At Harrods, one of London’s most upmarket department stores, Chunmei Pei, a twenty-something Chinese woman dressed in Stella McCartney platform brogues, tight jeans and a black Chanel backpack, walks around the shop floor. She is glued to her iPhone, juggling half a dozen WeChat messages with her clients. Ms Pei is a professional daigou: an overseas shopper who buys luxury items like watches, jewellery, clothes and cosmetics for mainland Chinese. Today one of her buyers is considering an £860 Dior “Diorosphère” chain necklace with a gold finish, while another wants a £1,500 Céline bag.
在倫敦最爲高檔的百貨公司之一哈羅德百貨公司(Harrods)，20多歲的中國女子Chunmei Pei腳穿絲黛拉•麥卡妮(Stella McCartney)厚底布洛克鞋、身穿緊身牛仔褲，揹着黑色香奈兒(Chanel)揹包在逛。她一直盯著自己的iPhone手機看，在WeChat上同時應付客戶們的6個聊天視窗。Chunmei Pei是一名專職代購，專門幫中國內地人士在海外購買手錶、珠寶、衣服和化妝品等奢侈品。今天，她的一名買家正考慮買一條860英鎊的迪奧(Dior)鍍金手鍊，另一個則想買一隻1500英鎊的思琳(Céline)手袋。