Manufacturers need to satisfy home demand

A prototype of a Hello Kitty branded toilet seat is on display at Sanrio's headquarters in Tokyo, Japan on February 2, 2015. The toilet seat, with heating and warm water shower functions, was one of the most popular items among Chinese customers in Japan during this Spring Festival holiday. [Photo/CFP]

Over  450,000 Chinese tourists travelled to Japan over the Spring Festival holiday and they spent about 6 billion yuan ($954 million). Multi-function toilet seat covers with smart control were among the most popular buys. However, a recent report said that some goods, including the covers, are actually made in China, yet they seldom appear in the domestic market. Comments:

Why are the "made in China" toilet seat covers sold mostly in Japan? The cause lies in consumption philosophies - while the majority of Chinese are willing to spend more on fridges and air conditioners, they consider such toilet seat covers a luxury. Most Japanese believe a good toilet seat cover, even though expensive, is necessary. Thus domestic manufacturers will naturally turn to the Japanese market.

evolife.cn, Feb 28

The trend of Chinese consumers to shop overseas, especially combined with the fact that most of what they buy are made in China, shows a distortion in the demand-supply relationship in the domestic market. That's a warning to the Chinese economy, and should motivate domestic manufacturers to change their way of thinking to keep the consumption within our borders.

sina.cn, March 1

Even if the multifunctional toilet covers are made in China, they are actually produced to meet Japanese demand, which is in accordance with their cultural tastes; the same philosophy has also won Japanese products worldwide fame. Chinese producers need to learn from this philosophy to help promote our own brands.

xinhuanet.com, Feb 26