"When I feel that I cannot bear the heat and feel upset with my conditions, I often buy an ice cream and stroll through the nearby Parkson Department Store to enjoy the air-conditioning. Then I am back in a good mood again."

Chen Fu said sometimes she dislikes her noisy, crowded working conditions and the constant bargaining with customers.

"I feel that I am becoming a tasteless person working under these conditions, but I have no choice," said Chen, who is from Harbin in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

A graduate of the Beijing Institute of Clothing Technology, she now owns two kiosks in the Xiangyang Lu Clothing Market, Shanghai's most popular hub for fashionable and cheap clothes.

Accidental Discovery

After an accident in which she strained her waist and had to rest at home for 15 months, Chen was sent by her Beijing company, where she worked as a manager, to Shanghai. She found Shanghai provided more opportunities for women than Beijing.

"Beijing natives are very proud and exclusive to people from other provinces, especially women. If I opened a store there, I would have many problems with local authorities, however, Shanghai is more open and commercial," she said.

After the long break at home, Chen did not want to return to office work and decided to start her own business.

Aiming at creating her own brand of dresses, the retail business was a necessary starting point to learn the market and accumulate enough capital.

Using her own savings and some funds borrowed from her family, Chen first rented a store in the market to sell jeans designed by her classmates at university. The small quantity of unique clothing has won her many customers.

Business Acumen

At the very beginning, Chen looked down on nearby storekeepers who were farmers. "I changed my opinion when I realized that they had double my turnover. I could learn a lot about the business from them."

Chen admitted that she has better marketing concepts than other owners - she has arranged the two stores differently according to customer preferences, and she has managed to make friends with customers while not wasting too much time on bargaining.

She is one of the few proprietors in the market who hands out business cards to every customer with her name, address and mobile phone number.

"My university background is helpful," she said.

Using her professional training, Chen always gives customers suggestions on how to match clothes, which has built trust with many buyers.

Despite working 12 hours a day, Chen does not dare to relax after work, thinking about stock, how to train staff and many other details. Lucky for Chen, her boyfriend helps to manage one of the stores.

"We have the same business goals but work has occupied almost all of our time. It seems that beside work we have nothing to talk about," she said.

It's not easy to stay in the kiosks in the sweltering summer heat and freezing winter cold.

"When I feel that I cannot bear the heat and feel upset with my conditions, I often buy an ice cream and stroll through the nearby Parkson Department Store to enjoy the air-conditioning. Then I am back in a good mood again," Chen said.

(Shanghai Star July 26, 2002)