I've always had a saying about business trouble:
A problem is not a problem
...until it hits Main Street.
Well, given what I witnessed during a trip to Wal-Mart a couple days ago, this whole China "Tainted Toys" thing is a problem.
A big, big problem.
I was in the pet section and watched two people poring over the dog toys. They were examining the labels like a scientist examines specimens under a microscope. They dismissed the painted squeaky rubber toys outright, and after a few minutes of contemplation, they did the same to the stuffed animals and the rope toys.
Total toy purchase: nothing.
Guarantee you one thing--this was not an isolated incident.
If people are taking this much care over playthings for their pets, you know that this has some serious consumer ramifications.
Over 80% of all toys sold worldwide--for kids and for dogs and cats--are made in China. Today. Who knows, if Main Street speaks loud enough, pretty soon we could be in-sourcing our production right back to all the places we took it away from.
Beijing SHOULD be trembling, and if I were a betting man, I'd bet on a wave of "Made Here" hang-tags appearing on products everywhere, and soon.
"Local" is soon gonna be "The New Green."