New York's famed Pearl River Mart to exit SoHo
Rong Xiaoqing in New York
Sarah Jessica Parker is a fan. So are Adriana Lima, Christina Aguilera, Isaac Mizrahi and Vivienne Tam. And Courtney Button, a wardrobe stylist who frequently shops at Pearl River Mart, on Broadway, in New York's SoHo, knows why: "All the interesting stuff to look at here from around the world, well, you don't often see it anywhere else. It's not just brand names."
It's easy to see what Button means. From the ginger and mint soaps carrying the brand name Yin Yang to the silk cheongsam gowns and paper umbrellas - everything in the sprawling bazaar has the exotic flavour of the Middle Kingdom.
This month, however, it was announced that the 44-year-old shop would probably be closing its doors due to a rent hike.
"It's so sad. What are they going to do? Put another H&M here?" pouts Button.
Co-founded in 1971 by Ching-yeh Chen and her husband, Ming-yi Chen, a Taiwanese former political activist who quit university to open the store, one of the first items Pearl River Mart sold was Mao's "little red book". At the time, China and the United States had no relationship, diplomatic or otherwise, and goods often had to be sent from Hong Kong and delivered via Canada.
In the early days, protesters would gather outside the shop and accuse it of being sponsored by communist China. Only after then US secretary of state Henry Kissinger visited China in 1971 did things ease up.
The Chens subsequently moved the shop to several larger spaces before arriving at the current location in 2003.
SoHo in the early noughties wasn't so expensive. Back then, the owners were paying US$60,000 per month for the three-storey, 30,000 sq ft space - the Chinese answer to Barneys.
But the good old days have gone. Today, Pearl River Mart is surrounded by international brand names, and its rent of US$110,000 per month is set to be quintupled in December, when the lease expires.
That would be unaffordable, the owners said in a press release, announcing the closure of the store if a solution cannot be found.
The news was met with media attention; US published a list of eight bargains to snag before the store closes (including a pair of satin slip-ons featuring dragons) while the Chens have seen a retail surge: "It's busier than Christmas time."
Whether that'll be enough to save the Pearl River Mart from running dry remains to be seen.
