Hello from China
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China's malls coming to Israel
Israeli investors soon to open large, low-priced markets selling everything from toys to kitchenware
Beijing's famous shopping centers are coming to Israel
. A group of entrepreneurs has announced it will soon open a chain of malls called 'The Chinese Market', which will sell products manufactured in the Asian country.
Israelis traveling in China tend to flock to its gigantic markets, which pack together hundreds of stalls selling everything from toys and clothing to electronic equipment and rare animals.
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But this Passover, bargain-hunters won't have far to travel. The first of the malls is set to open in Holon just in time for holiday shopping. The location of the second is still being negotiated, with operators leaning towards Petah Tikva.
Avraham Alon, marketing chief of 'The Chinese Market' chain, explained that although most Beijing-style markets in the world are open-air, the group has decided to adopt sealed off market spaces common in China.
The malls will be divided into small stalls or spaces furnished with nothing but shelves, as well as stores ranging between 10-40 square meters. Ideal renters are importers or Israeli manufacturers who produce in China.
"The place is founded on low consumer prices, otherwise it has no calling," Alon said, adding that the market will serve private consumers as well as retailers, and that the prices will be flexible and according to bulk. Retail items include toys, clothing and fashion products, as well as home-wares and electronics.
Rent is cheap, ranging between NIS 2,500 ($680) per stall and NIS 400 ($110) per square meter for stores. Public auctions will also take place every Monday and Thursday.
Alon says blueprints exist for five malls so far, in Jerusalem, Haifa, and Netanya in addition to Holon and Petah Tikvah, each of which will be about 3,500 square meters large. "Later the plan is to go abroad and open similar or larger centers in Warsaw and Prague," he said.
Some NIS 5.2 million ($1.42 million) is to go into the venture in its first year, with investments by a number of Israeli businessmen. Most of the entrepreneurs involved are traditional Jews, so the malls will be closed on Saturdays.
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