【People's Livelihood Investigation Bureau】
Editor's note: This is the People's Livelihood Investigation Bureau.
Pay attention to what you want to pay attention to and what you don't pay attention to, and investigate what you want to see and what you haven't seen.
Zhongxin Finance, February 12 (Zuo Yukun) "Jiaojiao, I will try my best to earn more money for us. What do you need in the future, you can tell Dad. What sanitary napkins, or facial cleanser, we all use worth it."
In the hit TV series "The Beginning", the uncle of the migrant worker pulls out the carefully wrapped sanitary napkin from the bottom of the shabby suitcase and hands it to the heroine, which is still fresh in many people's memory.
Some netizens said that it is rare to see such an intuitive scene of sanitary napkins in domestic dramas.
This has also led to widespread discussions on the topics of "menstrual poverty" and "menstrual shame" that have long been surrounding this women's necessities.
Screenshot of the TV series "The Beginning".
Two cents of sanitary napkins, unspeakable "difficulties"
The last time the topic of sanitary napkins received high public attention was in 2020. Some netizens found that "bulk sanitary napkins" were sold on online shopping platforms, with no outer packaging and no shelf life. The price of 100 pieces was only 21.99 yuan.
"I suggest everyone to buy a brand name, and dare to use such a cheap one?" Faced with such a question, the answers of the two customers who bought the product made many people break the defense.
Today's online shopping platforms still have a lot of sanitary napkins with an average price of about 2 cents. In the comment area, there are also many female netizens complaining that the sanitary napkins are too expensive and interacting and encouraging messages.
How expensive are sanitary napkins, so many people can't afford them?
Recently, Zhongxin Finance and Economics came to a large supermarket in Beijing, and the sanitary napkins with good sales are generally placed on the shelves. -1.8 yuan or so.
Looking at the entire shelf, the price of a single piece of sanitary napkins ranges from 0.58 yuan to 3.74 yuan.
Under such a unit price, how much do women actually spend?
According to the average menstrual period of 5.8 days and the frequency of changing sanitary napkins every 4 hours, each woman needs roughly 20 daily sanitary napkins + 5 night sanitary napkins + 4 pads per month, and a menstrual period costs 30 Diversified, the annual cost is 360 yuan.
But if you look at the average monthly income of the population, it is not difficult to understand that many women have to spend 30 yuan per month on sanitary napkins.
In fact, women suffering from "menstrual poverty" are all over the world, including some developed countries.
For example, in a 2017 survey in the UK, 1 in 10 young women aged 14 to 21 in the country could not afford hygiene products.
Various sanitary napkins sold in supermarkets.
Photo by Zuo Yukun of China News Service
Why are the prices of sanitary napkins getting higher and higher?
Research from Industrial Securities shows that in recent years, the unit price of sanitary napkins in my country has shown a steady upward trend. By 2018, the average unit price of sanitary napkins has reached 0.71 yuan.
So, what are the costs of sanitary napkins?
Quanzhou Xianghe Sanitary Products Co., Ltd., which was involved in the bulk sanitary napkin incident, once publicly stated on Weibo that a piece of high-quality sanitary napkin costs about 3 cents, but this is only the cost of feeding the bare chips, as well as water and electricity costs. , machines, workers wages, plant rent and other expenses.
There are also voices that the tax rate on sanitary napkins is generally high in the world, and suggested that the tax should be reduced for sanitary napkins that are consumable necessities of life.
In fact, the so-called "sanitary napkin tax" does not exist. The "13% sanitary napkin tax" that frequently appears in social discussions is actually a value-added tax.
"Tax reduction will not necessarily solve the price problem," Hong Tao, a professor at Beijing Technology and Business University, said in an interview. If you want to emphasize the particularity of sanitary napkin products, you can use price guidance, such as setting a price ceiling, to protect the interests of consumers. , determine the lowest price to protect the interests of producers.
Various sanitary napkins sold in supermarkets.
Photo by Zuo Yukun of China News Service
Why are the prices of sanitary napkins getting higher and higher?
Yang Hua (pseudonym), who used to work in a sanitary napkin company, told Zhongxin Finance that it was mainly because of the increase in raw material costs and the company's innovative marketing expenditures.
"First of all, the surface layer, water-absorbing polymer, back glue and many other materials of the better domestic sanitary napkin brands are imported from abroad. Gradually rising. Secondly, the current sanitary napkin industry is very homogenized, and major brands are spending money on product innovation and upgrading and brand marketing investment in different ways, which has also greatly increased the cost.” Yang Hua said.
According to the research report of Zhongtai Securities,
the final selling price of sanitary napkins can reach more than three times the ex-factory price, the average gross profit margin can reach 45%
, and the industry average sales expenses account for about 23% of sales. R&D and administrative expenses accounted for approximately 6%.
Yang Hua mentioned that the popular tampons and safety pants (disposable pants-shaped sanitary napkins) in recent years are typical representatives of sanitary napkin product upgrades.
Taking Anpajama pants as an example, its price is 3 yuan to 9 yuan per piece, which is 2-4 times that of ordinary sanitary napkins.
In addition to the changes in shape, there are more and more sanitary napkins using patented materials such as organic cotton and imported cotton with high-end positioning.
Can you buy "cheap" sanitary napkins?
"I usually choose liquid sanitary napkins, but the price is really high. I will stock up on various shopping festivals and group buying opportunities. The ideal event price is around 0.89 yuan per piece." Xiaoli, who is in Beijing, told China-Singapore Finance.
"But I also spent a lot of time and cost for special purchases. In addition to complex processes such as pre-sale and deposits, I also need to add groups and groups, collect a lot of discount news, etc. Girls in remote areas do not have the leisure and online shopping conditions I have." Lily said.
Yang Hua also said that sanitary napkins have high-end and mid-to-low-end positioning products. There is actually no shortage of cost-effective brand products in the market, but the reputation is not so good.
"Some regional brands can do it for less than a dollar a piece, and it can be done within 20 yuan a month."
"The development of each product has its audience. Our rural hometown does not have sanitary napkins that cost more than 15 yuan." Some netizens said.
Sanitary napkins are placed in the most conspicuous position on the shelves of small shops in the community.
Photo by Zuo Yukun of China News Service
So is the quality of such low-priced sanitary napkins guaranteed?
"Generally speaking, as long as the manufacturer is a fully qualified and compliant hygiene product company, there is no problem. The brands that can enter the supermarket are of high quality. You can choose according to your own economic situation and needs." Yang Hua said.
As for the issue of "Should the price of sanitary napkins be reduced?", which has been widely discussed on the Internet, Yang Hua said: "I can understand the demand for cheap and high-end sanitary napkins. But it is not realistic to generally demand that the price of sanitary napkins be reduced. Now the most important thing is The purpose is to make comfortable and safe sanitary napkins available to girls in backward areas, such as providing them directly for free in public welfare."
What do you think about the price of sanitary napkins?
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