Do you guys have an idea on what the economic forecast for the hair system industry? I’m a bit concerned

[Quigleymcjones]

Made a typo in the title and forgot to add “is” after “industry”

I plan to wear a hair system or at least try it out when my hair loss worsens enough to warrant one and have been in touch with a local reputable salon. The owner told me that since I last called in February the prices have increased due to availability and economic issues from covid. I felt I could handle the current prices but if they increased more then it’d begin to be prohibitively expensive for me.

On the news today I saw that China has issues with supplying power to their factories which really worries me as well. I imagine this question is tough to answer but I thought to check with you guys.

 

[grincher]

My understanding is that since a large chunk of production relocated to China, the new Chinese workers are not keen on making lace pieces. I believe they take longer to make than poly but workers seem to have pay on a per unit basis.

If production isnt returned to Korea then the risk could be much higher lace prices on the horizon or a shift to poly.

I expect some others on here will know more.

 

[Noah]

The prices we pay (or at least used to pay till Covid) are the product of the cut-throat entrepreneurialism that has been given free rein in China since the 90's. China has been the low-cost workshop of the world, and as wages went up in China, Chinese manufacturers have moved production to places with lower wages, like North Korea, Burma, Vietnam and Bangladesh. The result has been unnaturally low prices, which are only achievable by a degree of labour exploitation. What other custom-made product can you think of that takes a skilled hand worker days of delicate painstaking work to make but retails for under US$200? And that is the price to the consumer. The price at the factory gate is a fraction of that.

Even leaving aside the geopolitics, in the medium term I think we have to expect prices will rise. Vietnam is already starting to price itself out of the market for cheap labour, and Bangladesh will follow in the next 5 years. As decent human beings we should be happy for them, even if it means higher prices. Burma and North Korea have repressive regimes, so there will still be cheap labour for the Chinese to exploit for a while longer there, but countries like that are unstable and unpredictable, as we have seen recently with North Korea.

It's also very hard to predict what is going to happen in China. My firm does a lot of business there, so we are avid China watchers. The regime has started to clamp down on the runaway entrepreneurialism in what looks like a return to more state control and maybe even some actual Communism, which has long been a dead letter in China. At the same time it has picked fights with most of its close neighbours over its claims in the South China Sea, plus India (recent border skirmishes), Canada (citizens taken as political hostages), Japan (claiming some of its territory), Taiwan (threatening to invade it), plus the US and Europe (industrial espionage, human rights abuses in Chinese Turkestan, suppression of democracy in Hong Kong). Not a comfortable position for a country which is wholly dependent on its export trade, and is no longer as competitive as it once was.

Sorry to be a downer, but my feeling is that you can't rely on the current prices lasting forever.

 

[HairsonUnique]

I appreciate the price may rise.

From my pov what would be fantastic would be improved colour retention. I have no issues with the base or even loss of hair, but the real issue is discoloration.

Price and longevity are two sides of the same coin.

Also, I do hope I can continue with lace.