The electronics sellers for which Huaqiangbei is famous have mostly gone home, but the wholesale cosmetics merchants crammed into 1,400 stalls in the sprawling market’s Mingtong mall will be working until 2 am to meet booming demand. Ying opened her cosmetics stall three months ago, part of a sudden makeover at the landmark electronics market in this famously entrepreneurial city. Where many of the market’s stalls once sold knock-off Apple and Samsung products, vendors have been squeezed by affordable local brands like Xiaomi and Vivo and stricter IP laws. Some buyers at the market purchase items in small batches to sell on Chinese e-commerce sites such as Alibaba’s Taobao. She worries that as more sellers flock to the market, margins will be squeezed further.

Source: Dhaka Tribune November 19, 2020 16:30 UTC