First, not all sex dolls are made in China. Some are made in America, with a few smaller projects around Europe and Russia. However, the vast majority of them are made in the Far East. The Americans create high end dolls on a much smaller scale that the Chinese. The market in America is so large that if done well these are likely to survive but it seems near impossible to compete at the mid range or with any real numbers. Many American companies have gone out of business over the years, or licensed their production to the Chinese whereas the number of Chinese ones seems to increase each year.
The main reasons for this, are the same reasons why so many other products are manufactured there. The low living costs, abundance of workers (high population) and lower expectations of Chinese people means that they can be paid lower wages and be treated less fairly than their Western counterparts. The systems within China have evolved to such an extent that the practices and cooperations between companies make it easier for manufacturers to do business. Chinese exporters pay low, if any, tax and with a low valued currency they get more bang for their buck.
So, it’s unlikely we’ll see a solid European or British sex doll factory any time soon. Even if technology or manufacturing processes change, the Chinese will simply adapt, e.g. 3D printing may have levelled the playing field but the Chinese have already grabbed hold of this technology and seem the leaders in this new, but fast growing, industry. I also think that the Americans will have a hard time soon as the Chinese factories are already starting to understand the importance of Westernised facial features and body shapes. Once this is more commonly combined with the higher end dolls and the American technology is copied, they might well be squeezed out or, at the very least, kept constantly on their toes.
Some may argue that Chinese manufacturing is not up to scratch or as good as their American or European counterparts but that is an old argument. The Chinese are aware that Westerners require a higher standard product and work diligently to improve in a similar way to what the Japanese used to do, i.e. constant small improvements until the cumulative effect becomes larger than any single innovation made by Europeans and Americans.
So what place is left for UK, European and American companies? Well, we are the sellers, the designers, the pushers and the interactors. We make the connections and provide the service that the Chinese simply cannot do. We provide the reliability and the relationships and we sell the products. We must offer something that the Chinese cannot, like fast shipment, complete handling of affairs and taxes with local border force, rearranging deliveries, after care, support and guidance. After all, if we do not, then in time, the customer will simply bypass us and deal direct.