Eric Modell hosted 15 Chinese Nationals at his G. Modell Inc. location.
By Eric Modell
On December 2, 2010, one of the G. Modell Inc. branches (located at 139 East 23rd Street in New York City) was visited by a group of approximately 15 Chinese Nationals. The group was comprised of government officials who oversee the pawn industry, a few pawn chain store managers, and a translator. This was the second time such a visit took place in one of our stores. In fact, some of the same officials returned with this trip as they remembered our store and having met both Gerald and Eric Modell previously.
The group was very interested to learn about the pawn industry in the United States, and had specific questions regarding legislation and oversight. They were particularly interested to know about the legal requirements of our industry and who our regulatory authorities were. They seemed surprised to learn that pawn shops are regulated at each level of government (local, state and federal). They wanted to know which agencies were involved at the federal level and how we felt about being so highly regulated across so many levels of government.
We took the opportunity to ask some questions of our own, and learned that one of the major pawn chains in a particular province operated more than 10 stores and had an average outstanding pawn balance of 11 million dollars per store. When asked how they are able to achieve multiple portfolios of that size, we learned a major difference between the pawn industries in the two countries. In China, pawn shops, while dealing in any and all personal property, also make loans on real property. In the US, this is a mortgage. Real property accounts for the most “pawned” item in China.
Our visitors asked intelligent questions and took lots of pictures, particularly of the signs that we have up in the store, the majority of which are required by law. While the entire visit lasted only about an hour, it was a valuable experience for both sides. Our time ended with an invitation from the highest ranking official, to visit Shanghai and experience the pawn industry in China.
