Consumer goods - this word is familiar to many, although in the media and advertising it is often replaced by more understandable, but also long expressions. Foreigners who study the Russian language, it may surprise. "Shire" is the abbreviation for "wide," and "consumer" is consumption. Therefore, this concept means "consumer goods". Let us consider its interpretation in more detail below.
Consumer goods - what are the goods?
This term does not cover most foods and drinks, although sometimes packaged and included in this category. Also, consumer goods that are rarely bought by people - furniture, household appliances, cars, do not apply to consumer goods. What consumer goods from a laptop that can serve for 10 years, or from a car, if it is sometimes enough for a generation?
Consumer goods are primarily soaps, cleaners and cosmetics, and personal care products. For example, shampoo, sponges for dishes and detergents, toilet paper, wet wipes and toothpaste. They end quickly.
And consumer goods are some electrical goods, for example, light bulbs that burn out after 1000 hours of operation, or batteries. Consumer goods include notebooks for families where children go to school, as well as pens, pencils and stationery. The latter have the peculiarity of quickly ending, for example, in large offices.
Medicines can be included in the category of consumer goods, but this is important for those who often consume them, healthy people can live without drugs for a year or more.
Some garments belong to consumer goods, for example, socks, because they are often torn, but a tie cannot be attributed to this category.
Where is it for sale?
Consumer goods are sold even in the smallest rural shops. They always have soap, shampoo, paper handkerchiefs, light bulbs, matches, razors, household chemicals.
In cities, there is a good selection of consumer goods in convenience stores and retail chains. These include:
- “Magnet”, “Pyaterochka”, “Pochochochka”, “Titan”, “Baton”, “Optima”, “Dixy” in Russia and stores of the “Pud” chain in Crimea.
- Rodny Kut, Hippo and Euroopt in Belarus.
- Silpo in Ukraine.
- "Our Market" in Kazakhstan.
- "People" and "Capital" in Kyrgyzstan.
The largest selection of consumer goods in hypermarkets, for example, in Auchan and Lenta.
Consumer Deficit
A shortage of consumer goods can arise due to natural disasters, a weak economy and other factors, for example:
- In the last years of the existence of the USSR. Then it came to the point that the soap was on coupons. The same was observed after the Civil War and the Second World War in the late 1940s due to the decline of industry.
- In Venezuela. The country has a weak economy, it produces little of itself, and all this is combined with sanctions and errors in government policy.
- In the DPRK. In the 1990s, this was due to the energy crisis, and in recent years, to sanctions.
Well-known consumer goods manufacturers
In Belarus, the Barchim enterprise in the city of Baranovichi is a major producer of household chemicals, bulbs are made in Brest, and soap is made in Gomel.
In Russia, soap is made in Kaluga, Rostov, Moscow and other cities in soap factories. Light bulbs are produced, for example, at the Kalashnikovo plant in the Tver Region.