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Maid to order
By LU HAOTING (China Daily)
In an almond chiffon skirt and with a Louis Vuitton bag on her arm, Dong Yundan looks like any fashionable office lady on the street.
But her title, chairwoman of Guanpoer China Housekeeping Services Chain, might leave an impression that she is a middle-aged woman dressed in a plain blouse, with a pair of rough hands due to hard work.
"That is definitely an out-of-date interpretation," Dong says. "Today even many gentlemen are into housekeeping business in China."
With their pockets getting deeper, Chinese people are willing to buy not only private cars and expensive watches but also housekeeping service from cleaning and cooking to baby care. The housekeeping industry has not only become a goldmine with huge market potential but also a buffer for the country to relieve employment pressure. In Shanghai alone, more than 300,000 people are working as housekeepers. Over 80 percent of them are migrant laborers from other provinces, with the rest being laid-off women workers.
With about 2,000 contract workers in Shenyang, Liaoning province, Guanpoer has developed into one of the country's largest home service chains with about 90 franchised outlets.
The eight-year-old home service company recently signed an agreement with US-based Warner Technology and Investment Corp to prepare for a public listing in the United States. Its stocks are expected to be first traded on the Over the Counter Bulletin Board (OTCBB) by the end of August, Dong says. If successful,Guanpoer would become the first Chinese home service company to raise funds on a foreign capital market.
Dong says she will use the capital to open 100 new outlets around the country by the end of this year.
Stocks are traded on the OTCBB because companies are small and unable to meet exchange listing requirements. Also known as unlisted stock, these securities are traded by broker-dealers who negotiate directly with one another via computer networks and phones.
Warner Technology and Investment Corp is a specialized consulting firm that assists private firms seeking to become public companies through initial public offerings or reverse mergers.
Creating a brand
Dong did not expect she would one day run a private business in the early 1990s when she got an accounting job at the local grain bureau of Shenyang after graduating from college. While her husband earned a handsome salary at a foreign medical equipment company, Dong thought "the iron rice bowl" job at the grain bureau was a perfect choice for her.
But her "iron rice bowl" was broken in 1999 when the grain bureau dissolved as the government liberalized the country's grain distribution system. Dong became a full-time housewife as her husband's salary alone could support a decent life for her and their son. |