BEIJING, Sept 11 — Amy Zhang used to buy branded fashion from shopping malls, but China’s economic uncertainty has driven the 35-year-old teacher, and other middle-class Chinese like her, to shop at one of Beijing’s most famous wholesale markets.
“I used to love buying branded clothes,” said teacher Zhang as she sifted through a pile of garments priced between 15 and 50 yuan . “But some of my friends are worried about losing their jobs and that affects me as well.” “It’s really a confidence issue, but the problem is that there’s no particularly good way to resolve that right now,” said Becky Liu, head of China macro strategy at Standard Chartered.
“I came here for cheap clothes to save on my living expenses,” said a 45-year-old shopper who only wanted to be identified by her family name, Lu.A vendor in her 50s who only gave her first name as Yunshan said she has so many customers visiting her shop at the market that she’s struggling to keep the online store running.