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Unorganised competition - rubber products
What it is
The large tail of small and informal manufacturers in rubber goods - moulded components, hoses, footwear soles and general rubber products - operating below the tax, compliance and quality threshold of organised firms
They compete on price in undifferentiated categories where specification and warranty matter least
Impact on industries
- Caps realisation in commodity categories, since an organised maker carrying compliance, testing and labour costs cannot match an informal competitor's price
- Quality variability damages category credibility, and counterfeit product free-rides on established brands in the after-market
- Formalisation is gradually shifting share - GST, EPR obligations, quality control orders and OEM vendor requirements all raise the cost of staying informal
- The fringe cannot follow into specification-driven work, so organised players defend margin by moving toward technical grades and OEM-approved components