The Social Observer in the Market: Alumni Association Clothing Store
Hualien Markets - Exclusive Interview with Alumni Association Clothing Store
#Fuxing Market
Text/ HUNG Tzu-Hsuan
Translation/ LIU Yi-Chun
Photography/ HUNG Tzu-Hsuan
A Living Encyclopedia of Taiwanese Garment
“In the past, the shirts and trousers were made in Taiwan, and some were imported from Europe. The quality was better and wouldn’t be out of shape after washing. They also looked nicer. Now, the shirts and trousers have worn out quickly. The fabric quality and whether it is handmade or not have a huge effect on the price.”
When it comes to the development of Taiwan’s garment industry, no one can be more knowledgeable than Brother Tsai, who has spent most of his life in the garment industry. He said, “In the early days, there were many garment factories in Banqiao, Mengjia and Shalu. At that time, people who were able to order a batch of garments from those factories in Hualien would open clothing stores on Dayu Street.”
“Those who run the clothing and fabrics business were mostly from Changhua, especially from Fangyuan and Erlin. Their relatives and friends ran businesses well, thus attracting people to join one after another. The garment factories in Wanhua thirty or forty years ago all belonged to families with the surname Hong. They were all relatives. Today, many factories closed down and many owners retired. In the early days, they were mostly from Changhua if you asked.”
“I usually buy goods in Wanhua and Songshan. I buy whatever I like. To sell in the traditional market was simple, the only thing that mattered was the price. However, if you are selling on Gongzheng Street, the clothes must look pretty.”
Running the clothing store with ease
A few guests came in leisurely, and they seemed to be familiar with the place, as if they were walking around their back garden.
“My customers have not changed much since I opened the store. Many old customers got married around 20 and 30, and now they are in their 60s. I have grown up with them since I was young. In the early days, I would sell younger clothes and now we have similar tastes.” Brother Tsai said that some elder customers’ daily routine is to drop by and chat with him. He said, “Some of them need to use wheelchairs now but they still want to come visit. In this way they won’t feel bored.”
In the laid-back atmosphere, there is a mutual understanding between regular customers, and the owner won’t force the customers to buy clothes. “Customers can walk around and take a look at the clothes, they will buy if they find something they like; if not, they’ll leave. It is totally fine. People nowadays hate high-pressure selling.”
“In the past, You must greet your customers though. In the old days, many people who lived in the village came to Hualien only once or twice a year. Shopping was a rare and luxurious experience for them. They came to apply for loans, or to pay the taxes... Since they came with money, they would go shopping. Some people might not plan to buy things at first, but they would if you greeted them. Greetings worked every time in the past.”
“Now, people are used to shopping at hypermarkets or supermarkets. They will feel annoyed if you talk to them when they’re shopping.” The development of transportation and chain store culture has silently affected the shopping habits of the two generations. “The times are different, and the way people feel about shopping has completely changed now.”
A clothing store established with the help of old classmates
“My hometown is Ruisui. My family is poor, and I have eight siblings. I have only been to Hualien a few times before, one time was for the graduation trip, and twice for attending my relatives' wedding at Xincheng Township with my grandma. I was so excited about taking the train then.”
The country boy decided to go to Taipei alone.
“I have been selling clothes since I was discharged from the army. I was admitted to the post office, but I didn’t want to work at the office. So, I went to Wanhua and worked as a wholesaler for two years. In that way I owned all the money I earned. And then I went to Tonghua Street to open a shop.”
"The good thing about Taipei was that you could immediately make up for what you lack. In the early days, the money you paid for doing business was writing checks. We didn't have much capital, and the shopkeepers knew! However, they were afraid that we would bounce the check. If we wrote up to NT$100,000, they were reluctant to sell us the goods. After five years, I didn't make much money. My classmate went to Taipei to find me one day, I told him I was poor, and he said I could return to Hualien and open a store there.”
“The first clothing store I opened after returning to Hualien was sponsored by my old classmates, so I named the store ‘Alumni Association Clothing Store.”
The Belle Epoque shone like diamond
“I opened the store on Gongzheng Street in 1982, opposite the Land Bank with the stock exchange office on the second floor.”
The young shopkeepers who returned to their hometown to run the business, ran into the shock of Taiwan's economic miracle head-on.
“At that time, the scene of the securities company opposite the street is: people gathered at 8:30 and waited for 9 o'clock to see the reports of the stock market because it was handwritten then. When it reached the daily limit at noon, people would go shopping. They would walk in the store, pointing at our clothes and saying “Wrap everything up." The business was incredibly good at that time! It was insane!”
In the 1980s, Taiwanese people were rolling in money.
"There were jobs everywhere! As long as you were willing to work hard, no one cared how poor your family was. At that time, if the husband were the master and the wife did domestic OEM, they could earn more than NT$10,000 a day if they worked hard.”
“It was a decade of diamonds! Not just a decade of gold.”
Those who were busy with their lives, and those who got rich overnight
“If the old vendors here didn't engage in the lottery gambling in the early days, most of them would be very rich.”
When the economy was prosperous, billowing hot money flowed into the traditional market, followed by the crazy private lottery gambling.
“Well, many small vendors like to gamble. In the early days, a lot of people were playing lottery gambling, and they signed every day, which brought down many vendors.”
“At the beginning, some vendors with poor family backgrounds didn’t make a lot of money. Some vendors were too busy with business to gamble. However, many vendors made money in a short time. Since they had free time and a stable life, they gambled.”
“I just returned to Hualien at that time and I didn't have much capital. Fortunately, I was busy making money and was not interested in gambling.” When talking about the extravagant lifestyle during that period of time, Brother Tsai analyzed: “Even though you’re unlikely to make a big fortune by selling clothes and the profits were fixed, you won’t dare to gamble—those who were addicted to gambling are probably all miserable now.”
“The most cost-effective place in the market is the grocery store. Their income is accumulated by a small amount of money. They are extremely frugal, so they became rich in the end.”
“The wholesalers were also very rich, and they were less likely to gamble. Because they had financial pressure, and they had to collect payment and find the source of goods... When he saw that some retail stores made a great fortune, and invested their time and money in gambling, he would be more cautious."
As for the group that dared to spend a lot of money in the traditional market, it was the vendors who were accustomed to fast transactions of capital. “Those who could afford to go to the nightclubs for singing, they usually earned more money at one time, so they could afford the cost of entertainment.”
“In the early days, the economy was good, and small businesses were free of capital! You didn't have to pay a dime for opening a store. At that time, you purchased the goods for one month, and when you paid the bill, you ordered for another three months... the money kept rolling. But if you were greedy and you used that money for gambling, you might not have sufficient funds to meet all the needs.”
“When the economy is at its best, the price of real estate had risen by one or two times in a short period. At that time, if you worked harder, you would earn enough money to pay the down payment for the house in 3 or 4 months... The interest rate of the loan was high, but you could buy a house without a lot of self-funds.”
The skyrocketing price of the housing market attracted people who were eager to get rich overnight, they ignored the risk of capital turnover and threw themselves into the real estate market.
“In the past, everyone was very poor so everyone worked hard. It was only when the economy became better that the speculative behavior aroused. The stock market crashed in the 1990s, and many of the wealthy people in the market were stuck, and the turnover was not effective... When money went into the pockets of super rich people, Taiwan's economy began to decline."
The fortune gained from good timing couldn’t compete with people's speculative greed.
“In the early days, a lot of small businesses closed down because they invested in real estate, stock market and gambling. There were several cases in this market too. They used to live a good life but they lost everything due to their greed.”
The Wholesale Distribution Center of the Old Hualien
The predecessor of Fuxing Market was the "Central Market", a wholesale distribution center adjacent to the old Hualien station.
"On Dayu Street was the old railway, and the trains were very loud. The train station was right on the side a long time ago. Forty years ago, the market was still on Gongzheng Street and Dayu Street, and there was a tall building "Kelaibao" nearby, which was called "Central Market" at that time.”
“When the new railway was still under construction, most of the wholesalers were on Dayu Street. Many owners of the markets and grocery stores in the village would go there to replenish goods. It was hustle and bustle at three or four o'clock in the morning.”
Countless daily necessities circulated to various towns and villages in Hualien from there. Around the Central Market, there gathered financial industry and prosperous merchants.
“The area around the old station was the elite district. Since the 1960s, banks have been established one by one.”
Brother Tsai grabbed a wrapping paper in the pile of clothes and drew a picture explaining how the market changed in his memory.
“About the 1980s, when the railway station was changed to a new location, the market moved to the present side.”
With the opening of the new Hualien station, the Gongzheng and Dayu Street market was relocated to the Fuxing Street area on the other side of Zhongshan Road, with the current address of the Fuxing Public Market marked “Comprehensive Market.”
“This place was originally used for parking lots. The original land for the market was the Dongyang Plaza, currently a construction site for high-rise buildings. This area was not crowded before, and the whole area belonged to the government...from Zhongshan Road to Minguo Road. It became livelier after the county government moved to Meilun.”
The escaping debts culture in Hualien and Taitung
Brother Tsai recalled that in the days when public transportation was not yet fully developed, Hualien and Taitung used to be a safe haven for debtors.
“Most of the people who moved to Hualien and Taitung in the early days were having a difficult time. Many people who came to Hualien were from Yilan, and many people who moved to Taitung were from Kaohsiung and Tainan. Those who seek to escape debts would hide in Hualien and Taitung.”
“It’s a time-consuming, long and tough trip to collect debts in Hualien and Taitung. Even if the debtors seemed rich, they would call the police as soon as the debt collectors hit them. Debt collectors could only run away to the North or South direction, it’s almost impossible to get away from the police. The reason why Hualien and Taitung were rather safe was because it was hard to get away from the police and the fugitives were not likely to come to Hualien as well.”
The immigrants from the west who came to escape their debts formed an important memory of the old Hualien people’s mind.
“People used to have good credit, but if they owe a little, they would be embarrassed and just run away! The land was not worth money in the past, many businessmen that went bankrupt would just leave the land to the creditor and run away to Hualien.”
The mountains, seas and residents on the east coast inclusively accepted these strangers, these new arrivals landed and grew their roots here.
“Those who came to Hualien for running businesses were mostly hard-working, and they were living a better life in Hualien. Because as long as you were diligent and smart, you could make money.”
At noon, the market started to quiet down. Brother Tsai looked up at the gradually idle neighborhood for a while, and then slowly said, “The biggest advantage of Hualien and Taitung is that they don’t exclude outsiders. Probably because of the escaping debts culture. People here are very used to suddenly having a new member the next day. They won’t judge people who came from other places.”
I look forward to serving customers at my store every day
“I have always been selling clothes, so far I haven't gotten bored yet.”
Having opened a clothing store in the market for more than 30 years, the owner, who has gone through the ups and downs, said happily that his motivation for serving customers at the store every morning is to appreciate the ladies in the market. “You can see pretty ladies at the market. I sell clothes so everyday there will be ladies talking to me. And there is money to make, and there are beautiful women to talk to, what a great job!”
“I get up at 6:30 every day just to come to the shop. Although I don't make much money, the profit is stable and enough for me to live a life. The most important thing is that I won’t be bored.”
People come and go at the market; all the changes and noises turn into tranquility under the soft yellow light reflected by the colorful clothes.