Is Importing Off-shoring without Ever Having In-sourced?

My expertise lies primarily in the areas of export market entry, international market development and the management of foreign operations, so I don't generally write about the import side of the global business equation.  I do get involved in off-shoring issues since they frequently involve developing foreign manufacturing or service capabilities and from an operations development and management point of view I'm not sure it matters much whether the products will be sold as part of a deepening penetration of a foreign market or whether they will be imported back to the company's home market.

I attended a meeting this week about off-shore out-sourcing issues during which I had an insight into the nature of import businesses which I thought was intriguing.  Out-sourcing is driven in large part by the theory that a company can be most successful by focusing on its core competency -- whether its manufacturing, distribution, customer service, etc. -- and allowing someone else to provide the non-core business functions.  The idea is that another company which has a core competency in the out-sourced functions can deliver that part of the business better, more efficiently, at lower cost.   (For some foundational ideas around this concept, one might read the post "Unbundling and Rebundling" on John Hagel's Edge Perspectives blog which discusses his earlier Harvard Business Review piece "Unbundling the Corporation").  Once one looks at out-sourcing as a business strategy, off-shore out-sourcing is a logical extension in a globally integrated market.

So here's my insight -- importers (if they are successful at least) are companies that are good at sales, marketing and distribution logistics.   They have concluded that it is best to leave non-core competencies such as product design and development and manufacturing to other companies.  Further, by definition, those other companies are located in foreign countries.  So aren't importers simply another version of off-shoring out-sourcers that had the good sense never to have in-sourced product design and manufacturing in the first place?  The reason I find this intriguing is that while many people seem to think off-shore out-sourcing is a four letter word, we celebrate the shop that imports the hard to find French wine or the home decor boutique that brings in the beautiful Italian accent pieces.  Are they really so different?