Gam Saan is the informal name the first Chinese immigrants used to refer to Johannesburg. Meaning “The Mountain of Gold”, the city is where many come to seek opportunities for a better life. The Crown Mines area of Johannesburg is near Langlaagte, where the first of the Witwatersrand’s gold was discovered.
Although 66 mines that operated on the reef have closed, today this area has become a gold mine for those venturing into Chinese retail. Signs on Main Reef Road direct you to no less than eight different Chinese malls all offering an authentic Chinese shopping experience.

China Cash and Carry, China Shopping Centre, China Mart and China Fujian City are all on the same block and right around the corner you can make your way to China Multiplex, China Mall or Dragon City.

To visitors who are not familiar with Chinese malls, they appear too similar. Beads, bedding, curtains, toys and other haberdashery stores leave one reeling from a sense a déjà vu.

In some malls, more attention is paid to clearly lit walkways which are designed to make the customer want to spend time there, while many others have poor lighting and narrow walkways. Whatever the lighting and flooring conditions may be, the lure of cheap goods and great deals cannot be ignored.

There is a high demand for Chinese supplies in South Africa with about R70-billion spent on Chinese imports from January to June 2013, according to The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

The DTI estimates 785 million units of retail goods – stocked in Chinese malls – such as footwear, headgear and artificial hair, were imported from China in July 2013. The number of goods imported is higher, however.

Some imported goods sold in these malls are included in different commodity categories. For this reason, the true figure is difficult to determine. The demand for these goods is high, but the number of malls has caused some market saturation and increased competition.

Steve Yeh, general manager and head of security at China Mart, believes the Chinese retail mall structure is effective as it offers “one single building where someone can get everything under one roof”. Although China Mart could be criticised for having too many shops trading in the same goods, Yeh says in the end this results in the customer benefitting. “If they [shop owners] are selling the same thing, then they have to knock [down] their prices, right? So the customer benefits.”


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