People talk about Taiwan being competitive, but the UK retail market is much more competitive. And M&S is a winner in that market and others. So I think consumers will respond to the quality, newness, innovation and value we offer.
TT: What kind of product mix can we expect?
Walker: Food will be below 10 percent. Beauty products will take only a small percentage. The vast majority is fashion products. But we'll find out whether Taiwanese want more of something or less of something else, and we'll adjust.
TT: Did you choose to partner with President Chain and its parent company Uni-President Group (
Walker: I'm not here to answer that question. Whenever we come to make a decision for China, we'll certainly look to what we learned from Taiwan. But the decision to enter Taiwan was purely based on the decision to enter Taiwan. There are no other considerations. I was here in 1997 and 1998 looking at the market. When you enter a market, it has to be right for the company and the country. Those two things haven't coincided until just recently.
TT: Are you worried about M&S' performance considering the lukewarm reception Dream Mall (
Walker: Although the Dream Mall had a soft opening in March, some of the major anchors have not opened yet.
The Hankyu Department Store, its biggest tenant, opened [last] Saturday. Six other big anchors didn't open until [last] Saturday and we'll open this Saturday. So the attractiveness we talk about here will increase significantly following the mall's formal launch.
I've been to many countries. The mall is a world-class shopping center.
And you'll have two MRT lines open this July and in July next year and the World Games are coming the year after. It'll only become stronger.
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