Dear valued customers and friends,
We've just found out that a company who are well known for importing Chinese furniture are now importing an exact but inferior copy of the portable dance floors I invented, with little or no knowledge of the product.
Because I thought of them as mates, I have kept away from importing tables and chairs and competing with them. However, with the prospect of us losing the sale of the flooring I invented and have manufactured for years, keeping the price as low as possible, I'll have to join the rat race and also offer cheap Chinese furniture. Good news for customers as it will bring the prices down even further.
I will try to match the new Chinese copy price with my tried and tested product, with years of product knowledge, spares and repairs. This is going to be hard; as well as increased material and wages costs, more and more stupid health and safety demands are increasing our costs all the time. I have to think that the days of British manufacturing are fast disappearing. No wonder this country is in such a financial mess.
We jokingly talk about our orphan gluing ladies being happy now, but little do they realise that, along with the rest of our staff and family, if the Chinese continue to copy and undercut prices and red tape makes it too expensive to continue and compete, all their jobs will be gone, and they'll be joining the millions already living on benefits.
Please support us and we'll do our best to keep British manufacturing going. BUY BRITISH.
You might say that competition is healthy, but not if it's putting more and more British companies out of business. The Chinese don't have the expense of designs, R and D, trial and error, making prototypes and listening to customer requirements and feedback – they can just copy successful products when all the hard work has been done.
We are determined to carry on; making more and more new products, hopefully faster than the Chinese can copy them.
Grumpy Joe