Hypermarts count on back-to-school sales for boost

The nation's back-to-school sales are in full swing as foreign-invested retailers try to capitalize on the relatively new shopping phenomenon in Taiwan.

Over the weekend, international hypermarket operators like UK-based Tesco Stores Co Tai-wan (特易購), French-based Carrefour Corp Taiwan (家樂福), and French-Taiwanese venture RT-Mart (大潤發) were packed with families and college students shopping for school bags, stationery, clothing, computers and electronic dictionaries.

"As millions of Taiwanese -- from kindergarten to college -- are set to head back to school next week, consumers are turning to hypermarts for their needs," said Fiona Wang (王彤芳), an RT-Mart manager.

The idea of back-to-school sales was introduced from the West only a few years ago and is gaining popularity in the local market.

"We launched the back-to-school campaign two years ago, and last year's sales saw a 30-percent increase [over the previous year]," Wang said.

She added that rather than customers running from store to store to find all their different needs, hypermarts have the edge in offering one-stop-shopping at wholesale prices.

Establishing its first outlet in 1997 through the Taiwan-based Ruentex Group (潤泰集團), RT-Mart operates more than 20 hypermarts. In February 2001, France's third-largest hypermart, Auchan SA, bought a 67-percent stake in RT-Mart.

Meanwhile rival Carrefour has also said back-to-school sales have become one of the major events in the retail calendar.

"Late August has become an annual peak in selling school supplies," said Lilian Lee (李莉莉), public relations manager at Carrefour Taiwan.

"Sales of this category during this period account for 33 percent of annual sales," she added.

Carrefour is the nation's largest hypermart, with 27 stores in Taiwan. French-based Carrefour has a 100-percent share in and management control over its Taiwanese subsidiary.

Price wars between hypermarts are heating up, as retailers try to meet the tight budgets of families with several children or college students just moving away from home.

RT-Mart announced on Saturday that it was cutting prices on the e-Instant (快譯通) MD101 electronic dictionary from NT$7,500 to NT$5,758 after competitor Carrefour retailed the same product at NT$5,858.

With the product life-cycle of electronic dictionaries getting shorter, retailers are willing to offer discounts to stimulate sales, RT-Mart's Wang said.

"Consumers can expect to enjoy a 15 to 20-percent discount on electronic dictionaries at this year's sale," she said.

Entry-level desktop computers priced around NT$15,000 are also hot items on back-to-school shelves, with hypermarts aiming to sell thousands of PCs during the run up to the new semester.

UK-based Tesco is offering a package of one Xander (建達) desktop computer, one 17-inch cathode-ray tube (CRT) monitor and one Epson NC 41 printer at NT$16,499.

Most back-to-school sales run through Wednesday.