On the other hand, Wu has foreseen the development of the vast Chinese market and hopes to reproduce his success in Taiwan across the Strait.
Positioning his company as a world-leading factory and retailing channel, in April last year he established three manufacturing bases in Shanghai, Xiamen and Zhangzhou. The company received orders for home appliances to the annual value of US$600 million and made huge inroads in the Chinese electronics retail market.
In August, he said the company planned to open three new stores in Shanghai and increase its Chinese outlets to 70 from 51, and increase its stores in Taiwan to 160 from 148 by the end of this year.
However, analysts such as Chen Yen-liang (陳彥良) at Yuanta Core Pacific Capital Management (元大京華) expressed concern about the company's loose management style in a risky expansion scheme.
"The management of logistic systems and the cultivation of talent are issues affecting the company's ambitious and rapid expansion in China," Chen told the Taipei Times earlier this year. "It took Wu seven to eight years to break even in Taiwan, but whether his aggressive expansion in China will meet with the same type of success is yet to be seen."
To nobody's surprise, Tsann Kuen suffered under the high costs of managing over 40 outlets scattered throughout China. This prompted it to slow down its expansion and consolidate its stores in the Shanghai, Fujian and Xiamen areas, said company spokesman Ted Chen (陳彥君).
The company posted consolidated revenue of NT$24.9 billion in the first half of this year and hopes to achieve annual sales of NT$60 billion this year, he said.
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