What’s Behind the Lowly Status of‘Sold in China?’

It has been reported that during this years Spring Festival holiday in February， Chinese tourists spent a total of 6 billion yuan （$958 million） in Japan. Apart from snatching up Japans famous electronic products， they also splashed out on domestic appliances—notably toilet lids. According to Japanese media outlets， toilet lids almost fell out of stock in Japanese shops owing to the run on the product. The splurge on toilet seats available in Japan that feature built-in spray washing and seat warmers has prompted many comparisons of made-in-China products with their Japanese-produced counterparts. However， it was soon discovered that some toilet seats bought from Japan back to China had in fact been produced in Hangzhou in east Chinas Zhejiang Province.

Some have deemed those who buy toilet seats in Japan unreasonable， while others believe different standards for products have led to a qualitative difference between toilet seats sold in China and in Japan.

Lack of trust

Bian Guangchun （Beijing Morning Post）： China is not inferior to Japan in terms of the technology of producing electric household appliances， toilet lids included.

The prices of toilet lids under Japanese brands range from 1，000 yuan （$160） to 5，000 yuan （$800）， and the majority of Chinese consumers choose to buy toilet seats at a median price of 2，000 yuan （$320）. There is method to this madness as the same model within the same product range costs more in China. Furthermore， although Chinese shops also sell Japanese-made toilet seats， owing to their lack of confidence in the domestic retail sector， Chinese consumers prefer instead to bring back the same toilet seats back from Japan.

As a typical trick of the trade， before retailers make discounts on certain commodities， they first raise the prices of these items artificially high， thereby psychologically inflating the value of the product in question in the buyers mind. Jaded to such tactics， more and more Chinese consumers have begun to lose confidence in domestic retailers and turn to other channels for shopping in lieu of them. Moreover， fake and low-quality commodities are also scaring consumers away. In short， several factors have conspired to dampen consumer confidence in commodities available at home， and domestic consumption has thusly suffered. This may go a long way toward accounting for overseas shopping sprees of the type recently encountered in Japan.

Qiao Zhifeng （www.cnhubei.com）： The Hangzhou-based toilet lid manufacturer has admitted that its products exported to Japan are manufactured in line with the relevant Japanese criteria， which are stricter than those in China. Toilet seats on the Japanese market are therefore of a higher quality than their counterparts sold in China under the same brand. Thus， there is no justifiable reason to deride those Chinese consumers who bring back toilet lids and other sundry products from their trips to Japan. They are simply unable to get commodities of an equivalent quality at home.

The General Administration of Quality Supervision， Inspection and Quarantine of China has explicitly stated that export-oriented products， particularly food， are absolutely safe and of merchantable quality. How wonderful it would be if products made for domestic market were held to the same standard！

In most cases， its not that Chinese consumers are possessed of a sudden irrational fervor for all things foreign-produced. Fundamentally， their buying of foreign products can be attributed to their lack of trust in domestically available products. They are more confident in the quality of products on foreign markets， even those exported from China. The frequent occurrence in China of health scares and scandals involving substandard and counterfeit products， particularly in the area of food safety， is steadily chipping away at consumer trust in domestic commodities， and thus strengthening Chinese resolve to buy foreign.

These so-called Japanese lids were actu-ally produced in China！ Who then should feel ashamed？ Not Chinese consumers， thats for sure. Conversely， they have shown themselves to be remarkably canny. Quality must always come first—whether the products are intended for export or for domestic consumption.

In order to retain Chinese consumers， domestic producers should therefore spare no efforts in improving product quality.

Qiao Shan （Information Times）： Its necessary to make it clear that not all products manufactured in China are available in the Chinese market. Some Chinese manufacturers have also revealed that they adopt the most rigid criteria when manufacturing overseasoriented products， while those sold in China is made according to lower standards， even under the umbrella of the same brand.

Therefore， we cannot help but ask， although many of the toilet seats brought back from Japan are made in China， are such products to be found in the Chinese market？ To some extent， when people shop in Japan， they are not just buying toilet seats， rather they are investing in the guarantee of a higher standard of quality.

Nowadays， China boasts strong manufacturing credentials， and its impossible to conceive of its market being incapable of producing high-quality products. The question therefore remains， when will it be possible for Chinese consumers to buy products as good as those exported to other countries from China？

Changing demand

Wang Shichuan （China Youth Daily）： Its only natural that consumers would be drawn to commodities of good quality. Chinese consumers lust for the technologically advanced toilet seats sold in Japan also implies that Chinese people are embracing a higher standard of living than they did before. In the past， they were not able to purchase dual flush toilets and certainly would not have cared about whether or not this home appliance was comfortable to use.

Some people bemoan the fact that， even given its status as a sizeable manufacturing power， China nonetheless is still unable to produce better toilet seats than Japan does.

Consumers are driven by potential savings and tangible benefits in their buying behavior. If domestic products were good enough， no one would go to the trouble of bringing back a toilet seat from as far afield as Japan， and consumers from other nearby countries might even come to China to buy quality goods.

China has been able to take a leading role in hi-tech areas such as the aerospace industry. Why then is it unable to produce quality toilet seats for its own people？

Lin Lili （Peoples Daily）： It has been revealed that toilet seat sold in Japan have added features such as heating， sanitizing， multiple water jets， and hot air dryers. Nowadays， more and more Chinese are starting to pursue an improved customer experience， from better shopping environments to after-sales services. They are no longer satisfied with a product that is merely usable， but hope instead to enjoy and glean benefits from what they buy.

Those who rushed to buy toilet seats in Japan do not represent a small exclusive cadre of very wealthy people but rather are mostly from the upper middle class. Domestic products can no longer satisfy them in many respects. The Chinese have moved out of an era characterized by a scarcity of goods. Some traditional industrial sectors are even providing quantity in excess of consumer demand.

It is clear that in the long run， only innovation can help to boost and fulfill consumer demand in various areas.

Some maintain that Japanese toilet seats have targeted a weak spot in Chinas toilet industry and exploited a gap in the market， as has been the case in other industries. However， we still believe that if Chinese companies can clearly recognize the chasm that exists between themselves and enterprises in developed nations and try to develop themselves accordingly through research， development and innovation， many products made in China， toilet seats included， will be sought after by consumers in China and beyond.

Xu Yichuang （www.hlj.rednet.cn）： As regards Chinese consumers voracious purchasing of toilet seats in Japan during this years Spring Festival holidays， some have labeled the shoppers “unpatriotic，” and some have expressed their dismay on the behalf of Chinas manufacturing sector.

These critics have overreacted. We have to admit that toilet seats bought from Japan are of a high quality and this simple fact accounts for their popularity with Chinese consumers. The Chinese tourists runaway spending on them only serves to demonstrate they are merely in pursuit of a more comfortable and convenient lifestyle， and by no means should be termed“unpatriotic.”

China is good at manufacturing. It not only exports toilet seats， but also cellphones， computers and automobiles to the rest of the world. As a developing economy， its natural for gaps to exist in terms of production standards between China and Japan and other developed economies. Domestic consumers still for the most part cannot afford expensive premium quality products designed for everyday usage.

Meanwhile， the recent spending spree by consumers in Japan should pose a warning to Chinese industries. There exists huge purchasing power within the Chinese market， and the increasingly wealthy Chinese are no longer satisfied with the quality of whats on offer， rather they demand more sophisticated products of a better caliber.

China needs to vitalize its national industries， boost innovation and improve the quality of its products. At the same time， different product ranges catering especially to consumers from different socio-economic backgrounds should be provided. Simply put， in order to hold onto consumers who spend big outside China， the time has come for domestic enterprises and retailers to take action and fight for their share the native market.