Shanghai merchants, hard-hit by Covid-19 lockdown, delay reopening of Qipu Road clothing market, demand rent relief
- Desperate business owners refused to open their shops on Monday following a three-month closure, taking to the streets to demand a six-month rent waiver
- Operators of one of two major malls in the area agreed to the demands, while the other said it will negotiate with tenants
Hundreds of tenants of a major wholesale apparel market in Shanghai refused to reopen their shops on Monday following a long closure because of the city’s Covid-19 lockdown – unless landlords agreed to provide rent exemptions.
The well-known Qipu Road Clothing Market, also known as 7p market, was meant to reopen on Monday after being shuttered for three months. Instead, angry shop owners took to the streets shouting slogans and refusing to open unless landlords waived their rent for the next six months.
Police stepped in to halt the protest, with the drama providing a fresh example of how the citywide lockdown in the mainland’s commercial capital has wreaked havoc on millions of small businesses.
By Tuesday, the operator of one of two major malls in the area agreed to the six-month rent waiver, and the other said it would negotiate with shop owners on relief.
“We have run out of funds to keep the small shops alive,” said William Ai, owner of a shop selling leather shoes. “Suspension over the past three months and bleak business outlook due to the stringent virus-control measures have exhausted our patience because the shops are already on the brink of collapse.”