The growing importance of Chinese buyers in South Africa has led Ricus Dullaert of icons specialists Kunsthandel H.W.C Dullaert to employ a specialist Chinese speaker to help bridge the language divide.
Now that has prompted Jeremy Astfalck,
chairman of the South African Antique Dealers' Association, and his
committee, to introduce a Chinese page on the SAADA website, where
all articles and newsletters are translated into Government
Chinese.
"Seeing your name and what you have said in
Chinese really brings home how important it is for you as a dealer,
to understand how difficult it must be for some of our clients,"
says Mr Astfalck.
"The thinking behind this was to lessen the
impact of the language barrier and build relationships with our
clients by providing information in their language.
"South Africa has seen a large influx of migrant workers who
have become keen clients and once they buy from you, tend to return
again and again. The information we are supplying certainly helps
and we are seeing the value of purchases increase as clients become
more comfortable with the way we describe and label our goods."
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