Sales of Leslie Cheung's products at Shanghai's online video and audio vendors are surging after the Hong Kong superstar leapt to his death yesterday evening.
The pop-star/actor jumped from a room of the five-star Mandarin Oriental hotel at 6.41 p.m. and was certified dead at 7.06 p.m. after arriving at Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong police said.
Just as in Hong Kong, Shanghai fans--mostly people in their 20s and 30s who grew up with Cheung's songs--were shocked by the news.
To show their sorrow, many local fans rushed to websites to buy his CDs, VCDs and DVDs.
Key shopping websites, including www.joyo.com, www.maya.com and www.eastday.com, have launched special shopping centers for Cheung's CDs, VCDs and DVDs.
"We have sold many more of Cheung's products since last evening when his death was reported," said a worker at Joyo's sales department surnamed Pan.
Not revealing the sales figure, he said the company's sales have doubled and Cheung's products have been running out of stock.
The company is getting emergency supplies from its Beijing branch, he said.
"Many customers want to buy a whole set of Cheung's audio and video products," he added.
Eastday.com also reported booming sales after the superstar's death.
A senior official with the shopping channel surnamed Zhang said the company's sales are triple normal levels. The company is arranging more supplies to satisfy the abruptly soaring demand.
Most buyers want Cheung's earlier 1990's products, according to an official with Maya's purchase department.
On normal days, five to 10 Cheung products are sold, he noted.
Market analysts predict the boom may last for a couple of days, and expect some memorial products, including books, CDs, VCDs and DVDs, to appear soon.
(Eastday.com April 3, 2003)
