Condom World
When it comes to condoms, brand names like durex might be the first thing popping into people's minds. Are there different choices?
"Sure. We make condoms more interesting and value-added," said Jim Wong (翁文俊), founder of Condom World, which was first established in 1996 as an online store and opened its first shop two years ago.
The chain now operates 30 outlets nationwide and plans to set up a new company in Shanghai to branch out this year, Wong said.
People from the US, UK, Hong Kong and Australia have asked for franchise permits, Wong rejected their offer now hoping to strengthen the company's constitution first.
Different from pharmacies or convenience stores, the company does not sell regular condoms in cartons. Instead, single condoms are packaged in colorful and interesting designs, such as passports or photo frames, so that they make eye-catching gifts.
With a background in design and multimedia, Wong left his eight-year media career to test the waters in e-commerce nine years ago.
As entering the condom business does not require much know-how, Wong started selling own-designed sex-related products on his Web site.
"Taiwanese people use around 100 million condoms a year and the number is rising by 10 percent year on year," said Wong, expressing his potential.
By preparing NT$600,000, franchisees can join his network and break even within one year. Gross margins are a breathtaking 50 percent. But this does not mean everyone can succeed. Wong suggested that franchisees, no matter which business they are running, must believe in the headquarters' system and business spirit.
"One of my franchisees was suspicious over having to stock so many products from headquarters and thought we made too much money from him. In the end, his store closed due to poor performance," Wong said.
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