New chainstores to cater to lifestyle market

President Chain Store Corp (統一超商), operator of the world's third-largest 7-Eleven franchise, yesterday unveiled its new chainstore business designed to cater to the lifestyle market.

President Chain has set up a 100-percent owned entity, President Fn Business Corp (統一時尚), with a paid-in capital of NT$100 million (US$3 million) after signing an agreement with Japan's Plazastyle Corp in May last year.

"Fn" stands for "fun and new," highlighting the company's emphasis on offering an interesting and fashionable product mix that would be sold in two new chainstores -- Plaza and Minipla, it said.

Plazastyle will channel its management know-how and help President Fn with product purchases.

"Plazastyle Corp has led fashion in Japan for more than four decades and runs a total of 105 outlets under different brand names, including Plaza, Minipla, Serendipity and From Heart. We believe the trend will catch on among Taiwanese youths," said Wu Kuo-hsuan (吳國軒), president of President Fn, during a press conference.

Plaza stores will be standard outlets occupying a retail space of about 100 pings (330m2), with most situated in department stores or shopping malls. Minipla stores will be smaller, occupying about 60 pints at mass rapid transit stations or airports.

The new chainstores will sell confectionery, stationery, greeting cards, household wares, cosmetics, clothing, toys and character goods, in hopes of snatching a share of the lifestyle market, which is estimated at between NT$20 billion and NT$30 billion.

Stores that currently cater to the lifestyle market include MUJI (無印良品) and Working House (生活工場), which offer a wide range of products, some of which may be similar to those planned by the President Fn chainstores.

Plaza and Minipla plan to offer more than 6,000 items imported from Japan, Europe and the US, with cosmetics and skin-care products accounting for 40 percent of Plaza's product line to attract women aged between 20 and 35, Wu said.

Wu said President expects to open three Plaza stores this year, with the first one in Taipei's Breeze Center on April 26 and the second one in the capital's trendy Xinyi District. The near-term goal is to run 10 Plaza and Minipla outlets by 2009.

Although he refused to disclose revenue targets, Hsu Chung-jen (徐重仁), head of President Chain, said last year that total revenue in 2009 should reach NT$1 billion.