Countdown to product launch date: 4 days.
To date Pearl is still pretty active (ok ok, and also pretty and attractive, yes dear I have already written that down…), still able to do some light work out, and still cooks everyday. In other words, there is no imminent sign that the little rascal is coming out anytime soon. Though little kow-kia is safe and snug in his mom’s tummy, the mommy can’t wait for him to get out. It pains my heart every time I see her suffer from various symptoms of pregnancy: kicking in the liver, gaseous stomach, indigestion, Braxton-Hicks contractions (can’t tell for sure, since this is her first time!), back ache, occasional insomnia etcetera etcetera. This is worse than the last time she fell ill…
Today will be her last day to drive to work, and starting tomorrow I will be her dedicated chauffer, or as they say, Tchaikovsky, in Cantonese. This is just in case if the baby decides to come out during work hours, I will be able to drive her to the hospital without the hassle of having to park another car at her company’s garage. Grab bag – check; baby seat – check; diapers –check. So we are ready to go. Anyway, in case Ian shows the early sign of a superstar and be fashionably late, we will have to go through the painful inducing process. The bright side is that we will have a Merdeka day baby! Rumors have it that he will receive life time supplies of diapers, milk powder etc from the government. I wonder if this will be reported on the newspaper. I should also make sure that Jeff Ooi gets that piece of news from our dedicated Sugarland agent.
By the way, my eyes squint every time I think of the diapers. I hope the rumor is true else diapers will be quite a big expense for such a tiny human. And on top of that to remember that I am the dedicated diapers changer, since I do not, unfortunately, produce milk. At least now we have a used Diaper Genie, which may help to reduce the odor a little, nonetheless comes with another expense – all those refills!
Anyway, back to what I intended to share with the parents or parents to be out there: the cost of diapers. According to the blind test conducted by one of our potential in-laws, there is no difference in quality and feel between the cheaper in-house brands such as Smiles (Sam’s) and the expensive branded diapers like Huggies Supreme. In the effort to continue his paradigm-shifting endeavor, CS & Pearl Marketing Institution has conducted an in-depth price survey of diapers on the market and concluded that the winner in terms of cost of diapers are, in no particular order, Target, Smiles (of Sam’s Club) and, surprise…surprise, Luvs! And our study also found that the myth of cheaper diapers from online 800diapers.com store is certainly not true, even if taken into account of the 0% tax and free shipping!
If you look at costs alone, the house brands of Target and Sam's win hands down. The cheapest diaper for new born is none other than the Target Brand from Target (so uncreative…). So now we know where all our Target gift card will go to :) A word of advise for baby showers - register at Target!!
The winner for size 1 and 2 are again both Target’s house brand, Target (yawn...). If your baby is between size 3 to 5, Sam's Smiles is the cheapest brand to consider. For larger baby of size 6, surprise surprise...Luvs is the winner!
A copy of the detailed market analysis can be DONWLOADED HERE.
We completed the study with a hypothetical calculation, comparing the costs of purchasing the most expensive diapers vs. the least expensive.
Assumptions:
- baby changes diapers 4 time more often than toddler
- you potty train your toddler by age of 2
- weighted average of diaper unit price is estimated based on linear usage relationship
The results show that all things equal, the cheapest diapers costs 56% less than the most expensive brands. So depending on the frequency of diaper usage, the potential saving could range from $500 to $1k.
So what’s the conclusion? Diaper money is NOTHING compared to other more costly expenses such as DAY CARE & EDUCATION!!
Let us all start using Huggies Supreme on those delicate little behinds!
No comments:
Post a Comment