Plumbing seller appreciated domestic toilets: “Only if nostalgia tortured”

Parallel imports turn into wild prices

Buying a new toilet – and not as part of a scheduled repair, but due to a sudden breakdown of the existing one – in the realities of 2023 turns into a particularly exciting adventure. Back in February 2023, the European Union announced its intention to limit (as part of the next package of sanctions) the export to Russia of bidets, toilet bowls, flush cisterns and other sanitary ware. They continue to bring something, but the situation is getting worse every day – as a compromise, you have to agree to domestic plumbing with imported components.

“They make it in Samara, but the components here are Portuguese,” the salesman in the plumbing store readily says. – Why? Taking into account parallel imports, it is much easier to bring spare parts to Russia in order to assemble a finished toilet bowl here. Logistics is cheaper. They can assemble from us, but they still cannot make good components. Unless, of course, you want the same toilet that your grandmother had in 1962 in a five-story building.

Further, the seller shows all the “secrets” of a quality toilet bowl: for example, a button that involves two flush modes – stronger and weaker, as well as a more ergonomic shape of the bowl. Good shape can prevent blockages, he says.

What kind of toilet did you have before? Well, the one that broke? German? Now you won’t find one cheaper than 40 thousand, – the seller shrugs his shoulders.

The average cost of a domestic toilet bowl today is about 12-13 thousand rubles. For this money you can claim something decent. Imported will cost more.

The main suppliers of sanitary ware in Russia are Germany, Italy, Spain, Hungary and Poland. They worked both in the premium segment and with the expectation of the mass consumer. Some brands have completely stopped cooperation with Russia, while others continue to bring their goods, but through other countries – and at exorbitant prices.

In turn, the chairman of the Association of Sanitary Ware Manufacturers and Suppliers, Igor Georgi, is more optimistic: in his opinion, European toilets can be easily replaced by Asian ones, and even better – if possible, Russian ones. True, this is not a matter of one day. As in other areas (for example, in clothing or tourism), it is proposed to perceive the departure of European companies from our market as new opportunities – this is the official position of the country. But those who face it in practice – ordinary sellers and buyers – think differently.

“I don’t get it: if our industry can produce cool plumbing on its own, why didn’t it do it before? Why couldn’t she win in healthy competition? – says the seller Vitaly. “I have been standing here in this market for more than ten years with toilet bowls. I always kept one or two variants of unpretentious Russian ones. For grandmothers who have little money. Normal people won’t buy them. Look, here, for example, a toilet bowl for 8 thousand, but with a horizontal shelf. It’s yesterday! No, well, if someone has irrepressible nostalgia for the “scoop”, then of course …

The seller emphasized that plumbing, which is optimal in terms of price and quality, is now coming to Russia from China. It is inferior to the European one, but much better than the Russian one. Another question is that the names of firms do not yet mean anything to the average Russian consumer. However, this is fixable.

There is one more problem – common for Russian and foreign manufacturers of plumbing. White clay (kaolin) is required for the production of ceramics, and until 2022 it was usually purchased in Ukraine – it is there that there are large deposits. Now this channel is difficult to access: not only plumbing manufacturers complain about these problems, but also those, for example, who make dishes. Alternatives are still expensive (there are options for clay from Germany or China, clay from Uzbekistan is less successful).

Earlier, experts noted that the average cost of repairing an apartment in Moscow has increased over the past two years – taking into account the rise in prices for building materials – by about 10%.