Yashow, one of the most popular shops for foreigners, is closing for renovations soon, and who knows what sort of stores will return. As a result enormous crowds have invaded the store to grab Christmas bargains. The store is on Gongti Bei Lu, next to The Village (yeah yeah it changed name to Tai Ko Li something).
As reported on local websites:
Legal Daily, the source of the news, interviewed a shop owner who has been at Yashow since its opening 12 years ago told the reporter that “all shop owners received a notice from Yashow’s administration that our contract won’t be renewed after this year, and we were asked to move out by December 31.” Now the sweaters that used to sell for few hundred kuai are sold only RMB 35, and the jackets which were priced RMB 500 are sold only for a fifth of that.
“We are just selling as much as we can for we are moving soon,” said the shop owner. When asked whether he would come back after the renovation, he shook his head and said that “he would see.”
The report doesn’t speculate if the renovation will make the place more high-end, but the rent will certainly go up. Mrs. Chen, owner of a socks shop, told the reporter that the rent of her shop is about RMB 40k per year now, and she speculated that it would probably go up to RMB 200k-300k per year. She said that if the rent hike would stay within a reasonable range, she would still come back for the sake of her regular clients and “her attachment to the place.”
A worker at Yashow’s supermarket said, “We only know that the contracts won’t be renewed but we know nothing about what the place will be like after the renovation,” adding “Probably only those shop owners who can afford a higher rent will come back.”
The renovation will be finished next April. Many shop owners said that “they will wait and see.”
I admit we have been part of that crowd to empty the stores. Bought some very good stuff there, at a ridiculous bargain price, one can wonder: fake or genuine stuff? Honestly, the fakes are that good I have no idea at all.
