This whole idea doesn't shock at all. There are lots of things that are labeled one thing but really are another. Even wineries sometimes get some of the grapes from other places, yet still put their own label on it. Perhaps those who are most shocked by this Yonex hypothesis are those who believe that a Chinese factory can't make as good a badminton racket from specifications as a Japanese factory can. I don't see why that should be the case.
Yonex high-end racket bottom grip cap (the green one) only written "JAPAN" not "MADE IN JAPAN".It explains that yonex racket made outside of japan.Mid and low-end yonex racket,clearly write "MADE IN CHINA" or "MADE IN TAIWAN".
Not that I entirely doubt the sincerity or accuracy of what your friend has told you, this is a bit of a smear thread towards Yonex from an unsubstantiated source. This is a bit like the whole Lance Armstrong French press thing. French report says UNIDENTIFIED source says he took performance enhancement substances but there is no proof of anything here. I have worked directly in the racquet industry in multiple roles (including as a product rep for a major racquet brand - not Yonex) and there are rumours circulated all the time in the industry about major brands, what they are doing, manufacturing, sales tactics, promotions, etc. I myself have NOT heard of this about Yonex.
1) Yes, the Tokyo factory has equipment more for R&D than actual production. Why, R&D is in Tokyo easier access and other econ factor. The other factories are for productions. One factory has nylon shuttle manufacture section. 2) Yonex does take care of their employees. Just like many Japanese company keep their high end products manufacture in Japan. Also High end products has higher margin, so keeping them made in Japan is not a major issue. For example, Lexus (exclude ES300 and some RX350) and Infinity high end Japanese vehicles are made in Japan. To our dear Master Kwun, if you have time to visit Japan some time in the future, you might contact YY USA and they can arrange a tour in Tokyo factory and see with your own eyes.
China in many areas of manufacture can produce high end goods, they are getting better and better. I think Yonex put alot into the sport, sponsoring events, producing great and extensive range of badminton products, although in return they get alot out. I have mostly Yonex products BUT I find them a dishonest company, for example according to some post a well known professional is using a arcsaber 10 painted as a arcsaber z slash! There's other stuff aswell.
Perhaps Li Ning rackets used by the Chinese players are vastly different to the ones for public... With different weights and BP's maybe/
So, Wilson is also dishonest on Feder's racquet? his BLX is just a repaint of Pro-Staff? How about Babolat, The new one Nadel is using is repaint of his old Aeropro drive.
This goes on more than you think (especially in tennis)...sometimes not even within the same brand (eg brand A repainted to look like brand B). Don't be fooled....ALL brands do/have done this Keep in mind that the racquets the pro's get are EXACTLY to their spec. These racquets are purposely selected, (and in some case manufactured) within specific tolerances. The gear the public get are manufactured with a lower degree of tolerance. This is why a 4U is listed as 80.0-84.9g and a 3U is listed 85.0-89.9g in the spec. The range is part of the tolerance. The new one has a different BP, swingweight and GT technology so not "exactly" the same racquet
Ok so other companies do it, was not aware. To be honest I am shocked and disgusted and question its legality. And thats aimed at all these branded companies. Thank goodness for the internet you can dig a little deeper to see what kind of a product you are really getting.
But can you tell us that all of the high-end yonex rackets(even non JP, CN, CP) are all made and assembled in Japan and not just made with materials that are made in Japan and using the loophole? I know I'm putting you on the spot here Master silentheart but you work for the evil empire maybe your answer will carry more weight since you didn't really answer the question with the above quotes....
Here is one thing to keep in mind about the "made in ____" rules. You need to add significant value to a product. In many cases what companies do is have the components, handle, shaft/head, grommets... etc. made in other countries then assembled in the country you want to say "made in". Not saying this is what yonex does as it's only an example but you can see that the individual components have low value until assembled into a working racket so in this case you could legally state "Made in Japan". So if we took Kwuns hypothetical knowledge from his friend, if the CF went from Japan to other countries to be made into the shaft/head then returned to Japan to be assembled with the handle and other parts, this would probably satisfy the requirements to stamp "Made in Japan" on the assembled racket. As for the marketing done with certain players using rackets painted to look like other rackets... this really only affects you if you choose your rackets based on what some pro you've never met is using... really?? I've bought, tried, tested many rackets but never based on what a certain player is using as that's probably the worst basis for choosing a racket...
What about the JP coded rackets? some people say the quality of the JP rackets are better then other coded rackets
I would have to guess that they are made the same way (whatever way that is) but... they probably take the top percentage from QC testing and reserve them for JP coding. Many companies do this, Pioneer would take their top 10% of plasma panels for their "elite Kuro" line of TV's, the next 30% went to the Kuro line and the rest were sold to other OEM manufacturers.
Since the label "made in Japan" is brought up, does anyone have any reference to the requirements for the label?
I dont think its true, just a popular rumour. TH is using a customised Arc ZS, not a repainted Arc10. Someone close to him can verify this.
I agree with druss, i think YY is still legally and technically made in Japan. Japanese car maker also import most of its part from China and around the world, and they got assembled in Japan and exported around the world. In the case where they are assembled in other countries such as Canada, Thailand, Australia etc you will find out before you buy (so there is no funny business there) and most of the time to this day we still can spot the difference between made in Japan and not by just looking/testing at the quality. The same as YY rackets, i think producing 3000 rackets a day is not that bad if you have 3 or 4 factories running especially if all the materials (imported from overseas) are ready for assembly.
That is what those player racket versions are out there for. I forgot which member posted that the player version of the racket is the slightly altered version of the original racket. Ie. PG Arc10, LWC AT900 and TH Arc ZS.
I have test proof that the player series are exactly the same (spec wise) to the original version. That's another myth busted.
The racket the Taufik Hidayat is actually a Arcsaber 10 with the Arcsaber Z Slash TH paint job So it promotes the Arcsaber Z Slash TH
