The nation’s largest hypermarket chain, Carrefour Taiwan (家樂福), said it expects sales during this year’s mid-year anniversary sale to increase by between 10 percent and 20 percent, despite a cautious mood among consumers amid upcoming increases in domestic fuel and electricity prices.
The Cabinet announced yesterday that it would raise domestic fuel prices next month and raise electricity prices in July to fully reflect the rise in international fuel costs.
With the increasing inflationary pressure, consumers have become more conservative about purchasing and are choosing to buy cheaper goods, especially at hypermarket chains, where they can get better deals, an official at Carrefour Taiwan said yesterday.
“This is in fact the best time for Carrefour Taiwan to launch our mid-year anniversary sale,” Dream Lin (林夢紹), the retailer’s public relations manager, said via telephone.
Lin said the mid-anniversary sale is very important to Carrefour Taiwan, as it will be an indicator of whether consumers have become more willing to spend money, which will affect the retailer’s performance in the second half of the year.
Meanwhile, Lin said Carrefour Taiwan’s self-branded products have become increasingly popular among consumers recently as they are on average 10 percent to 15 percent cheaper than brand products. Furthermore, the improved quality of Carrefour Taiwan’s self-branded products over the last two years has helped rid them of their stereotype “cheapskate products” tag, Lin said.
Far Eastern Geant Co (愛買), the nation’s third-largest hypermarket chain, also expects sales during its mid-year anniversary sale from May 22 to June 10 to rise 10 percent, as consumers are likely to head for hypermarkets instead of convenience stores, Henry Yin (尹皓), the retailer’s public relations assistant manager, said by phone yesterday.
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