Oursjia opens capital's first superstore for rental services

Why buy when you can borrow? The capital now has a three-story superstore reserved solely for traders offering rental services.

"We rent, and only rent," said a staff worker at Oursjia Rental Services who asked to be referred to as Wang. "We have almost everything, except apartments. Whatever our customers want."

Located to the east of Chaoyang Park, Oursjia opened during the recent Qingming Festival holiday and packs in a plethora of goods over a modest 10,000 square meters, from 10-million-yuan Rolls Royce cars and luxury designer handbags on the first floor, to baby carriages, fitness equipments and furniture on the second, and home appliances and digital equipment on the third.

All the products on offer are brand new, although prices will not be fixed until next week. After customers sign an agreement and pay a deposit, staff promise to ship goods for free within three days.

Xu Xinxin, who was checking out fitness equipment with her husband on Wednesday, said she could see the benefit in renting, as exercise is a habit that is hard to keep.

"Many of my friends have bought treadmills, but they become no more than decorations after a few weeks," she said. "I thought we should at least rent for three months before buying one."

Oursjia, which is based in South China's Guangdong province, has 56 stores nationwide. Despite the initial enthusiasm, Lai Yang, director of Beijing Vocational College of Finance and Commerce's business research institute, predicted it will take time for the business model to be accepted by shoppers in the capital.

"This kind of business in China lags far behind what goes on overseas," he said, adding that local consumers much prefer to own rather than rent products.

"This type of shopping is new to me," said a man called Lu from Shijiazhuang in Hebei province, who was looking at a red leather sofa. "Of course, I'd choose to buy rather than rent if I had enough money."

However, trader Wei, who did not want his full name used, argued that renting is a far more cost effective option. "Renting not only saves money, but customers can replace the goods they rent with similar goods within three days during the lease, which helps keep things feeling fresh," he told METRO.

"We can even offer services to help our customers design their homes if they want," said Wei, who added that the company aims to become its customers' "six-star seneschal", a kind of medieval butler.

Lai agreed that renting can save shoppers' money, while at the same increasing the utilization of products.

However, he recommended consumers pay close attention to the small print in leasing contracts, particularly clauses that deal with accidents and breakages during the rental period.

China Daily

(China Daily 04/07/2011)