” China has been opening up for twenty years or thirty years now. At this point, people should be getting ever so slightly smarter about dealing with the Chinese.
- Import Nightmares – Readers share their experiences when things go wrong
- Looking for legal council in China re: manufacturing dispute? Good luck!
- Friend or Foe? More on managing Chinese suppliers.
- Funding your own competitor
- Brits Get Rich In China! A humorous look at business in China.
- Negotiating in China Can Get Complicated Fast
- When Sourcing in China. Cash = Control
Realize that importing is not like purchasing a CD off of Amazon.com. The Chinese are very strategic in the manner in which they do business. Its time for the rest of us to start doing so to.
Don’t mess with quality -especially to save a buck.
Just because you placed an order does not mean the job has ended. If you are buying from, manufacturing from, or doing business with the Chinese, then pay attention because its partially your responsibility as well. Independent quality checks and inspections are critical.
There is a wealth of both interesting articles and blog posts on topics like quality fade, quality control, business practices etc. Here are just a few:
- The problem of “Chaobuduo†(and how it effects reproduction furnitures)
- Forget trust, just verify
- Avoiding Quality Fade
- Product Quality Problems in China Are Legal Risks at Home
HaoHao This
