June 27, 2008 -- Algerian bargain-hunters looking for name brands at rock-bottom prices have turned the used clothing trade into a booming business. Even with increased competition from the many shops that market new products — often imported from China — at reduced prices, Algerian merchants say their superior quality merchandise keeps price-conscious patrons coming back for more.

Frequenting the second-hand or "chiffon" shops, as some Algerians like to call them, has become a habit for many citizens who have become accustomed to buying clothes, shoes and underwear at 10% of what the retail cost would be in Europe.

Shop owners acknowledge that as a result of the "Chinese invasion" over the last few years, they had to endure a rough period of slow business. Their customers realised, they say, that the clothing sold by Algerian retailers — even used — was better-made than new apparel sold by foreign vendors.

"At first, we were somewhat affected because of the very low prices they were selling their goods for. However, as time passed, our trade improved a lot, and their items were no longer in demand after Algerians discovered that their goods might cause them diseases as a result of the dangerous raw materials used. This is in addition to the fact that these goods wear out quickly because of their bad quality," says Adel, a young merchant in his twenties who runs one of the three shops owned by his family.

Adel's store, which occupies a space of more than 150 square meters, includes sections for shoes, women's clothes, men's clothes and children's apparel. The key to his success, he tells Magharebia, lies in the good commodities he acquires and sells at prices affordable to everyday citizens. His merchandise is made in Italy. He buys it in Tebessa on the border with Tunisia and brings it back to his store in Algiers.

Like Adel, most "chiffon" traders in Algeria import their goods from Italy and other European countries known for their name brands and fashionable logos, then sell them at prices even low-income people can afford. They reject any comparison between the clothes they sell and those brought from China, which, as Adel says, "lose their shine with the first wash".

"Our products from Italy are better. This is the factor that has made it possible for us to have loyal clients who are keen to ask about the date of arrival of new products."

The most popular item: women's underwear. "They're sold out on the first day after they are shown in their section," he tells us.


We found a woman wearing a black veil with a brown khemar (long veil) on her head. She appeared to be well-to-do. When we asked her whether she was embarrassed to enter these "chiffon" shops or to wear what she bought, she replied that such questions never occurred to her, because what she buys "often seems to be better than new clothes".

Another shop-owner, Kamal, pointed out that women do not hesitate to buy used clothes.

Men, on the other hand, prefer to buy new clothes in popular markets.

Nabil, a 26-year old international business student in his final year of university, decided to become a used-clothing merchant three years ago in order to achieve financial independence. He himself wears "chiffon" and markets his goods to his university colleagues.

"We receive different classes of society, including well-to-do people. Everyone looks for the types of clothing that may only be found in the finest shops."

Nabil deals with wholesalers in the town of Bordj El Kiffan, in the western suburbs of the capital. They import merchandise from Germany and Holland and are subject to normal customs procedures. He confirmed that the goods he buys conform to the legal requirements and are safe and free from diseases. He buys the used clothing in lots costing between 15,000 and 20,000 dinars each, he tells us, but he has no right to open them or check the clothes inside. What he gets, he says, is a matter of pure luck.

The journey to know the secrets behind the chiffon trade required a stop at a shop owned by fifty-year-old Rabeh in Diar Djemaa, one of the largest and most popular neighbourhoods in the southern suburbs of the capital. When we arrived, he was showing his merchandise outside his shop, hoping to win new clients.

Sidewalk traders have had a negative impact on his business, he explains. Indeed, this parallel trade of street vendors engages about 2 million young men in Algeria. "They offer low prices because they are working illegally and aren't paying any taxes," Rabeh says. He is forced to reduce the price of each item of clothing he sells in order to attract clients. Sometimes, he says, these sidewalk traders even dare to buy his "good" items and then turn around and sell them one or two meters away from his own shop.

In a move intended to attract more clients, Rabeh started selling his items at one set price for everything in the shop. Today, the price has been specified at 100 dinars per item. A week ago, the price was 120 dinars per item. By next week, he says, it is likely to decrease to 50 dinars.


At a shop owned by 38-year old Soufiane, we meet a woman who is a loyal client.

"Chiffon has rescued me," she tells us. "Without it, I wouldn't have been able to provide for the needs of my daughter when she got married to her husband eight months ago. How else could I have filled her bags with my limited income? My husband died nine years ago."

Buying used clothes is helpful, Soufiane tells us, because the "cost of living is soaring".

She has become accustomed to wearing these types of clothes and has never suffered from any disease symptoms because, she says, she sanitizes the "used" clothes by boiling them or soaking them overnight in soap mixed with chlorine.

"Chiffon" dealers are not the only ones who make a profit off of used merchandise. Street merchants cover great stretches of the neighbourhoods in the capital and other major cities, filling the streets with calls of "Old items for sale!" Young people work in all levels of the industry, from collecting old clothes and furniture to reselling them at retail markets in both the internal provinces and remote areas.