The relevance of ‘Made in Germany’ in a globalized economy
'Made in Germany' is a merchandise mark indicating that a product has been manufactured in Germany and over the years it has – in all modesty – become quite famous. It was originally introduced in Great Britain back in 1887 to label products from Germany, which at that time were considered to be inferior to British products. All things change and after a while 'Made in Germany' became a very valuable label, indicating superior quality, reliability and engineering.
Is this label still appropriate in a globalized economy? Germany, as many other industrial nations, increasingly relies on the import of raw materials. Parts and components are also imported, because it's cheaper to produce them abroad due to lower labor costs. The national labor force includes more and more workers with a migrant background. Not only that, management positions are increasingly staffed with qualified professionals from overseas. Machinery, computers, office technology etc. are often imported. Big corporations have R&D and Design offices as well as manufacturing facilities across the globe. Last but not least, they work with international agency networks. So what's left? The geographical location of the corporate HQ? Does it still make sense for a brand to borrow perceived values of nation states to market their products? Brands with complex products need to address this issue, not just in Germany. Take a look at Apple. On their products it says 'Designed by Apple in California'. If I'm not mistaken, the Apple chief designer is British. Time for new thinking.