VOA新闻杂志2022--在中国，二手奢侈品越来越流行

In China, Used Luxury Goods Growing in Popularity

China's used luxury goods market is growing at a time when the economy is slowing down, market experts and business owners say.

Buyers in China's $74-billion luxury goods market have historically purchased new products — not used ones.

Zhu Tainiqi is the Shanghai-based founder¹ of second-hand², or used, luxury goods marketplace ZZER. Business has been so good that Zhu is now looking for shop space to expand the business.

The business owner, age 33, has seen an increase in people wanting to sell their Hermes Birkin bags or Rolex watches. In addition, Zhu has seen increased interest from buyers who want to save some money.

"More and more people are now aware they can sell luxury goods for some money and the buyer side is noticing that they can get a great deal," said Zhu. "They think, 'Why not give it a shot?'"

He said the number of ZZER's consigners, or people putting up their goods for sale, has increased 40 percent so far in 2022 over the same period last year. The business now has 12 million members and expects to sell 5 million luxury pieces this year.

The resale market's growth could have big effects on the business plans of the world's big luxury goods makers³. They are dealing⁴ with decreased demand in China, an important market.

Iris⁵ Chan is a partner and head of client development at Digital Luxury Group, a market research group.

Chan suggested luxury makers will likely have to "think about how they're going to handle this (resale) market, and what role they are going to play in the whole process."

China's second-hand luxury market is expected to grow to $30 billion in 2025 from $8 billion in 2020.That information, released late last year, comes from the business research group iResearch. New estimates from this year have not yet been released.

Office worker Wang Jianing is exploring second-hand luxury products.

"My consumption will definitely be downgraded (this year), but I still like what I like, and I can't control the desire to buy it," she told Reuters.

Besides ZZER, other Chinese companies, such as Feiyu, Ponhu and Plum, are getting attention. Each of them gained tens of millions of dollars in investments in 2020 and 2021.

Experts expect local companies to control China's luxury resale marketplace, at least in the short term. International companies such as Vestiaire Collective and The RealReal have not yet entered the mainland China market. They told Reuters that they have no immediate⁶ plans to do so.

Handbags remain the top-selling item on luxury websites like ZZER, but Zhu said sales of watches and jewelry⁷ are also growing fast.

Prada Messengers or Fendi Baguettes, luxury handbags for women, cost 30 to 40 percent less on resale websites than in luxury stores. But the price difference for some products has widened as more people sell goods online.

Words in This Story

luxury –n. something that is costly⁸ but not necessary

second-hand –adj. not new; having had a previous owner; used

handle – v. to deal with (a person, situation, etc.) successfully

consumption – n. the act of buying things

downgrade – v. to lower in extent, quality, or value

handbag – n. a woman's small bag or purse used for carrying personal things and money

1 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

2 second-hand   

adj.用过的，旧的，二手的

参考例句：

• I got this book by chance at a second-hand bookshop.我赶巧在一家旧书店里买到这本书。
• They will put all these second-hand goods up for sale.他们将把这些旧货全部公开出售。

3 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 iris   

n.虹膜，彩虹

参考例句：

• The opening of the iris is called the pupil.虹膜的开口处叫做瞳孔。
• This incredible human eye,complete with retina and iris,can be found in the Maldives.又是在马尔代夫，有这样一只难以置信的眼睛，连视网膜和虹膜都刻画齐全了。

6 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

7 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

8 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。