To better serve its upscale neighbors in Taipei's Da'an district, the Far Eastern Group (
The new outlet will trade under the name "city'super."
"Based on our survey in the district, residents have expressed hopes to have a supermarket of a higher level and in a larger scale nearby," said Susan Chiou (
The community has several regular supermarkets like Wellcome, although these outlets can apparently no longer satisfy local needs.
Situated in a residential area known for its strong purchasing power, the mall is adjacent to the five-star Far Eastern Plaza Hotel, but has not operated a supermarket since its inception in 1994.
"Positioned as a mega-lifestyle-specialty store, the under-construction `city'super' supermarket will feature a higher portion of exclusive merchandise to lure consumers," said Andrew Chen (
The Far Eastern Group also owns the Far Eastern Department Store (
Introducing upscale supermarkets into shopping malls has become the latest trend, with examples ranging from the Breeze Center's (
These stores are characterized by their relatively high percentage of imported, higher-priced commodities, which sets them apart from their competitors and caters to their respective target clients.
The "city'super" will occupy a 1,100-ping (3,630m2) space in The Mall's basement. The store's consumer products, including cosmetics, stationery and house furnishings account for 40 percent of the product mix, while the other 60 percent will be food, fresh foodstuffs and snacks exclusive to the supermarket, Chen said.
"As normal supermarkets tend to be price-oriented by employing mass sales, the `city'super' places more emphasis on introducing special and high-quality products," Chen said. "Lowering prices is not the main strategy for us."
In its product mix of more than 10,000 items, 70 percent to 80 percent of daily merchandise is imported, while 50 percent of food is purchased from abroad, with an emphasis of freshness and consumer tastes.
The company projects to generate NT$789 million (US$25 million) in first-year sales and launch two more outlets in five years.
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