Retailers boosted by anniversary sales

Department store operators reported a more than 10-percent increase in sales as a result of their anniversary sales, which commenced early last month, industry officials said yesterday.

"Two of our outlets in Taipei [the Nanking store and Hsinyi store], which just finished their anniversary sales in mid-November, generated sales amounting to NT$26.2 billion, an increase of 21 percent compared to last year," said Shauna Lee (李香萩), Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store's sale promotion assistant manager.

Mitsukoshi, the nation's largest department store chain with 10 outlets, achieved sales of NT$5.2 billion during the anniversary-sale period, an increase of 16 percent from a year earlier, Lee said.

The six-month, no-interest installment payment plan, which the industry used as an effective weapon to attract customers, contributed 13-percent to the company's NT$5.2 billion dollars in sales, and the spending-per-customer that opted for such a payment plan averaged about NT$20,000, she said.

Mitsukoshi expected its three outlets in Taipei City to reach NT$39.1 billion in sales, accounting for over 50 percent of the sales department stores in Taipei would create this year.

"Our outlet in front of Taipei Main Station will kick off Taiwan's last wave of anniversary sales in early December ... We hope to create sales of NT$1.29 billion in the 18-day activity," Lee said.

With discounts of up to 10 percent at department stores' anniversary sales, cosmetics became the anchor product in such promotions. Up to 28 percent of Mitsukoshi's NT$5.2-billion turnover made in the anniversary sales were contributed by cosmetics, amounting to about NT$1.5 billion.

Lee said that the targeted sales were only a 2-percent increase compared to last year.

"The commercial area around Taipei Main Station was developed earlier and thus older than areas like Hsinyi District, which has the capability of generating a double-digit growth rate," Lee explained.

Two of Mitsukoshi's major rivals, Pacific Sogo Department Store Group (太平洋崇光百貨) and Far Eastern Department Stores (遠東百貨), agreed.

"The number of shoppers seems not to have grown much compared to last year but consumption-per-customer is higher," said Tom Yeh (葉清水), spokesman of Far Eastern Department Stores which owns 10 outlets nationwide.

Far Eastern has seen sales of NT$25 billion since the chain's anniversary sales started in the middle of last month. The company expected a growth rate of more than 15 percent compared to last year, and hopes to generate NT$3.5 billion in anniversary sales.

Sogo's customer service manager Nancy Ting (丁立貞) said spending-per-customer in Sogo's stores was stronger than last year.

"Our Taipei outlet achieved sales of NT$20.8 billion during the 12-day anniversary sale, which surpassed our original expectations. We had an up to 10-percent increase of the total turnover our four outlets created compared to last year," Ting said.