They are both vacuum cleaner manufacturers - so what?.
.......That is an extremely good question...
...the following explains the situation, and indeed how it may impact yourself and others......
In relation to a British friends British lighting company, he is currently setting up a duplicate "version" of his company in China. The China based company will actually become the main design and manufacture centre.
His "token" British company will bring forward the introductions to the UK and EU customers (by advertising and going to trade shows etc etc)....he will then gradually transfer most of the customers to his cheaper Chinese products. All of his design and manufacture in future will essentially come from China...but be branded as if it had been done in the UK part of the company....even if not every product is branded such, the existence of a seemingly knowledgeable British Electronics conmpany will "pave the way" and "Oil the wheels" of the Chinese operation. You have to be "In electronics" in order to succeed really well from a Chinese import operation....otherwise people dont think you are knowledgeable enough to import electronics from China.
The Chinese "version" of his company will actually be the main company (but it will be "hidden from view"). And he will have the Chinese company directed by an acquaintence........so that his own name will not appear on the list of directors at companies house. In other words, the director will actually be employed by him...but nobody will know this. So the director will just be a "puppet" director. ....Payed a wage with some occasional bonus's.
This "Puppeting" had to be done because he would have become unpopular with his British Engineers and Assembly staff if they found out that he was setting up "their" company in China...
...He couldnt let his staff find out that their British "token " company is now basically just a "shell".......and that their job prospects etc will be near zero....as they will not really be doing anything other than making it look like the products are all British designed and manufactured...which of course they wont be....and of course, if you want to be a sucessful Chinese importer, then you need to have "some" kind of prescence in the UK electronics sector....so you have your "token" British company.
The "puppeting" is actually a legally binding agreement, so that the "puppet" director appears to be the real director, but of course, he isnt really......but companies house will think he is....and so too will the rest of the world.