Most department stores in Taipei reported stronger sales during the four-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday than during the same time last year, which was seen by retailers as a sign of improving consumer confidence.
Taiwan’s biggest department store chain, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store Co (新光三越百貨), reported sales of NT$960 million (US$29.7 million) nationwide from Thursday to Sunday, an increase of 90 percent over the same period last year.
Shin Kong Mitsukoshi’s biggest competitor, Pacific Sogo Department Stores Co (太平洋崇光百貨), said yesterday that its Taipei stores, excluding the new Tianmu (天母) branch, saw sales grow 20 percent compared with the Dragon Boat Festival last year.
The Tianmu store, which opened on May 22, reported sales over the four-day period that exceeded the company’s target by 60 percent, executives said.
Other department stores in the upscale Tianmu neighborhood also performed well, analysis by store managers showed.
Sales at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi’s outlet on Saturday and Sunday were 15 percent higher than the average weekend take, while the Dayeh Takashimaya Department Store (大葉高島屋百貨) saw sales rise by 5 percent over the average.
The analysis said the new Sogo store did not have as big an effect on the competition as had been anticipated because most people who shopped there were from outside the area.
The Miramar Entertainment Park (美麗華百樂園) in Dazhi (大直) district was the only major retailer to post lower numbers during the extended holiday, with sales 2 percent lower over the holiday weekend than an average weekend.
Industry insiders attributed the weak showing to the complex’s proximity to the Neihu Science Park, which has been hit hard by the global economic downturn.
Miramar’s location outside the main part of the city also means it relies heavily on nearby residents.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan
RSS