25th Street in São Paulo – Brazil's Chinatown

CCTV "Into Chinatown": In São Paulo, Brazil, in fact, there is no strict sense, the traditional style of Chinatown, no archway, no Chinese-style architecture, but when you ask Brazilians, Chinese gathering area, they will tell you that 25th Street here, in fact, is the whole of São Paulo, and even the whole of Brazil, the largest distribution center for small commodities, then most of the goods here are made in China, every two shops, almost one shop, is operated by Chinese, So when 25th Street was mentioned, Brazilians reacted twice, the first was Chinese, and the second was Shopping.

Everyone shouted in unison: "Hello China! "

About 30 years ago, Chinese came here, rented shops from the Hands of Jews and started operating, 20 years ago Chinese realized that they needed to invest in building their own malls, on 25th Street, such a large shopping mall, there are 6 property rights that belong to the Chinese, and most of them are, Chinese open shops, how good their business is, this is basically a trade secret, we can't ask, but we can probably guess how good their performance is from the rent, you are like this doorway, It is to do some small wholesale and retail, to do clothing, the place inside is only enough for two people to turn around, but its monthly rent, equivalent to more than ten thousand yuan, needs more than ten thousand yuan.

We can take you to the Orient Shopping Center, feel free to take a look at a shop, you see, you will have a feeling when you walk in

It seems to be similar to any wholesale market in China, a variety of goods, the display is not dazzling enough, not beautiful enough, and even looks a little messy, but if you carefully shorten it, you will find a very surprising number

This shop, about a hundred square meters, but it displays goods, about four or five thousand kinds, then these four or five thousand kinds of coverage, including like electrical watches small commodities sachets, almost all aspects you can think of, here will be, then it will have an impact on the entire Brazilian market, I give you an example, I just found such a small thing on this shelf, it is an FM radio, but also can do, computer speakers and digital players This product, In the Chinese market, it is about 40 yuan for sale, then now wholesale in Brazil, about equivalent to more than 70 yuan, you know, how much it can sell, it is very popular in Brazil, if there is goods, 40 feet a day containers, you can sell 10 containers, like this Chinese merchant, there are tens of thousands of stores in the 25th block

Mr. Zhou, who runs this shop, said that what he did in this is not good, but it is not bad.

Mr. Zhou: "Because Brazil has a large population, and then there are products, the quality is now slowly improving, and the price is slightly said

Compared with other countries, there is an advantage in comparison, so Chinese products are better sold here. "

Brazilians and Chinese have different living habits, and Brazilians are always working when they play Chinese. So Chinese want to make money here, it's not hard. Even if you don't understand the language, you can start selling with a press with a calculator.

Mr. Zhou: "At that time, when we first came, we were more bitter, that is to say, more bitter, in the past to help others work, and then slowly pull their own bags( sound), we called the bags here, the bags will go to the door to sell, and then slowly make a little money, from 2001, I went to China to buy goods, slowly and slowly to the present. "

Doing business in Brazil, Chinese to adapt to a lot, belongs to the unique business culture of Brazil, for example, you look at the yellow bag next to me, it says, 49 yuan ..., there is a two-fold bottom ..., what does it mean, although this package is worth RMB, but more than 180 yuan, but it can be paid in two months in installments, more than a hundred yuan of the package, but also with installments, then I tell you, I have also seen five dollars of slippers, five installments of payment, that Brazilian habit is good pleasure, The money is spent immediately, so doing business in Brazil is often encountered, and another thing that scratches your head is a blank check.

Mr. Zhou: "I have encountered that there are tens of thousands of dollars a year, but Brazil is like this, there is money and no money, first write a check, you can open to 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, 120 days, 180 days, but no money will be refunded, but after we refund the ticket, some guests will come to pay, and some can't get it back at all." "

Another problem plaguing Chinese businessmen is the poor security situation on 25th Street. Although the neighborhood is full of police officers with live ammunition, crimes such as robberies and injuries still occur from time to time. For the Chinese who do business here, it is simply a miracle that they have not been robbed.

The first Chinese member of the Brazilian Federal Congress, William U, was a former police officer. He believes that the reason why there are often incidents of Chinese robberies on 25th Street is largely due to the fact that overseas Chinese do not understand the language and often do not report the case after the accident.

William Wilhelm: "Immigrant communities in other countries use legal means when they feel insecure, and when there is a crime that is not good for the community, they will prove it, but it is difficult to get their support to prove it in our community." In fact, if the case has a negative impact on the community, because of the conservative thinking of overseas Chinese, they do not use legal means to solve the problem, no one to prove it, over time, the Chinese community in the São Paulo area has become the main target of criminals. "