In Kevin Zhang’s quiet, two-storey house in Gloucester, hundreds of parcels blanket the living room floor. Each package – shipped from China – is bound for British customers who placed orders on Temu, TikTok Shop and AliExpress.
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Zhang, 49, moved to the United Kingdom from China’s rustbelt northeast in 2000, and spent years running a local nail salon. But in March, he sensed that something big was happening with China’s cross-border e-commerce platforms – and decided to make a change.
He transformed some unused space in his home into a pop-up warehouse, and began processing orders on behalf of Chinese exporters: handling, picking, packing, labelling and distributing packages across Britain for £1 (US$1.35) per parcel.
The business has quickly snowballed. After just a few months, the side hustle is already earning Zhang nearly £2,000 a month – on par with a typical graduate starting salary in London.
“Demand from Chinese exporters is so strong, I’ve had to start turning people away,” he told the Post.
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Makeshift warehouses like Zhang’s are spreading across the UK, as Chinese immigrants cash in on the rapid expansion of China’s shopping platforms in the country.