Second-hand market loses customers
By Anurak Rachanirom - SA KAEO
Bangkok Post (Thailand)
Shoppers turn their backs on Aranyaprathet's Talat Rong Kluea amid doubts over the authenticity of products
Once crowded with bargain hunters, Talat Rong Kluea, a treasure trove of second-hand brand-name items, is losing custom as budget shoppers turn their back on it owing to doubts about the authenticity of its products.
Pichai Prasitchuwong, P&H Co Ltd's managing director and commissioner of Sa Kaeo Chamber of Commerce, said Talat Rong Kluea is drawing fewer customers despite its 50 million baht takings in total per day over the past three years.
Situated in Sa Kaeo's Aranyaprathet district, the well-known bazaar is home to a wide range of commodities, especially brand-name fashion items.
Mr Pichai said the returns at the famous border market have fallen by half, which signals a gloomy future for the once-thriving market. He attributes the dramatic decrease to a fall in customer confidence in the quality and genuineness of cast-off goods. Shoppers are becoming more discerning, he said. Most are window-shoppers only.
Mr Pichai said all goods are hand-me-downs brought from Cambodia, where many clothes were donated to people affected by war. The donated items mostly hailed from the US and Europe.
Over time, the place of origin changed as a flood of used products from Korea and Hong Kong hit the market. They are bought by local recycling companies before being distributed overseas. Some stock travels from as far as Pakistan.
Initially, when the bulk of second-hand merchandise reached Thailand, brand-name products were hogged by "brand-aware" retailers from Bangkok.
Unaware of how valuable the brand-name items were, local vendors were left empty-handed. However, merchants today have greater exposure to the brands and have learned to keep the best for themselves.
Boonteng Ja, the Cambodian owner of a second-hand shoe shop, said he has to sort designer shoes with labels such as Gucci, Versace and Lacoste from a mountain of other shoes before selling them.
Today recycling companies are more cunning as they have learned to keep brand products for resale themselves.
Wonhong, a Vietnamese vendor of cast-off leatherwear, said the most immediate threat is the diminishing number of customers.
He said that Thai shoppers are more picky about products than Malaysians or Japanese.
Once crowded with bargain hunters, Talat Rong Kluea, a treasure trove of second-hand brand-name items, is losing custom as budget shoppers turn their back on it owing to doubts about the authenticity of its products.
Pichai Prasitchuwong, P&H Co Ltd's managing director and commissioner of Sa Kaeo Chamber of Commerce, said Talat Rong Kluea is drawing fewer customers despite its 50 million baht takings in total per day over the past three years.
Situated in Sa Kaeo's Aranyaprathet district, the well-known bazaar is home to a wide range of commodities, especially brand-name fashion items.
Mr Pichai said the returns at the famous border market have fallen by half, which signals a gloomy future for the once-thriving market. He attributes the dramatic decrease to a fall in customer confidence in the quality and genuineness of cast-off goods. Shoppers are becoming more discerning, he said. Most are window-shoppers only.
Mr Pichai said all goods are hand-me-downs brought from Cambodia, where many clothes were donated to people affected by war. The donated items mostly hailed from the US and Europe.
Over time, the place of origin changed as a flood of used products from Korea and Hong Kong hit the market. They are bought by local recycling companies before being distributed overseas. Some stock travels from as far as Pakistan.
Initially, when the bulk of second-hand merchandise reached Thailand, brand-name products were hogged by "brand-aware" retailers from Bangkok.
Unaware of how valuable the brand-name items were, local vendors were left empty-handed. However, merchants today have greater exposure to the brands and have learned to keep the best for themselves.
Boonteng Ja, the Cambodian owner of a second-hand shoe shop, said he has to sort designer shoes with labels such as Gucci, Versace and Lacoste from a mountain of other shoes before selling them.
Today recycling companies are more cunning as they have learned to keep brand products for resale themselves.
Wonhong, a Vietnamese vendor of cast-off leatherwear, said the most immediate threat is the diminishing number of customers.
He said that Thai shoppers are more picky about products than Malaysians or Japanese.
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