Brands like Giant and Merida are Taiwanese with very high quality control standards especially in the Taiwanese factories. Yes they have mainland Chinese factories but they own them completely and have Taiwanese QC standards. The issue with US and European brands/importers is they often use cheaper factories and will change factories regularly to get a better price. These could be in mainland China or in Vietnam, Cambodia and many other countries where the quality isn't quite as good. Trying to connect this back to the Wiggle/CRC situation many of their bikes have been made by Insera Sena in Indonesia (Polygon/Marin) and they have also made many bikes for much more expensive brands, Kona, Scott, Saracen as well as shop brands like Halford's Carrera, Voodoo and Boardman plus Go Outdoor brands. It's not hard to see pretty much the same bike at wildly different price points but Kona or Scott models probably have a lot more prestige and are higher up the pecking order but there might be a month's wages in difference when buying.
