Orbit Baby, Silver Cross 'overpriced'

By Yoon Ja-young

High-priced luxury strollers, sometimes costing more than 2 million won here, are not always the best choice, according to a consumer test.

Consumers Korea, a consumer advocacy organization, presented Thursday the results of a stroller quality test organized by International Consumer Research and Testing.

It conducted the test from 2012 to 2013.

The consumer group in Korea revealed testing results on 15 strollers of diverse brands that are currently sold here.

Its evaluation consisted of a structural test, which measured the safety, durability, strength, and stability of the stroller, and a quality test which examined whether it was convenient to assemble and use.

The strollers were rated in one of six categories ― best buy, worth considering, satisfactory, poor, very poor, and don't buy.

Among the 15 strollers, Bugaboo Cameleon, a Dutch stroller sold at 1.5 million won in Korea, was rated as a "best buy," along with UPPAbaby CRUZ of the United States and Mamas & Papas Urbo of the United Kingdom. UPPAbaby is priced 795,000 won, while Mamas & Papas is 640,000 won in Korea.

However, some brands were not as satisfactory despite high prices. Orbit Baby's G2 Travel, a U.S. brand, for instance, sells at 2.1 million won in Korea, but the stroller was rated as "satisfactory." U.K. stroller Silver Cross Surf All Terrain, priced at 1.8 million won, and Spain's MIMA KOBI, at 2 million won, were also rated as "satisfactory" despite high prices.

Meanwhile, Fedora's S9, a Korean brand sold at 590,000 won, proved to be better than those, being rated as "worth considering."

Capella Castle, another Korean brand, was also rated as "satisfactory" though its price of 458,000 won is one-fourth that of the foreign brands that were rated equally.

The consumer group pointed out that the demand for high-priced imported strollers has grown explosively in the local market, marking on average 35.8 percent annual increase from 2000 to 2010, but doubted whether parents are making reasonable decisions.

“Expensive strollers are not always good in quality,” the consumer group said in the report.

“Consumers have to consider the age and size of the child, the surroundings of daily life, the objective of use, characteristics and weight of the stroller, etc, instead of simply preferring expensive foreign brands,” it added.

The organization added that strollers that can recline at least 150 degrees should be chosen for newborn babies. “It should be confirmed first whether the stroller is suitable for the newborn.”