CHEAP JAPANESE GOODS

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 232, 28 June 1935, Page 10

CHEAP JAPANESE GOODS

Low Retail Prices in Wellington QUESTION OF COMPARATIVE QUALITY “While the cost of articles manufactured in Japan is admittedly astonishingly low, even equally surprising is the price at which these are retailed to the public.” This statement was made by.a Wellington importer in reference to the remarks of Mr. 11. E. Grain-

ger whieh were recently published after his return from a visit to Japan, when he became impressed with the low production costs.

The retail price of some Japanese articles which can be bought in Wellington in some large departmental stores was specifically mentioned b.v the importer. One instance was of hot-water lootties, which were sold at 9d. These 'were particularly intended for the use of children, and Jiad figures and letters of the alphabet designed on them. Another cheap rubber product was a toy iu the form of a baby’s bath and accessories. In addition to the baby

itself there were little rubber replicas of a bath, soap, sponge, bhth-mat, facecloth, soap-rack, feeding-bottle and a small glass imitation thermometer. It was all retailed for 4Jd. At a similar price was a child’s teaset containing about half a dozen pieces. A larger toy of this nature had a dozen pieces in it, and was sold for 6d. Japanese toys sold at a particularly cheap price, qnd evem though their quality might not be high, it was surprising that they could be turned out at all to sell at the prices at which they were for sale.

Stationery is also cheap. Well-built pencil-cases, containing several pieces of wood, are sold at 3ld. while hard black Japanese pencils.can be bought at less than Id. each. Erasers for both ink and pencil, usually sold at 3d., could be obtained at a halfpenny.

Japanese clothing is extremely lowpriced. Some scarves the Importer had 'noticed as coming from Japan were sold at about 9d., find they looked remarkably like similar articles made in New Zealand and sold at about 10/-. Then there are ties at 1/- and shirts at 3/11. Japanese clocks are certainly cheap. Handsome-looking alarm clocks can bo obtained for about 3/6, and there is always a reasonable chance that they will last a fairly long while and prove reasonably reliable. / Toothbrushes from Japan must be a serious rival to the dearer British artiHe when they are sold at 3d. or 4d. A cigarette-lighter that, like all members of the cigarette-lighter family, “never fails,” can be bought for 3d. “These are only a few examples of what I have seen,” the importer said. “Any person can discover similar instances by taking a walk round the shops for himself. It is admittedly difficult for any country to compete against these low production costs, but there is always the difference in quality, whieh counts for quite a lot.. As perienced shoppers know, it is often cheaper to buy at a higher price.