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$10.95 Marbury Shoes

Michael1981

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http://www.canadianbusiness.com/arti...02_5048#adSkip

I think this is terrific. When I was younger I was also one of those kids who went to the store and dreamed of owning the latest pair of Jordans or Reebok Pumps.

The fact that hes lending his name to the product is terrific. The design...well at this point I think it leaves something to be desired.

What are your thoughts? Do you think a $10.95 Bball sneaker will have mass appeal and be highly desired?
 

Bandwagonesque

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Originally Posted by Michael1981
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/arti...02_5048#adSkip

I think this is terrific. When I was younger I was also one of those kids who went to the store and dreamed of owning the latest pair of Jordans or Reebok Pumps.

The fact that hes lending his name to the product is terrific. The design...well at this point I think it leaves something to be desired.

What are your thoughts? Do you think a $10.95 Bball sneaker will have mass appeal and be highly desired?


The more kids in the inner city shoot hoops, the less time they have to form gangs. Yeah, blanket generalization there... but still, these shoes + Marbury's endorsement of them = teh winnar. It also helps that the price of a bball sneaker is inversely related to the skill of the player.

Still, for the price... it's highly likely these shoes are being made in the worst sweatshop imaginable. If he would increase the price to $20-25, and produce them in a respectable environment (assuming they aren't right now) and offer a fair wage, the guy would be a saint.
 

edmorel

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Originally Posted by Michael1981
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/arti...02_5048#adSkip

I think this is terrific. When I was younger I was also one of those kids who went to the store and dreamed of owning the latest pair of Jordans or Reebok Pumps.

The fact that hes lending his name to the product is terrific. The design...well at this point I think it leaves something to be desired.

What are your thoughts? Do you think a $10.95 Bball sneaker will have mass appeal and be highly desired?


Ewing did something similar when he was with the Knicks ( I think his was 34 or 44.95). It was a big dud. Unfortunately, in urban areas (read: ghetto), expensive goods are very coveted while rational purchases are tossed aside. A kid would get thoroughly "dissed" if he showed up anywhere wearing $14.95 sneakers.
 

drizzt3117

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Originally Posted by Bandwagonesque
Still, for the price... it's highly likely these shoes are being made in the worst sweatshop imaginable. If he would increase the price to $20-25, and produce them in a respectable environment (assuming they aren't right now) and offer a fair wage, the guy would be a saint.

Sorry for the slight hijack, but this is my biggest pet peeve ever. With no information whatsoever as to working conditions, people assume that 1) this product is produced in a sweatshop and 2) the working conditions are poor, and wages are bad.

If you've actually spent any amount of time in the places in which these products are produced (Indonesia, Phillipines, perhaps Malaysia/Thailand but probably not) you would see enormous lines of people queueing up for relatively few of these "sweatshop" manufacturing jobs. Believe me, they aren't protesting, or concerned about, the "poor" wages or working conditions.
 

Bandwagonesque

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Originally Posted by drizzt3117
Sorry for the slight hijack, but this is my biggest pet peeve ever. With no information whatsoever as to working conditions, people assume that 1) this product is produced in a sweatshop and 2) the working conditions are poor, and wages are bad.

If you've actually spent any amount of time in the places in which these products are produced (Indonesia, Phillipines, perhaps Malaysia/Thailand but probably not) you would see enormous lines of people queueing up for relatively few of these "sweatshop" manufacturing jobs. Believe me, they aren't protesting, or concerned about, the "poor" wages or working conditions.


I was just thinking the likelihood of them being made in less than desirable conditions was high. They could be made in a perfectly safe factory, with decent labour standards, with a wage that is "suitable" given the country (it would be unreasonable to expect a $10/hr shoe assembly job in Malaysia). However, long line ups for a job =/= good working conditions, and fair wages. I also realize the irony of me bashing 3rd world labour standards, when in fact most of my purchases are likely made in these countries. Sorry for the political rant above... the Mods can delete that and this if they like.
 

drizzt3117

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Originally Posted by Bandwagonesque
I was just thinking the likelihood of them being made in less than desirable conditions was high. They could be made in a perfectly safe factory, with decent labour standards, with a wage that is "suitable" given the country (it would be unreasonable to expect a $10/hr shoe assembly job in Malaysia). However, long line ups for a job =/= good working conditions, and fair wages. I also realize the irony of me bashing 3rd world labour standards, when in fact most of my purchases are likely made in these countries. Sorry for the political rant above... the Mods can delete that and this if they like.

My point is that it's easy for you to criticize the wages and working conditions while sitting comfortably in the US, while the people working at these jobs to feed their starving children are very happy they have them.
 

Arethusa

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Originally Posted by Bandwagonesque
Still, for the price... it's highly likely these shoes are being made in the worst sweatshop imaginable. If he would increase the price to $20-25, and produce them in a respectable environment (assuming they aren't right now) and offer a fair wage, the guy would be a saint.
No. They're likely being made in exactly the same sweatshops $100 Nike shoes are. You think Airforce 1s cost more than a dollar to make? Think chucks cost more than a quarter to make in Vietnam? There's no difference on the production side of this from anything else.
 

Rome

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I had a pair of Ewings in my adolescence; I don’t think they were more than $30 at the time. Shaq has also done this with his shoes since the contract with reebok was up. The whole Starbury line wont retail for more than $25 and this includes hoodies, jeans, t-shirts, and sneakers. The sweatshop scenario wont make me feel an 1/8 as guilty as buying a pair of Nikes in any way. I hope he succeeds if only to encourage more athletes to be altruistic with their “rolemodel” status.
 

Rome

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Originally Posted by Arethusa
No. They're likely being made in exactly the same sweatshops $100 Nike shoes are. You think Airforce 1s cost more than a dollar to make? Think chucks cost more than a quarter to make in Vietnam? There's no difference on the production side of this from anything else.
Out of curiosity, does this bother you at all, or do you just chalk it up to globalization and capitalism?
 

drizzt3117

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Originally Posted by Rome
Out of curiosity, does this bother you at all, or do you just chalk it up to globalization and capitalism?

How bad were the working conditions here at the turn of the last century? They're pretty good now, huh?
 

Rome

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There are still sweatshops in the U.S.

He seemed cavalier with his response, I just wanted to know how he felt about the issue, I have no podium here. Besides its rude to answer a question with a question.
 

drizzt3117

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Originally Posted by Rome
There are still sweatshops in the U.S.

He seemed cavalier with his response, I just wanted to know how he felt about the issue, I have no podium here. Besides its rude to answer a question with a question.


My apologies. As someone who's actually worked in business development in developing countries, I'm rather sensitive about the issue.
 

Rome

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Stop, you have nothing to apologize for, you would have more to speak of on the issue than I do. So, then how do you feel about it?
 

drizzt3117

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Originally Posted by Rome
Stop, you have nothing to apologize for, you would have more to speak of on the issue than I do. So, then how do you feel about it?

I think that business development is actually driving growth in those countries, as well as fueling literacy, education, and other civil services. The example is really clear in the Philippines. Towns with factories are clearly more well-to-do. The jobs would probably be considered by many as sweatshop, but their wages are many times higher than alternative forms of employment. FDI really does improve the countries in which factories are built. Certainly it's not magic, but some examples are Thailand and Malaysia, which have gone from sweatshop style third world countries to having a high degree of infrastructure, political instability nonwithstanding.

In terms of anecdotes, when I first arrived in the Philippines, I was absolutely shocked at the general conditions there. When you first arrive in Manila you can pass by the main garbage dump and see thousands of people living on a huge mound of refuse. Surprisingly, the Filipinos seem to be some of the most jovial people I've met, in most of my travels. Despite all the poverty and natural disasters that their country suffers, they always seem to be pretty happy go lucky about it. In terms of the factories? Sure they aren't as nice as the US, but certainly the conditions are better than those found in the towns and cities that the factories are built in. In some places there is child labor, but is it better for those children to work a bit, or starve to death? Some would claim that it's better to have neither, but unfortunately that's not the way the world works. Hopefully with the money pouring into those areas, those children, or at least their younger siblings, will have the opportunity to get an education in the future.
 

raley

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Drizzt is right... you can't just say, oh well they could easily pay them more money and then it wouldn't be a sweatshop. If the country that these shoes were produced in made regulations that the pay must be a certain amount, then the companies producing shoes in this country would just shift production to a different, cheaper country.

"Sweatshops" are actually good for economic development. The people want the jobs, and ask to work more hours.
 

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