[ti:In China, Used Luxury Goods Growing in Popularity] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]China's used luxury goods market [00:03.80]is growing at a time when the economy is slowing down, [00:08.04]market experts and business owners say. [00:11.44]Buyers in China's $74-billion luxury goods market [00:17.04]have historically purchased new products — not used ones. [00:22.40]Zhu Tainiqi is the Shanghai-based founder of second-hand, [00:28.00]or used, luxury goods marketplace ZZER. [00:32.32]Business has been so good that Zhu is now looking [00:36.32]for shop space to expand the business. [00:40.64]The business owner, age 33, [00:43.44]has seen an increase in people wanting [00:46.64]to sell their Hermes Birkin bags or Rolex watches. [00:52.04]In addition, Zhu has seen increased interest [00:56.28]from buyers who want to save some money. [01:00.24]"More and more people are now aware [01:02.96]they can sell luxury goods for some money [01:06.48]and the buyer side is noticing [01:09.12]that they can get a great deal," said Zhu. [01:12.92]"They think, 'Why not give it a shot?'" [01:16.40]He said the number of ZZER's consigners, [01:20.40]or people putting up their goods for sale, [01:23.32]has increased 40 percent so far in 2022 [01:28.00]over the same period last year. [01:31.00]The business now has 12 million members [01:34.36]and expects to sell 5 million luxury pieces this year. [01:39.52]The resale market's growth could have big effects [01:43.64]on the business plans of the world's big luxury goods makers. [01:48.72]They are dealing with decreased demand in China, [01:52.72]an important market. [01:55.52]Iris Chan is a partner and head of client development [02:00.04]at Digital Luxury Group, a market research group. [02:05.20]Chan suggested luxury makers will likely have to [02:09.00]"think about how they're going to handle this resale market, [02:13.04]and what role they are going to play in the whole process." [02:18.32]China's second-hand luxury market [02:21.12]is expected to grow to $30 billion in 2025 [02:26.28]from $8 billion in 2020. [02:29.52]That information, released late last year, [02:34.04]comes from the business research group iResearch. [02:38.56]New estimates from this year have not yet been released. [02:44.16]Office worker Wang Jianing [02:46.52]is exploring second-hand luxury products. [02:50.04]"My consumption will definitely be downgraded this year, [02:54.36]but I still like what I like, [02:56.60]and I can't control the desire to buy it," she told Reuters. [03:02.16]Besides ZZER, other Chinese companies, [03:05.56]such as Feiyu, Ponhu and Plum, are getting attention. [03:11.08]Each of them gained tens of millions of dollars [03:14.48]in investments in 2020 and 2021. [03:19.36]Experts expect local companies [03:22.04]to control China's luxury resale marketplace, [03:25.72]at least in the short term. [03:27.88]International companies such as Vestiaire Collective [03:32.36]and The RealReal have not yet entered the mainland China market. [03:38.04]They told Reuters that they have no immediate plans to do so. [03:43.60]Handbags remain the top-selling item on luxury websites like ZZER, [03:48.96]but Zhu said sales of watches and jewelry are also growing fast. [03:55.24]Prada Messengers or Fendi Baguettes, luxury handbags for women, [04:00.88]cost 30 to 40 percent less on resale websites than in luxury stores. [04:07.68]But the price difference for some products [04:10.28]has widened as more people sell goods online. [04:15.20]I'm John Russell. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM