Chinese footwear manufacturers are no longer low

Dongguan is a manufacturing city in southern China, inDongguan, the average monthly wage is basically
the local footwear industry, the average monthlyworking hours and overtime decisions, and their
wage of 960 yuan. As one of Nike's largest contractovertime hours often exceed the legal limit. However,
factories, Yue Yuen Industrial is given is 1472 yuanYue Yuen Industrial, the average wage is only about
monthly salary.two-thirds of hourly wages. Nike's vice president for
    In a lot of companies are the problem of risingcorporate responsibility Hannah - Jones (HannahJones)
costs of headaches for the industry, this gap wouldsaid: "If you have extra questions, you will have the
have been trouble. But Yue Yuen Industrial isquality and delivery problems."
booming, a fact that may be outside of the Pearl    Yue Yuen Industrial Average pay the remaining
River Delta, Dongguan as well as a reference forone third, as a group from the production line to
manufacturers.achieve the productivity and quality goals.
    The past 5 years, China's export prices have  These lines are modeled on the Toyota pioneered
been rising. UBS economist Jonathan - Andersonthe "lean" manufacturing principles. Nike North Asia
(JonathanAnderson) in a recent research report said:regional director of compliance services Sonya -
"(China trade) partner country data show that in U.S.Decken - Jones (SonyaDurkin-Jones) said:
dollar terms, by 2003, imports of footwear from"(employees) can not be a bad part walk away (to
China , toys, furniture and textile prices fell about 3%another team member) and then say goodbye to it .
per year, but after 2003, the annual increase to"Nike lean on each production line are labeled" NOS
3-4%. ""name, this is the first letter of the Latin
    Taking into account the cost of labor is one ofnovusordoseclorum short, meaning" Jesus Christ the
the problems, and Yue Yuen Industrial and othernew order. " This phrase also appears in U.S. dollars
enterprises face increasingly higher costs of many, soon the back, may explain how it is rooted in the Nike
the price increases in recent years can be describedsystem memory.
as very mild. As Taiwan's Pou Chen Group, a    Earlier this month, Nike executives spend 3
subsidiary listed in Hong Kong, Yue Yuen has beendays with reporters visited the Yue Yuen factory in
able to absorb cost rises, which for people toDongguan, saying the plant is an example of hope
understand why China's export growth has providedNike's entire supply chain in China has reached such a
some clues.level. Nike's supply chain, including about 180 Chinese
    The Chinese government last week's tradefactories, a total of 210,000 employees. One-third of
and inflation data showed that Chinese exporters isall Nike shoes made in China.
how difficult the operating environment. 11, the    Yue Yuen Industrial high wages the company
Chinese government announced in February of thisto productivity and quality was rewarded; Another
year's consumer price index rose 8.7% from a yearadvantage is that the labor market supply and
earlier, a 12-year high - severe snowstorms in Januarydemand in the most recent in a favorable
of this year due to commodity shortagesenvironment for staff, the company's recruitment
exacerbated by inflation. That exporters makeproblems than those with lower wages competitors.
matters worse, since the mid-2005, the RMB"We have been subject to environmental challenges
exchange rate against the U.S. dollar has risen 15%,the industry - to provide overtime pay some of our
now about to break through 7 to 1 mark.competitors," Pou Chen Group, a manager
    Inflationary pressures in the basic stake inJohnsonTong said, "but the staff hopes to make
China, because inflation is likely to make exportersmoney, not the (increase) in working hours."
more difficult to absorb the impact of domestic cost    "In this environment, you want to reduce the
pressures. Although this year's harsh winter weather,staff turnover rate," Jones added. "Time to market
such as seasonal factors such as a serious distortionnot only is our driving force. If you jump from one
of trade data, China in January to February's tradefactory to another factory, how do you achieve
surplus fell 29% from a year earlier to 28 billion U.S.this? This is not the pursuit of labor cost, but rather
dollars, suggesting a possible future situation.stability and innovation."
    Chairman of China equities at JP Morgan in a    The other side of the Pearl River Delta, the
research report, Jing said: "We expect (China) inprivate ownership of the Hong Kong shirt maker
March export figures to rebound, but we still expectEsquel Group takes a similar attitude. The company's
this year's export growth will appear more moderatefactory in Foshan employment with 26,000
slowdown ... ... slowdown in China's export industry isemployees, the company founder's daughter,
facing economic growth is one important risk. "SheChairman Marjorie Yang, whose clients include Gap,
referred to the reduced demand for OECDJCPenney and Nike. Last year, the company
economies. On the OECD's exports account for twoproduced 6,500 shirts.
thirds of China's total exports.    And Yue Yuen Industrial, like Esquel Group
    However, the Yue Yuen factory in Dongguan,must respond to a series of rising costs. The
China's export industry for the flexibility to provide acompany also intends to increase the cost of
sufficient evidence. Last year, Guangdong footwearinvestment 50 million U.S. dollars to build a clean
exports increased 14.6% to 9.6 billion U.S. dollars,manufacturing facilities, including its own power plants
textile exports rose 18.4%, to 420 billion.and water treatment plants. It's water treatment
    Yue Yuen Industrial, and other large exportersplant for sewage treatment from all the links to the
to benefit from its first large scale of operations. Fordyeing industry.
instance, Yue Yuen Industrial is located in Dongguan,    These investments make Esquel Group is more
Nike foundry business has 27,000 employees, annualsolid foundation in the Pearl River Delta, where there
production 14 million pairs of shoes - and this is only ais a wealth of textile workers in the labor available to
total number of employees up to 10 million, largerthe companies. "You have to pay for staff labor and
manufacturing group a small part of total output.wisdom," Marjorie Yang employees at the time said
    Yue Yuen Industrial average wage higher thanabout her. "For us, stability is most important, so we
the industry more than 50%, but it is relativelycan use our management skills to deal with external
expensive labor costs also cover the productivityproblems.
incentive measures. Most shoe companies in