More food-and-beverage operators are seeing growing opportunities at department stores.
Mister Donut Taiwan Co (統一多拿滋), a joint venture between President Chain Store Corp (統一超商) and Duskin Co Ltd of Japan, has set up 23 of its 55 outlets in Taiwan within department stores.
Those outlets have seen sales rise by between 20 and 30 percent, after department stores launched an annual sales event, Mister Donut Taiwan general manager Hung Yau-hsin (洪堯欣) told a press conference yesterday.
Eyeing the strong market potential for this kind of outlet, Mister Donut Taiwan plans to transform two department store outlets into new-format stores in the first quarter of next year, increasing the number of seats to attract more customers, Hung said.
The investment would be double or triple that of a regular outlet, but Hung said it would increase same-store sales by 20 percent after renovation.
Afternoon Tea Taiwan Corp (統一午茶風光), another food-and-beverage reinvestment of President Chain’s, has also enjoyed the growth led by increasing visitors to department stores.
The company, which operates nine outlets in department stores, has seen sales growth of 25 percent on the back of department stores’ annual sales events.
Afternoon Tea Taiwan general manager Raymond Huang (黃坤霖) said the company is set to introduce lifestyle products from Japan to more outlets here, hoping to increase revenue sources while eyeing the strong consumption power of Taiwan’s female office workers.
Conversely, department store operators are also viewing the food-and-beverage sector as an emerging cash cow.
“More and more people visit a department store or shopping mall mainly for dining, instead of shopping,” said Chuang Chien-shang (莊見祥), a junior vice president of Far Eastern Department Store Ltd (遠東百貨).
Wowprime Corp (王品集團), which operates 15 restaurant chains with a total of 401 outlets in Taiwan, China and Singapore, has adopted a plan to build more outlets in department stores, while launching new outlets of its low-price and medium-price brands in hypermarkets.
The Tai Tong Food & Beverage Group (瓦城泰統集團), which operates five restaurant chains with 66 outlets across Taiwan and China as of August, also runs most of its outlets in department stores.
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