NYC's Pearl River turns 25: milestone finds local landmark thriving - New York City, New York - Company Profile

DSN Retailing Today, Oct 27, 2003 by Linda Saucerman

NEW YORK -- Whether it is six-pack of Tsingtao beer or a six-pack of mini-Buddhas, New Yorkers have discovered that the Chinese department store Pearl River carries all the Asian delights they seek and then some.

Celebrating 25 years this year, Pearl River has become one of those famed New York institutions that attracts city dwellers, tourists and celebrities. But the store that was formed by a group of Chinese immigrant students in the '70s has not only survived 25 years in a cut-throat NYC market, it has thrived. In March 2003, Pearl River moved from its cramped and cluttered warehouse-style store at the corner of Canal Street and Broadway (where the knockoff Guccis seem to outnumber the people), to the outdoor mall that the hip neighborhood of SoHo has become.

Down the street from H&M, Express, Zara, Victoria's Secret and an upcoming Bloomingdale's, the new two-level, 20,000-square-foot Pearl River is filled with more than 10,000 items from China, Japan, Korea, India, Thailand and Indonesia. The store's offerings are extensive, ranging from foodstuffs, clothing, stationery, home goods and housewares, toys and health and beauty aids. Pearl River also contains a Chinese pharmacy. All of these departments have been with Pearl River since its beginning, the only new addition is the tea cafe, complete with glass tables and bamboo chairs, featuring more than 100 different kinds of loose and packed teas.

The cafe, beech-colored hardwood floors, track lighting, glass textures and a cascading indoor waterfall are a far cry from Pearl River's dusty and overstuffed past.

The evolution of a store once known only to the inhabitants of Chinatown and now by the likes of celebrities such as Christina Aguilera began in the 1990s as yoga, Feng Shui, Buddhism and other Eastern influences experienced a resurgence. Pearl River president Ching Yen Chen credits fashion magazine editors who were moving into the vast lofts of lower SoHo and Chinatown for bringing Pearl River to the masses.

"Seventeen magazine had a page in 1995 or 1996 with a girl wearing a Mandarin dress and a [pointy, bamboo] Vietnam hat from our store. We sold so many Mandarin dresses right after that. A lot of girls wanted one for their prom and the price was only 50, so people were waiting in long lines for the fitting room to buy that dress," Chen said.

But much like Dorothy of "The Wizard of Oz," it was a pair of sparkly slippers that led people to Pearl River.

One morning in 1998, unbeknownst to Chen and her husband, Ming Yi Chen, the "Today" show was hosting a fashion segment with a pair of mesh Pearl River slippers prominently featured. That morning, Pearl River's mail-order phones starting ringing off the hook and the Web site was loaded with requests from women all over the country looking to buy the $5.50 to $15.50 shoes.

It has been a shoe fad that hasn't faded, with the trend hitting its stride in summer '03. A New Yorker couldn't ride a subway or walk down the sidewalk this summer without seeing at least one woman or girl wearing the embroidered or beaded slippers in lieu of flip-flops.

The slippers have been such a hit that in May of this year, Pearl River began selling them wholesale to boutiques nationwide.

Pearl River stands as an excellent example of retailing capitalism, which is quite a turn of events considering the company originally started with a foundation in Chinese Communism. In the early 1970s, Mr. Chen was living in New York and working on his Ph.D. in chemistry when he and a group of other Chinese and Taiwanese students decided to open a store that would carry Chinese goods.

The Chinese Cultural Revolution was at its peak at this time, and China was working toward a stated goal of economically succeeding other countries, including the Soviet Union and England. Leading the revolution was Chairman Mao, who encouraged students to rise up and be heard. For Mr. Chen and his friends, a store would be an opportunity to follow the words of Mao and to also bridge a cultural gap between New York and China.

The young proprietors soon started a import/trade company and subsequently opened Chinese Native Products in New York's Chinatown. It became one of the first U.S.-based businesses to initiate trade with the newly established People's Republic of China. In addition to carrying revolutionary posters, Mao's written works and some clothing, the store's grocery offerings also provided a taste of China to homesick students.

"There was a Taiwanese grad student living in Michigan who got a bunch of his college friends together and they drove straight from Michigan to the store," Mrs. Chen said.

With trade between China being difficult, especially with a 100% duty, the company also looked to Canada for merchandise.

"We went across the border to Canada and then later to Hong Kong. We were okay because we were only bringing a small amount at the time, but sometimes they would ask you questions, like, 'Are you bringing in a 1,000-year-old vase?'"

The success of Chinese Native Products prompted the Chens and their partners to open Pearl River. The new store offered even more authentic Chinese merchandise and because it was imported directly by the company, the prices were extremely low, as they still are today. It was then that the artists who were moving into the cheap and spacious lofts of Chinatown and Tribeca started to discover Pearl River.