Imported strollers may struggle to justify prices

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Imported strollers may struggle to justify prices

Two expensive imported strollers scored lower than a cheaper local model in a recent quality inspection report released by Consumers Korea.

Ryan’s Spin stroller retails for 698,000 won ($643) and received the third-highest grade of “satisfactory.” This puts the Korean product one grade above Stokke’s Xplory and Orbit’s G2, which cost 1.69 million won and 1.45 million won, respectively, and were both ranked “poor.”

A total of 11 strollers were checked for quality and cost.

“A high price does not guarantee good quality,” said Yoon Myoung, policy director at Consumers Korea. “Customers should choose strollers based on the child’s age, size and shape rather than being won over by the branding power of foreign labels.”

Tests were carried out from January to October on strollers by the International Consumer Research and Testing at the request of Consumers Korea and five other consumers’ rights groups. All were approved in terms of safety, with the score basically indicating comfort, convenience and value-for-money. Consumers and experts in ergonomics checked how easy it was to take the strollers on buses and other forms of public transportation, and store them in car trunks. They also took into account the products’ storage space for items like babies’ bottles.

“Stokke would have received a better score for its foldable stroller Scoot," said an industry  official. 

Strollers made from Italian label Inglesina and U.K. label Maclaren received the second-highest grade, “worth considering.” The former’s Trip retails for 368,000 won and Maclaren’s Techno XLR sells for 765,000 won.

None of the products sold in Korea received the top mark of “best buy.”

U.S. label Graco’s Citi Lite R, and Japanese label Combi’s Miracle Turn Premier, received the lowest mark of “very poor.” The former is priced at 298,000 won while the latter sells for 880,000 won. “Although the difference in quality between local and imported strollers is not that high, the foreign ones sell for up to 4.6 times the price,” said Yoon at Consumers Korea.


By Lee Sun-min [summerlee@joongang.co.kr]
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