There used to be quite a lot of these shops. The shop owner will rent out a "cubicle" to those who wish to sell their products like handmade craft, watches, jewels, contact lens, you name it. However, over the years, it seems like this hype has faded away because of the online shopping and also the insanely skyrocketing rent everywhere in Hong Kong, Therefore I was rather surprised to see this in a shopping mall in Shatin as one would imagine the rent can take a toll on shops like this.
Anyways, I spent some time inside and though the shop itself is fairly small, it does have all kind of stuff. Though I did not find anything I like, I was just pleased this culture got to carry on for a few more years as it gives young entrepreneur such confidence in starting their own business.
Yet, when talking to my friends, they told me that so many shops that have the same service tend to "test the water" by renting out the "cubicle", so once they know what the local market likes, they tend to get the product directly from China as it is cheaper and seem to have lost the value to places like this. But at the end of the day, business is business and I do not know if that is true of not but I am just happy to see shops like this survived the tide of being swept away by the high rent. read more