CHINA> Regional
'World accessory market' feels financial pinch
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-11-27 16:05

But Zhou predicted that Neoglory's profit margin might drop 20 percent this year, reflecting higher raw material and labor costs and the impact of the global financial crisis.

"I am lucky enough to still be making a profit. Many small companies in the industry may close amid the global financial turmoil," Zhou said.

Zhou said the business of her Yiwu wholesale shop has been affected by the crisis. Some foreign clients who formerly visited eight times a year have cut their visits in half.

A staff member in the wholesale shop of Bumjin Accessories, Zhou Yuxi,estimated that the outlet's sales were down 10 percent compared with the same period last year, as the number of US customers had dropped.

Feng Jiangyiang, manager of Yiyuan Arts and Crafts, said her company has shifted its focus to the Middle East and Africa, since the number of customers from Europe and the United States is down.

To survive the global financial crisis, shops in the Yiwu trade market are turning to new markets and products.

Take toys, for example. Yiwu used to export only 10 kinds of toys to Russia, but now, market officials say, toy enterprises are designing and exporting more than 100 kinds of toys to Russia.

Yiwu does business with 200 countries and territories, selling about $30 billion worth of goods each year. Foreign customers from 83 of those overseas markets have established 1,899 representative offices in Yiwu city.