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Tag: Taiwan

  • Dairy Farm sells Wellcome Taiwan to Carrefour

    Dairy Farm sells Wellcome Taiwan to Carrefour

    Hong Kong-headquartered Dairy Farm is to sell its Wellcome Taiwan grocery retail business to Carrefour, with settlement later this year after regulatory approvals have been granted.  The deal – worth about €97 million – includes about 224 stores and warehouses, along with some property assets. Wellcome Taiwan’s turnover last year was approximately €390 million.

    The business currently has 199 Wellcome stores with an average sales area of 420sqm – and 25 Jasons, with an average sales area of 820 sqm. The Dairy Farm stores trading under the Wellcome banner will be converted to its Market format, and those trading under Jason’s brand will be converted to the Carrefour format.

    “Dairy Farm believes this change of ownership will set the business up for future growth and prosperity, building on Wellcome’s strong sales momentum over the past 12 months following the successful implementation of its price reinvestment campaign and increasing customer loyalty,” the Hong Kong company said in a statement.

    “This strengthened network represents greater opportunities for our team members as well as better service and value to our customers.”

    A spokesperson for Dairy Farm told Inside Retail Asia that the company was committed to its remaining major investment in Taiwan, Ikea.

    “Ikea Taiwan remains very much part of Dairy Farm’s portfolio. Through the Ikea brand, Dairy Farm is committed to delivering a unique home furnishing and Swedish food experience to our customers in Taiwan.”

    Meanwhile, the MD of Wellcome Taiwan, Laurent Piazza, says the sale is a testament to the hard work and determination of the Dairy Farm team to offer the best to its customers.

    “By bringing these businesses together, team members and customers will benefit from being served by a larger group that can use their combined strength and scale to improve quality, service, and price competition.

    “We have complete confidence in the future success of the business and believe, by bringing these businesses together, we have created a strong future for the team and a better shopping experience for our customers.”

    Carrefour currently operates 137 stores in Taiwan, including 69 under its Market banner. The group posted net sales of €1.968 billion last year and posted pre-tax earnings of €209 million.

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  • Taiwan’s Eslite to make Southeast Asian debut in Malaysia

    Taiwan’s Eslite to make Southeast Asian debut in Malaysia

    Taiwanese bookstore chain Eslite is preparing to launch in Kuala Lumpur.

    Although final details have yet to be released, the new 3300–6600sqm store will likely trade in downtown Kuala Lumpur. The opening, scheduled for next year and potentially delayed due to Covid-19 concerns, will see Taiwan’s largest bookseller opening its first store in Malaysia. Earlier reports have suggested the firm has been seeking a partner in the territory for some time.

    The 30-year-old chain is well known for its unique fusion retail business model as a bookstore, mall and cultural creative platform. It operates 48 stores in Taiwan as well as overseas outlets in Hong Kong, Mainland China and Japan. The Malaysian store will be the first Eslite outlet in Southeast Asia.

    Despite the expansion, Eslite’s business has struggled in its home territory, prompting a series of high-profile store closures, including its flagship location in Dunnan where it famously traded 24 hours.

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  • Taiwan’s Hung Rui Chen sandwich chain opening in Hong Kong

    Taiwan’s Hung Rui Chen sandwich chain opening in Hong Kong

    Local and tourist favorite sandwich maker Hung Rui Chen will be opening a flagship store in Hong Kong this August.

    Hung Rui Chen is a 73-year-old brand, known for its signature sandwiches and recognized as a national local delicacy for its soft bread and unique spread.

    After an incident of suspected food poisoning from counterfeit operators in Hong Kong and Taiwan, the real Hung Rui Chen company issued a statement on Facebook to clarify that its own brand will open its first official store in Hong Kong.

    The location has yet to be confirmed.

    Back in 2015, Hung Rui Chen sandwiches imported from Taiwan and sold in grocery stores and on the Groupon platform led to 46 Hongkongers contracting food poisoning. The brand was subsequently banned by the Centre for Food Safety.

  • Taiwanese fashion platform Pinkoi lands in Hong Kong

    Taiwanese fashion platform Pinkoi lands in Hong Kong

    The firm predominantly represents indie brands and independent designers, taking orders on its platform and passing on notifications to sellers who then ship their products to consumers directly.

    Pinkoi is expanding into Hong Kong against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, which has seen the firm reduce its transaction fees for orders worth less than US$10 to 5 percent – a reduction of 10 percent – until June 30.

    The firm has also pledged to invest more than US$660,000 in advertising in order to strengthen promotion for member shops before the end of May. This investment will go towards advertising on platforms such as Google, Facebook, Criteo, Instagram, and Twitter, amongst others. It will simultaneously launch a range of themed online promotions and discounts in order to promote partner designs to its 3.2 million members.

    Pinkoi has opened a physical store in Hong Kong at The Mills.

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  • Record numbers show Taiwan food-service sales decline

    Record numbers show Taiwan food-service sales decline

    Taiwan foodservice sales have slumped by 21 percent year on year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

    Ministry of Economic Affairs data revealed total F&B sales of NT$51.9 billion (US$1.73 billion) this year across the territory, the steepest decline since reporting on sales figures began in January 2000.

    A parallel survey of Taiwanese restaurant sales saw a 23-per-cent drop in sales early this month. Figures revealed a downward trend in Taiwan foodservice sales before the government introduced social-distancing measures, with venues serving Chinese cuisine the most strongly affected.

    Ministry deputy head of statistics Wang Shu-chuan said that full-month figures for April could see a similar drop of around NT$16 billion ($532.5 million).

    General retail sales for the first financial quarter this year dropped 0.6 percent from last year to NT$924.5 billion ($30.8 billion), with revenues for March hitting NT$290.6 billion ($9.7 billion), down 3.4 percent. At the same time, e-commerce operators saw sales rise 19.1 percent year on year to NT$81.1 billion ($2.7 billion) during the first quarter.

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  • Kerry Logistics expands its coffee business into Taiwan

    Kerry Logistics expands its coffee business into Taiwan

    Kerry Logistics Network Limited (‘Kerry Logistics’; Stock Code 0636.HK) announced the expansion of its coffee trading business into Taiwan, as the sole distributor of Italian coffee group illycaffè’s complete product range in Taiwan. The move marks Kerry Logistics’ extension of its footprint into a society with a rich coffee culture.

    Kerry Logistics, through its sub-brand Kerry Coffee, is now the sole distributor of illycaffè’s iperEspresso coffee machines, capsules, coffee beans and other coffee-making equipment and accessories in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

    Kerry Coffee was established in 2019 for the trading and distribution of illycaffè’s products in Hong Kong and Macau. It was a progression of the partnership between Kerry Logistics and illycaffè that began in 2017 to provide total integrated logistics solutions for illycaffè and act as the sole distributor of iperEspresso coffee machines and capsules in Hong Kong.

    Robert Berger, Executive Director of Kerry Coffee (Hong Kong), said, “We are delighted to take our collaboration with illycaffè further and into a society that appreciates the finer points of coffee. Taiwan has a deep-rooted and booming coffee culture. So we are optimistic in deepening Taiwan’s love of coffee by bringing the unique Italian coffee culture and flavour embodied by illycaffè there. This expansion is a substantial increase in presence for the illy brand, complementing Kerry Coffee’s existing operation in Hong Kong and Macau and strengthening its position in the coffee market.”

    illycaffè is one of the world’s most global coffee brands. As its sole distributor in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, Kerry Coffee is responsible for providing total logistics solutions, sales and marketing to its entire product selection.

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  • FamilyMart Taiwan plans rolling out 200 new stores

    FamilyMart Taiwan plans rolling out 200 new stores

    Familymart Taiwan is aiming to open 220–230 new stores in the territory this year, as the Japanese convenience-store chain franchise, emerges unaffected by the coronavirus turmoil.

    The firm’s takings in this year’s first financial quarter are anticipated to rise 8.4 percent year -on year to NT$19.71 billion (US$652.3 million). FamilyMart Taiwan reported net earnings of NT$1.83 billion ($60.56 million) last year.

    The franchise has suffered minimal fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, with only a low percentage of its earnings derived from operations in Mainland China.

    The firm is the second-largest convenience-store chain in Taiwan, operating 3606 locations nationwide and more than 1200 stores in nine cities on the mainland. The number of closed stores in China dropped from 600 to 100 last month as the Covid-19 pandemic eased. The firm expects operations in China to normalize in July.

  • Taiwan’s Chun Fun How opens new outlet in Singapore

    Taiwan’s Chun Fun How opens new outlet in Singapore

    Taiwanese bubble-tea chain Chun Fun How is preparing to launch a flagship store at the Esplanade in Singapore this month.

    The floral-themed store will offer takeaway drinks only in its new outlet – mostly premium fruit tea blends in attractively designed “Instagrammable” cups – with a heavy emphasis on sanitization as the coronavirus outbreak continues. The brand is expected to be offering new drinks and menu items exclusive to the Singapore market.

    The brand is known for its low profile in Taiwan, with the majority of its stores targeting students and local business people rather than tourists.

    Chu Fun How has 14 outlets within Taiwan, a franchise outlet in both Hong Kong and Canada, and plans to expand in Indonesia as well as Singapore.

  • Cebu Pacific, PAL to resume Taiwan flights after travel ban lifting

    Cebu Pacific, PAL to resume Taiwan flights after travel ban lifting

    Two local airlines will again mount flights to and from Taiwan after the government lifted the travel ban on the territory.

    Cebu Pacific flights will resume February 17.

    In an advisory, the airline will have one flight from Manila on Monday and only arrival flights from Taiwan beginning February 18.

    On February 21, there will be two flights from Manila and two from Taiwan.

    “We are notifying passengers both on those flights on the resumption of scheduled flights starting Monday,” said Cebu Pacific spokesperson Charo Logarta- Lagamon in a phone patch interview.

    Lagamon said the airline has carried out safety measures since the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak.

    “Ever since the situation with the COVID-19 broke out, we have implemented precautionary measures — disinfection of aircraft, measures for personnel — and we try as best as we could to keep them in place all through these weeks,” she said.

    Meanwhile, Philippine Airlines announced in an advisory that Taiwan flights will begin February 21. Trips will initially be four times weekly — Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday — until February 29.

    Daily flights will resume March 1.

    “Passengers originally confirmed on canceled MNL-TPE and TPE-MNL flights now have the opportunity to book on the restored PR890 and PR891 flights,” said PAL.

    Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo earlier said that the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases lifted the travel restriction given Taiwan’s strict security protocols against the COVID-19.

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  • Taiwan’s Mr Brown coffee shutters stores

    Taiwan’s Mr Brown coffee shutters stores

    Taiwanese cafe chain Mr Brown coffee has shuttered eight outlets in Taipei due to falling customer demand, among other factors.

    The closures include a sizeable store in central Tamsui that will cease trading later this month. Employees at the affected outlets have been reassigned, with others leaving the firm.There have been no reported mass layoffs of staff.

    A representative from Mr Brown coffee, which is a subsidiary of King Car Group, confirmed that falling sales as well as rental costs in some cases influenced the decision to close the stores. Another two outlets may also be closed in the near future. Rising competition in the sector may have played a part in the shift in consumer demand.

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  • Line Pay Taiwan Forms Cross-Border Payments Alliance

    Line Pay Taiwan Forms Cross-Border Payments Alliance

    The digital wallet and fintech service for messaging app Line will allow people from Japan, Korea and Thailand to use their local mobile payment services when in Taiwan.

    Line Pay has announced a cross-border mobile payment alliance to connect the ecosystems of payment operators Line Pay Japan, Rabbit Line Pay (Thailand), Naver Financial (Korea), and NHN PAYCO (Korea), the firm announced in a statement on Monday.

    This will allow users of services in the alliance to make cross-border payment services in the partnering services’ countries. Operations are planned to be launched by the first quarter of 2020, and Line said it plans to grow the number of partners in the future so users from more countries can benefit from the alliance

    We hope to build a path for all LINE Pay users and merchant partners in Taiwan to transcend national borders and to share a borderless payment experience, Line Pay Taiwan chairman WoongJu Jeong said in the statement.

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  • Burger King Taiwan gives away 10,000 burgers to McDonald’s, KFC customers

    Burger King Taiwan gives away 10,000 burgers to McDonald’s, KFC customers

    Burger King Taiwan is holding a marketing campaign offering 10,000 free burgers to customers of rivals McDonald’s and KFC.

    Consumers are being invited to swap a same-day receipt for a set meal at either franchise to receive a free Burger King burger.

    Burger King Taiwan, which has traded for 29 years, has lagged behind rival brands in market-share terms and has attempted a comeback over the past several years by shuttering 20 stores and replacing its management team. The brand was taken over by Asian private equity fund Nexus Point in late 2017.

    The brand has since expanded and expanded its reach via local food delivery platforms Foodpanda, Uber Eats, and Deliveroo among others.

    The campaign will run through to December 10.

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  • Carrefour Taiwan launches Asia’s first private-label cage-free eggs

    Carrefour Taiwan launches Asia’s first private-label cage-free eggs

    Carrefour Taiwan has launched its first line of private label cage-free eggs, responding to growing consumer demands for sustainable products.

    The range, originating from an Asian retailer at its Neihu Store in Taipei’s north, marks another step in the brand’s local Act For Food initiative, which is intended to project Carrefour as a leader in food transition.

    As part of the launch, one Taiwanese dollar from every box sold will be donated to promote the welfare of farm animals, with proceeds going to the Environment & Animal Society of Taiwan.

    “When I saw firsthand the rich and active lives of hens on cage-free farms,” said Carrefour Taiwan director of CSR and communications Marilyn Su, “it was clear to me the role retailers must play in the food transition.

    “As a large international retailer, Carrefour is constantly thinking about how it can exercise corporate social responsibility to make Taiwan a better, more beautiful place because of our presence.”

    Carrefour Taiwan announced its four-step commitment to going cage-free in May last year. The chain currently stocks 24 cage-free egg SKUs in Taiwan, and the market share has already risen to 17 percent.

    Last month the firm conducted a survey of almost 1000 consumers, with results showing that nearly 80 percent of Taiwanese consumers care about the production system of the eggs they buy, and almost nine in 10 are concerned about antibiotics use, antibiotic residues, and unhygienic rearing environments.

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  • Taiwan retail sales hit new high in October

    Taiwan retail sales hit new high in October

    Taiwan retail sales set a record in October, according to data from the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

    Retail sales rose 4.2 percent year on year to NT$340.7 billion (US$11.16 billion), the highest ever recorded for October and following year-on-year sales increases for every month of this year to date.

    The figures indicate that global trade tensions have largely not impacted private consumption in the country.

    “Wealth effects arising from a booming local stock market prompted consumers to shop,” said MOEA’s statistics department deputy head Wang Shu-chuan, “although the domestic economy has been affected by a global slowdown amid unfavorable trade issues.”

    Taiwanese retail sales by department stores rose 2.5 percent to NT$40.6 billion ($1.33 billion) while supermarket sales grew 8.8 percent to NT$18.0 billion ($590 million).

    For the first 10 months of the year, Taiwan retail sales rose 2.9 percent.

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  • Taiwan overtakes Singapore in broadband speed

    Taiwan overtakes Singapore in broadband speed

    The global average in terms of broadband speed is 11.03Mbps since May 2019, compared to it being 9.14 at the same time last year. The data from this new research was gathered by a US-based open-source project called Measurement Lab (M-Lab).

    “With average broadband speeds rising by 20.65% in the last year the global picture looks rosy. But the truth is faster countries are the ones lifting the average, pulling away at speed and leaving the slowest to stagnate. Last year, we measured the slowest five countries at 88 times slower than the five fastest. This year they are 125 times slower,” commented Dan Howdle, consumer telecoms analyst at Cable.co.uk, with regards to the M-Lab research.

    The top 15 in the league tables of 2019 comprise of all European and Asian countries, with the US being number 16 on the list.

    Some of the European countries that made it to the top 15 were Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. As for Asian countries, it included Japan and Singapore.

    The league table showed that downloading a movie in HD of around 5GB in size takes 8 minutes and 2 seconds on average in Taiwan while it took 30 hours in Yemen, which was the last-placed country in the league table.

    M-Lab is led by a variety of teams based at Code for Science and Society, Google Princeton University’s PlanetLab, New America’s Open Technology Institute among others.

    “Average speed rankings by country are.. a great starting point for deeper research and statistical analysis of the state of broadband using M-Lab’s global broadband measurement datasets,” said Chris Ritzo, M-Lab’s programme management and community lead.

    The research carried out 276 million speed tests, all on 70 million IP addresses.

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