What's Hot in China Today?: Hottest Salesman: "Boss Hou" (侯总)

"Boss Hou" (侯总) is the hottest salesman in China right now. People are finding his sales pitches on TV shopping channels so amusing that now he has become a new celebrity in both China and Taiwan. His fans wait in front of TV at late night to catch a glimpse of his performance.

Apparently "Boss Hou" used to be just one of the many salespeople on TV shopping channels in Taiwan. In 2001, one of the new shopping channels tested the luxury goods market with Rosdenton watches, and Hou sold 1000 watches within an hour. The TV channel was so impressed with the result that it decided to become a major shareholder of Rosdenton's distributor so that its watches can only appear on this particular shopping channel. Hou was made General Manager of the company.

"Boss Hou" selling "Rosdenton" gold watches for only 998 RMB!

(http://youtube.com/watch?v=-2C7X-M9Vkk)

Now Boss Hou has expanded his territory to China and has instantly became a huge hit. Mainlanders have never seen such an exaggerated way of selling expensive items. Usually, the salesperson of a luxury good will pretentiously create an elegant and romantic atmosphere, emphasizing how it's imported from Europe and the superb design. Hou does the opposite. He yells at the top of his voice and waves his arms to show how crazily cheap the product is. Then halfway through the show, he appears frustrated because the price is just too low. Towards the end of the show, he gets angry with the co-host because this other guy isn't talking fast enough and is taking up precious time of the audiences so that they are about to miss out on this great opportunity. Thumping his fist on the table he tells the other guy to shut up while looking like he is about to have a heart attack. Then he looks away angrily to let the co-host end the show. Unlike other salespeople, Hou never smiles. He is just too angry that everything he sells is always "below cost". How can you not buy?