Tempest in a Notebook: Moleskines in China 2
I am a bit slow in getting back to the topic of the news about Moleskines being printed and bound in China. I have let blogging slide over the last few months due to time pressures from real-life deadlines. Additionally, my delay was due to not seeing this as a deal-breaking issue for Moleskine users. My appreciation of these notebooks has always been placed first and foremost on the quality of the product, and I have never been personally attached to the Moleskine Marketing Mojo. They could be printed and bound on the moon for all that matters to me, as long as the quality is the same. But it seems that some of you are concerned about this in a way that I didn't anticipate, so I will try to clear this up as best as possible.
The facts are simple: The quality of Moleskine notebook production has not changed, it is still as high as ever. The simple truth behind this is that Moleskines have ALWAYS been printed and bound in China. There have been no actual changes in notebook production; the only thing that has changed is the way the product is now being labeled.
I asked the following question to my Kikkerland representative, Laura Kellner: "I am under the impression that the method of production for Moleskines hasn't actually changed at all, and that they have always been printed and assembled in China. Is that the case? If so that would mean that the only change is in the labeling of the notebooks?"
Her answer:
"This is correct, the changes that have occurred are the labeling to include Made in China, the [label] band has changed in the last couple of years (color coding the different styles), and the insert story has been updated from time to time with new product information, the newest books now have a ‘quality control number’."
I also asked if Kikkerland had ever received a returned notebook due to quality control issues. She said that "sometime in the first year (2000) a couple of elastic bands popped off of some notebooks and we replaced the customer’s notebooks." But other than that:
"We have never received a book back from a customer due to a quality issue – or any issue for that fact."
I would also add that as a seller of thousands of Moleskines I have never once received a return of a product due to quality control issues. This does not mean that the occasional notebook is sold among the millions produced each year (5,223,000 produced in 2006 alone) that has a production issue - a loose binding, an elastic closure that pulls out from the cover. But what it does mean is that there has not been a product-wide shift in the production quality of Moleskine notebooks that some are suggesting is the result of the new product labeling. There has been no change in the manufacture of the product. Period.
It seems like the only business model we experience as consumers in the US is based on this concept: Make a quality product until it becomes popular and then outsource production and lower the quality of the product. We see it happen time and time again, and we associate production in China as the culprit. Manufacturing in China is not inferior by default but rather by specific demand. The actual culprit in this business scenario is the company asking for the lowest quality production standard for the price - a race to the bottom in product quality. The lack of integrity inherent in this scenario is located solely and squarely at the top, and the contracted manufacturer in China is only completing a process in the way they have been instructed to. Modo e Modo has not followed this business plan, but quite the opposite. As the demand for Moleskines has increased over the years into the millions and their production has expanded they have strictly maintained the same level of quality present in their original product. The quality of Moleskine notebooks rides solely on Modo e Modo's commitment to quality, not where they are "printed and bound".
The decision whether or not to buy your next Moleskine knowing it is "printed and bound" in China will depend upon your perception of what that means to you in relation to the product. The product is the same one you fell in love with, the same fine paper pages, the same great functional design. None of these things has changed. The only possible change in Moleskine notebooks is the change in your perception of them.
Here are a few links to the Moleskinerie website with further information on this issue (thanks to Armand for his help):
Mode e Modo's response to the concern about product quality can be found HERE.
US Moleskine distributor Kikkerland's response can be found HERE.
Recent Comments