Chinese entrepreneur Zong Qinghou has boosted made in Italy exports by ordering €100 million worth of Italian oil, wine, shoes, clothes and furniture. Newspaper ‘Il Sole 24 Ore’ reports that Zong, the richest man in China, made a visit to Italy to look for products to sell in his Waow Plaza shopping mall in China. Zong selected the products himself, knocking on suppliers’ doors, trying them out and, if they proved to his taste, put in orders. ‘Il Sole 24 Ore’ reports that some suppliers did not know who the ordinary-looking middle-aged Chinese man was until they typed his name into the internet and discovered he is the 86th richest man in the world. In March 2013, ‘Forbes’ estimated his net worth as US$11.6 billion. The 67-year-old Zong is famous for his hard work and thrift. He is said to live on US$20 a day, telling the BBC last year: “My only exercise is doing market research... my only hobbies are smoking and drinking tea.” Zong is the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of China’s leading beverage company, the Hangzhou Wahaha Group. He opened the Waow Plaza boutique shopping mall in Hangzhou in China’s Zhejiang Province in November 2012. The mall sells European furniture, clocks, watches, jewellery, ornaments, clothing, food and products for children that middle-class domestic consumers can afford. There are plans to open 100 Waow Plazas in China within five years. If they are successful that could be good news for the made in Italy brand.
