Eleeza likely to ink contract to acquire Alexander outlets

Taipei-based Eleeza Cosmetics International Corp (宜麗國際) is likely to sign a contract to take over debt-ridden Alexander Group (亞力山大集團) before the Lunar New Year, an Eleeza Cosmetics executive said on Tuesday.

Eleeza Cosmetic chief executive Liang Mu-chun (梁木春) was quoted by the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times' sister newspaper) as saying on Tuesday that the company planned to reopen eight of Alexander's outlets -- including six in the greater Taipei area, one in Kaohsiung and one in Chungli City, Taoyuan County -- after Lunar New Year.

Wang Feng-ming (王鳳鳴), vice president of Alexander's marketing department, confirmed yesterday the takeover of the eight Alexander outlets by Eleeza. However, he said that the date for signing the contract had not yet been set.

As for the Alexander outlets in the central part of Taiwan, Liang said the company was still evaluating their acquisition, as the facilities are old.

Liang estimated the company would have to spend at least NT$50 million (US$1.5 million) to pay for back rent, utilities and salaries. As a result, the company will need to charge members for cleaning fees as basic operating costs.

But Cheng Jen-hung (程仁宏), chairman of the Taipei-based Consumers' Foundation (消基會), said yesterday that it was "unreasonable for the new owner to charge Alexander's existing members for cleaning fees, which they have already paid for."