'World accessory market' feels financial pinch

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-11-27 16:05

YIWU, Zhejiang -- Linda Zhou, board chairman of the Neoglory Holdings Group here in eastern China, saw tough times were coming as long as seven months ago.

"I visited one of my client's shops in the United States in April and was told that there were only about 40 customers a day with daily sales of $4,000 to $5,000 in April. In normal times, that store would have more than 200 customers a day and sales of more than $20,000," said Zhou.

"As soon as I got home, I stepped up our product design work and market diversification drives."

Newglory is a major world accessories and ornament wholesaler, with some 2,400 staff and a 300-member research and development team that designs more than 100 new products every day. "

Newglory, like other enterprises in Yiwu, has a wholesale shop in the Yiwu international trade market. The market is a microcosm of the global economy, with more than 60,000 shops selling accessories, ornaments and toys, and it's considered to be the world's largest commodity wholesale market.

The sprawling mall covers 4 million square meters. A shopper who spends eights hours a day in the market, and three minutes in each stall, would need a year to visit every booth.

Companies based in Yiwu, elsewhere in Zhejiang Province and in the rest of China each account for 30 percent of the market's shops. Foreign firms comprise the remaining 10 percent.

Zhou said her sales are evenly divided between the domestic and foreign markets. Among foreign markets, the United States and Europe account for 20 percent of sales, while emerging markets, such as Russia, Mexico and Ukraine, account for the other 80 percent.

"Our capacity for innovation and our market structure make me confident of surviving the financial crisis," she said.

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