Start a Business with only MOP300

by Connie Lam

Alexiz N., the owner of "checker depot" consignation shop located in Taipa, said, "It is not easy to maintain a business in Macau, due to the difficulties faced in employment, rent, miscellaneous, and so on. Although you have no profit in your business, all of these basic expenditures should be paid monthly."

Macau is facing inflation pressure. Property prices are continuously rising so are those of transportation and consumer goods. Many young people are rushing to work in casinos in order to afford these luxurious items. Have you ever thought of running your own business? Is it reasonable that the cost for starting a business is only in your pocket money budget? Is it possible to run a business only within a cubic meter space? "Checker depot" consignation shop is a good platform for people to invest little money but still have a business opportunity. It also assists consigners to manage, sell and promote the products. It could be the first step to start your own business.

There are two "checker depot" consignation shops in Macau. The shops belong to different owners. One is located in the heart of major tourist shopping path in Rua Do Regedor in Taipa and the other one is located in famous shopping mall in Sun Star City in Macau Peninsula. Both shops are full of small storage cases for consignation. The patterns of both shops just look like the checker. That's why it calls "checker depot".

The design of that kind of "checker depot" is a breakthrough of the usage of space and also is a revolution towards the traditional business model. Many people consign their products in "checker depot" consignation shop for sale. The hiring rate of the "checker depot" consignation shop reaches nearly 90%. The retail fee is around MOP 300 to MOP 640 depending on the position of the "shop". The consigners do not need to pay any commission, but only the monthly rent.

Moreover, there is no any restriction for the consigned products, except for products that are illegal or need retail license, such as mobile phones, telecommunication services, etc.

Judy Wong is a student of the University of Macau. She operated her consignation business and her main products sold are accessories. The monthly net profit is not perfect. She believed that the low profit was caused by the limited quantity of products.

Nevertheless, she emphasized, "The low profit doesn't influence me to end my business. I understand that it is not possible to earn huge amount of money but only investing a little. I want to gain some experience in how to run a business. I want to run my business from small to large. "