Durex sales hit by China’s condom crackdown

{"text":[[{"start":8.65,"text":"Durex condom sales have fallen sharply in China after the government removed a long-running tax exemption and clamped down on the marketing of contraceptives as part of sweeping efforts to revitalise the country’s birth rate. "}],[{"start":21.65,"text":"Sales of China’s leading condom brand, owned by FTSE 100 consumer goods group Reckitt, fell by 5 per cent in the country during the first quarter, according to estimates based on company earnings by Jefferies. That marked a dramatic slowdown from Durex’s sales growth last year, which topped 40 per cent in China, Jefferies calculated."}],[{"start":41.75,"text":"Jefferies attributed the decline principally to the introduction of tougher advertising rules which resulted in China’s dominant social commerce platform Douyin, owned by TikTok parent ByteDance, banning live-stream marketing of condoms last October. "}],[{"start":54.95,"text":"The new rules come as China makes a concerted push to boost its birth rate, which fell to a record low last year. China registered 7.92mn births in 2025, less than half the number in 2015."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":69.55,"text":"The country’s looming demographic crisis prompted the government to abandon its one-child policy in 2016 and allow couples to have three children in 2021. State subsidies for parents of young children, in which families receive Rmb3,600 ($531) a year for each child under the age of three, were introduced last year."}],[{"start":92.1,"text":"Meanwhile a long-running exemption on VAT for condoms, introduced in 1993, was removed at the start of the year. The contraceptives now attract a VAT rate of 13 per cent in China. "}],[{"start":105.3,"text":"Dettol and Nurofen-maker Reckitt controls more than 30 per cent share of China’s condom market, with Durex accounting for a third of the group’s emerging market growth in 2025, according to Jefferies estimates. "}],[{"start":118.55,"text":"Reckitt’s sales in emerging markets grew by 7.6 per cent in the first quarter, compared to growth of 14.6 per cent in 2025. On a call with analysts in April, chief executive Kris Licht said Durex sales in China came in below expectations in the first quarter because of the introduction of VAT and heavier promotional activity by competitors."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":142.05,"text":"Durex may come under further pressure due to the economic fallout from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Malaysia’s Karex, which makes about a fifth of the world’s condoms, said in April that it would raise prices by up to 30 per cent due to surging manufacturing costs."}],[{"start":158,"text":"The slowdown is a setback for Reckitt, which has prioritised the Chinese market. The Slough-based company opened a global R&D centre in Shanghai and developed products such as condoms lubricated with hyaluronic acid, a moisturising ingredient used in skincare."}],[{"start":175.45,"text":"The tightening of restrictions last year has resulted in livestreaming being regulated under China’s broader advertising rules and the marketing of condoms coming under closer scrutiny. Jefferies analyst David Hayes said the changes mean that condom sales via livestreaming, a key sales channel in China for consumer goods groups, will be limited in future."}],[{"start":195.35,"text":"A livestream that complied with the new regulations “could now fail to engage consumers: with no demonstrations, no close-ups, no claims, no interaction”, he wrote in a research note."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":206.9,"text":"Influencers are, however, continuing to sell Durex condoms on social commerce platform Xiaohongshu, with one recent livestream proceeding under the title “no limits to female happiness”."}],[{"start":218.1,"text":"A person close to Reckitt said the tighter marketing rules had weighed on growth but did not indicate a structural deterioration in demand."}],[{"start":227.15,"text":"“Algorithms have started to deprioritise content of a sexual nature . . . as a result, some Durex-related content has been deprioritised on social platforms in China,” the person said, adding that Reckitt was adjusting to the changes. "}],[{"start":249.4,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1780104711_6395.mp3"}