Taiwan's convenience chain store market has reached saturation with over 8,000 outlets nationwide, forcing players to consolidate and be more cautious about expansion, executives of Taiwan FamilyMart Co (
As of the end of last year, the number of convenience stores totaled 8,709. President Chain Store Corp (
"It's not possible for the number of stores to continue building to, say, 10,000, as not all of the existing stores are making a profit ... poorly performing locations are bound to be shut down or improved upon," Pan Jin-tin (
In Japan, some chains have suffered negative growth in terms of number of stores, something which Pan said might occur in Taiwan due to fierce competition from rivals and non-convenience store outlets, such as drugstores.
Despite the competitive situation, market demand remains and the most important lesson for operators is to discover and satisfy consumer needs, the CEO said.
Although the market will not grow any bigger, Taiwan FamilyMart plans to expand its share to 30 percent in a three-year period by cultivating new segments beyond food and daily necessities.
Its three strategies mapped out for this year include strengthening offerings of entertainment and leisure services -- by selling theme park tickets and online game cards via its virtual distribution center, developing new store formats to cater to an untapped customer base and strengthening its electronic commerce systems.
Faced with the difficulty of finding good locations in densely developed city areas, major convenience store operators have marched into the suburbs to establish free-standing outlets, equipped with parking lots, restrooms and indoor dining spaces.
These "suburb concept stores" are doing well on weekends and holidays when tourists swarm to sightseeing spots.
NEW FORMATS
Taiwan FamilyMart is currently studying the possibility of developing other new formats, such as fresh-food stores for nuclear families or upscale outlets in well-heeled neighborhoods, as seen in Japan.
Last June, the company was hard hit by its larger rival President Chain when 7-Eleven outlets launched massive marketing campaigns featuring Hello Kitty magnets. For the first time, Taiwan FamilyMart posted negative growth in a single month.
However, its performance was back on track by September, following months of adjustments in product items and improvements in store quality. It raked in sales of NT$29.68 billion (US$916.8 million) last year, growing by 8 percent year-on-year.
Pan vowed to record double-digit growth this year, something he admits is difficult given the sharp competition.
Shares of Taiwan FamilyMart edged up by NT$0.1 to close at NT$52 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.
DIVIDED VIEWS: Although the Fed agreed on holding rates steady, some officials see no rate cuts for this year, while 10 policymakers foresee two or more cuts There are a lot of unknowns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates, but US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled at least one thing seems certain: Higher prices are coming. Fed policymakers voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady at a range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as they await clarity on whether tariffs would leave a one-time or more lasting mark on inflation. Powell said it is still unclear how much of the bill would fall on the shoulders of consumers, but he expects to learn more about tariffs
NOT JUSTIFIED: The bank’s governor said there would only be a rate cut if inflation falls below 1.5% and economic conditions deteriorate, which have not been detected The central bank yesterday kept its key interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive quarter, aligning with market expectations, while slightly lowering its inflation outlook amid signs of cooling price pressures. The move came after the US Federal Reserve held rates steady overnight, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut borrowing costs. Central bank board members unanimously voted to maintain the discount rate at 2 percent, the secured loan rate at 2.375 percent and the overnight lending rate at 4.25 percent. “We consider the policy decision appropriate, although it suggests tightening leaning after factoring in slackening inflation and stable GDP growth,”
Meta Platforms Inc offered US$100 million bonuses to OpenAI employees in an unsuccessful bid to poach the ChatGPT maker’s talent and strengthen its own generative artificial intelligence (AI) teams, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said. Facebook’s parent company — a competitor of OpenAI — also offered “giant” annual salaries exceeding US$100 million to OpenAI staffers, Altman said in an interview on the Uncapped with Jack Altman podcast released on Tuesday. “It is crazy,” Sam Altman told his brother Jack in the interview. “I’m really happy that at least so far none of our best people have decided to take them
PLANS: MSI is also planning to upgrade its service center in the Netherlands Micro-Star International Co (MSI, 微星) yesterday said it plans to set up a server assembly line at its Poland service center this year at the earliest. The computer and peripherals manufacturer expects that the new server assembly line would shorten transportation times in shipments to European countries, a company spokesperson told the Taipei Times by telephone. MSI manufactures motherboards, graphics cards, notebook computers, servers, optical storage devices and communication devices. The company operates plants in Taiwan and China, and runs a global network of service centers. The company is also considering upgrading its service center in the Netherlands into a
RSS