Major retailers posted gains in annual revenues last year, thanks to strong anniversary and year-end promotions. But company officials and market watchers have mixed feelings about this year's prospects as a result of market uncertainties.
Although most retailers recorded healthy sales last year, with Far Eastern Department Stores Ltd (遠東百貨) and some consumer electronics chains reporting double-digit sales growth, the retail sector is expected to lack momentum this quarter, Andre Chang (張致竑), an analyst at Citi Investment Research in Taipei, said in a client note dated Friday.
"We still believe the first quarter of 2008 will be a quiet period for domestic consumption given the uncertainty surrounding the two elections and the higher comparison base," Chang said in the note.
Far Eastern Department Stores, a subsidiary of Far Eastern Group (遠東集團), saw revenues rise 10.41 percent year-on-year to reach a 10-year high of NT$20.64 billion (US$635.8 million), a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange on Friday showed. Last month's sales increased by 8.7-percent to NT$1.63 billion.
Meo Cheng (
"We have carried foreign, well-known brands at stores in Taoyuan and in other areas outside Taipei where we had not previously, so that consumers did not have to travel too far," Cheng said on Friday.
Pacific Sogo
Pacific Sogo Department Store (
Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store (新光三越百貨), the nation's largest department store chain, reported revenue of NT$60.9 billion last year, up 2 percent from the previous year, company spokeswoman Shauna Lee (李香萩) said on Friday. The retailer is targeting a 5 percent growth in annual revenues this year.
President Chain Store Corp (
Hola Home Furnishings Co (
consumer confidence
But with the uncertainties surrounding the elections and inflation, an economist said he doubted there would be any significant improvement in consumer confidence in the first half of the year.
"The consumer confidence index will not improve substantially until the second half of the year," Shia Ben-chang (
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has vowed to retain the presidency to avoid a political disaster for the party, increasing market uncertainties ahead of the March presidential election.



