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Wightman: Chinese hardware brands are heavily investing in Western physical retail distribution

Jackson Wightman · 15-20% Growth for 3 Years Without Adding a Single Hire · Dec 23, 2025 · at 19:21

Jackson Wightman discusses the shift among Chinese consumer hardware manufacturers from white-label Amazon sales toward durable brand building in North American retail.

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“What is interesting is now there are more and more Chinese brands that are playing a game that might have been The preserve of Americans and Europeans and other first world nations in that they are trying to build sustainable brands. When they come to North America, they are not just thinking about DTC and Amazon. They're thinking about retail. They're thinking about different types of retail from Costco to Walmart to Best Buy to whatever it is. So there's a little more Of that coming, there's a little more of, we understand and we value brand equity, and we can still make things that are great, just as China has done for, you know, two, two plus decades, three plus decades, but there's a little more marketing savvy and brand savvy, and that is putting a lot of pressure on some incumbents here who might have gotten a little fat and lazy and comfortable, I think.”

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