Near the Shahe campus is the wholesale clothing center. The center services the multitude of clothes shops in Guangzhou but will also sell to off the street customers. On Saturday we went shopping with Dong Mei. It is good to have an interpreter and someone who can haggle in the native language. Haggling tends to reduce the price 5-15%.
The center had eight to ten rows of shops extending three city streets deep. Each store had around 12' - 15' frontage, about the width of a very narrow store in the States. A wild guess is over 1,000 stores! Each store is manned by 2-6 people. The last time I saw anything this big was the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. There is no comparable area in the States. These are successful business people who have moved up the food chain. They probably started as street vendors, then got a local small store and now supply the stores.
The center has clothes from socks to dress pants. What it did not have was men's suits, formal dresses and shoes.
Nearly all the goods were displayed nicely on hangers. One specimen of each item they sold. When you selected something they went for the correct size out of boxes around the side. If they did not have it there, they climbed a ladder into their storage area on the second floor of the store. Watch out, a box will be thrown out of the ceiling!
Marsha and I had trouble finding stuff as our size is well above the Chinese norm. So I only bought 5 golf shirts. Marsha got 2 fancy tees, a beautiful blouse and 2 pairs of pants. We must have stopped in over 100 stores. Our total cost in USD, $75. Our guess for U.S. price on sale in a store like Sears is over $300.
Some other oddities:
1. There are no cash registers.
2. No credit cards or checks are accepted.
3. There are also no receipts.
4. There are no names on the stores.
5. Cash is thrown into an unlocked draw. Change is searched for in the draw, no partitions.
I am certain none of the merchants claim earnings over 120,000 Yuan a year. The level for the rich man income tax in China.
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3 comments:
wow nice blog.. right it's very easy to find Wholesale Clothing that is fashionable. you can choose the best styles at wholesale.
Nearly all the goods were displayed nicely on hangers. One specimen of each item they sold. When you selected something they went for the correct size out of boxes around the side.
Wholesale clothing
Thanks for the post about wholesale fashion clothing, its help me a lot in my own information.
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