Second-hand goods industry sees first overseas investor

By Tu Lei

The opening of the first foreign-invested consignment shop in China signals the initial overseas move into the domestic second-hand industry.

With a joint capital investment of $5 million from Swiss and Hong Kong companies, Rain-Wow Consignment was officially launched yesterday in Beijing.

We are targeting white-collar workers with disposable incomes, and we have everything from jewelry, jade, and watches, to other luxury goods. Louis Vuitton is expected soon, said Lü Runwu, CEO of the company.

Unlike pawn shops that give money to the sellers when they accept the goods, the consignment shop gives the sellers money when their goods are sold, but the price will be halved if the goods were bought over six months ago, said Lü.

"Take a Chanel watch for example, the purchasing price is 2.25 million yuan ($329,000) when it was bought in March of this year, but the price in my shop now is 1.75 million yuan($256,000)," said Lü.

A customer named Yao Yao told the Global Times that she will compare prices between pawn and consignment shops, but she does not mind if what she wants to buy is second-hand.

Recently, the government has encouraged second-hand retailers. In March, the Ministry of Commerce released a circular saying that the second-hand goods industry should be developed large- and medium-sized cities to meet consumer demands.

Figures from the China Resalegoods Trade Association indicate that unused second-hand goods valued at more than 5 trillion yuan ($732 billion) are in circulation every year, and that figure is expected to grow 5 percent annually.

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