The future of DJI in the USA

[anotherlab]

Without a doubt, China gained a leg up with industrial espionage. But they have technical resources that match or exceed the US in many areas. When the US government bans China from a market, they just develop their own. The Tiangong space station is a visible example of that. When China was blocked from participating with the ISS, they went their own way and have their own distinct space program.

Taiwan was mentioned earlier in this thread. That's a different situation altogether. TSMC is a leader in making chips. Their government made it a priority for TSMC to succeed. They are not under the control of the totalitarian Chinese government.

 

[Droning on and on...]

Taiwan was mentioned earlier in this thread. That's a different situation altogether. TSMC is a leader in making chips. Their government made it a priority for TSMC to succeed. They are not under the control of the totalitarian Chinese government.

Yet

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

The prices Walmart dictates.

That example is simply ‘maximising profits’, and perfectly legal.
Saying to a manufacturer “we’ll take 50,000 of these @ $2.50 each”, and sell them for regular market value of $10, $15, whatever.

Then the manufacturer has to build them down to a price I’d they want the business relationship, and in the past Chinas’ labour rate allowed this.
With almost every product you can imagine, drones included.
The gap is closing now as more people there get a slight taste of western life, and wage demands / work conditions increase.
This brings problems with QC as that will suffer terribly under such a model.

Yes there have been many cases of blatant re-engineering from China, but DJI really seems to have taken huge leaps in their own right for a change, though early on there may have been ways to copy some of the tech from back then.

 

[lookout]

Um, can you please read the description of what exactly "price fixing" is, and revise your answer? To further elaborate, the example I gave is the price Walmart dictates with respect to Walmart's PURCHASE price of products...not the price they sell at.

Many manufacturers have what's called MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) which means no retailers can advertise that product for less than the MAP. They CAN sell for less than MAP, but can't advertise it.

That's why you'll often see products listed everywhere for the exact same price. That is NOT price fixing.

Right the Map and above is profit margin. But Walmart requires all suppliers to have a presence in Arkansas.

 

[Solsearcher]

Right the Map and above is profit margin. But Walmart requires all suppliers to have a presence in Arkansas.

Interesting. I wasn't aware of that!

 

[lookout]

There was a documentary running on directv all the time.

It was called the high cost of low price. It was talking about walmart.

 

[Droning on and on...]

There was a documentary running on directv all the time.

It was called the high cost of low price. It was talking about walmart.

And again, so what?

Please explain what Walmart does that constitutes price fixing, or any other unethical behavior.

Setting the prices of products you retail to the public is what every retailer does. This is a negotiation between supplier and retailer. The one with more leverage will dominate the negotiation.

No different than negotiating a raise for you.

 

[Torque]

There was a documentary running on directv all the time.

It was called the high cost of low price. It was talking about walmart.

I remember the documentary. Walmart nearly destroyed Vlasic Pickle company.

There are 3 class action law suits against Walmart currenlty for price fixing regarding batteries.

Here is a bit about the Pickle fiasco:
Wal-Mart priced it at $2.97–a year’s supply of pickles for less than $3! “They were using it as a ‘statement’ item,” says Pat Hunn, who calls himself the “mad scientist” of Vlasic’s gallon jar. “Wal-Mart was putting it before consumers, saying, This represents what Wal-Mart’s about. You can buy a stinkin’ gallon of pickles for $2.97. And it’s the nation’s number-one brand.”

Therein lies the basic conundrum of doing business with the world’s largest retailer. By selling a gallon of kosher dills for less than most grocers sell a quart, Wal-Mart may have provided a ser-vice for its customers. But what did it do for Vlasic? The pickle maker had spent decades convincing customers that they should pay a premium for its brand. Now Wal-Mart was practically giving them away. And the fevered buying spree that resulted distorted every aspect of Vlasic’s operations, from farm field to factory to financial statement.

Indeed, as Vlasic discovered, the real story of Wal-Mart, the story that never gets told, is the story of the pressure the biggest retailer relentlessly applies to its suppliers in the name of bringing us “every day low prices.” It’s the story of what that pressure does to the companies Wal-Mart does business with, to U.S. manufacturing, and to the economy as a whole. That story can be found floating in a gallon jar of pickles at Wal-Mart.

https://www.fastcompany.com/47593/wal-mart-you-dont-know-2

 

[lookout]

And again, so what?

Please explain what Walmart does that constitutes price fixing, or any other unethical behavior.

Setting the prices of products you retail to the public is what every retailer does. This is a negotiation between supplier and retailer. The one with more leverage will dominate the negotiation.

No different than negotiating a raise for you.

It showed among several other things, that even at lower prices, the map was still high. Think sweat shops in third world countries.

 

[Droning on and on...]

I'm not persuaded by the Vlasic pickle example. Was Vlasic compelled to sell through Walmart, or was it simply the access to the market that Vlasic desired?

How is it that Walmart should provide Vlasic with that access on Vlasic's terms? Did Vlasic build the stores? Distribution centers? Put together the fleet of trucks? Pay for the Walmart advertising? And on and on.

The whole reason there's a lawsuit is because Walmart spent decades building and growing a successful retail business, and Vlasic wants to use the value of that huge channel that they didn't create or build. Part of the price of that is tolerating Walmart's marketing move with the gallon pickle jar.

 

[Torque]

I'm not persuaded by the Vlasic pickle example. Was Vlasic compelled to sell through Walmart, or was it simply the access to the market that Vlasic desired?

How is it that Walmart should provide Vlasic with that access on Vlasic's terms? Did Vlasic build the stores? Distribution centers? Put together the fleet of trucks? Pay for the Walmart advertising? And on and on.

The whole reason there's a lawsuit is because Walmart spent decades building and growing a successful retail business, and Vlasic wants to use the value of that huge channel that they didn't create or build. Part of the price of that is tolerating Walmart's marketing move with the gallon pickle jar.

Fortunately your opinion means zilch.

 

[Droning on and on...]

Fortunately your opinion means zilch.

As does yourself and everyone else's here.

Although I wouldn't say "fortunately". Got nothing against you.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

I'm not persuaded by the Vlasic pickle example. Was Vlasic compelled to sell through Walmart, or was it simply the access to the market that Vlasic desired?

It's crazy to think the pickle coy spend so long establishing themselves as a top brand, to throw that away in a deal with a goliath of retail.

It's like one of my businesses, 38 years established, has always been a one man (and wife) show, no employee / employment hassles, no complications.
Ok, if I go on holiday, there's no income, but I can handle that, I make unique products, high end products, and sell at a great margin . . . but it's niche enough and complicated enough that the Chinese of other such won't ever copy us.

Maybe a decade or two back, I was approached by 2 Aussie product manufacturers that wanted our components and I went through a pretty complex assessment of automating our kilns to be able to work 3 shifts 24/7.
It looked ok on paper, but I am so glad I stuck with my plan.
Those 2 manufacturers are probably buying mostly completed products from China today anyway, and I'd have been stuck with a huge overproduction capability.

Walmart would have gone and screwed down price with another 1 or 2 major pickle places for sure, and probably hurt Vlasic from a different perspective, but they would have still had all their other retailers to sell to the masses.

 

[Droning on and on...]

Walmart would have gone and screwed down price with another 1 or 2 major pickle places for sure, and probably hurt Vlasic from a different perspective, but they would have still had all their other retailers to sell to the masses.

Only if Vlasic, and those other two pickle companies agree to sell through Walmart, on those terms.

Obviously, in the overall picture of their business, it was worth it.

 

[Dangerly]

I literally laughed out loud thinking about how my question about the future of DJI lead to a discussion about pickles. I get it and am grateful, but also... it is kinda funny.

 

[AlanL]

I literally laughed out loud thinking about how my question about the future of DJI lead to a discussion about pickles. I get it and am grateful, but also... it is kinda funny.

Reality left the discussion a few pages back

 

[EssenYVR]

I literally laughed out loud thinking about how my question about the future of DJI lead to a discussion about pickles. I get it and am grateful, but also... it is kinda funny.

On the plus side, there are far worse topics it could have turned to...

 

[lookout]

I literally laughed out loud thinking about how my question about the future of DJI lead to a discussion about pickles. I get it and am grateful, but also... it is kinda funny.

This while situation with drones is getting us all into a pickle.

 

[lewisrassee]

With all the recent bills and laws at all levels of government banning Chinese made drones in the USA allegedly for security reasons, do you think DJI will still have a market in the USA in 3-5 years? Are US companies who want to use drones for commercial and not recreational purposes (Skytel, Amazon, etc.) working with the US government so they can compete? Speed Test

no one is working together to build a better recreational or commercial drone here in the US. There are so many more other priorities here at home besides drones from electric cars to mobile phones to other non-electronics.

 

[Torque]

Skydio is no longer making consumer drones they recently announced.