The nation’s three largest department store operators saw their revenues grow 7 percent to NT$160 billion (US$5.04 billion) last year on the back of an uptick in private consumption.
The combined revenue represents more than half of the total revenue seen by the nation’s department store sector as a whole.
The overall revenue of domestic department store operators grew 5.4 percent to NT$276.7 billion in the first 11 months of last year from the same period in 2013, with annual sales expected to break the NT$300 billion mark, according to data released by the Ministry of Finance’s Department of Statistics.
Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store Co Ltd (新光三越百貨), the nation’s largest department store chain, said overall revenue from its 13 outlets rose about 7 percent annually to NT$79 billion last year — marking its best sales ever.
“Recovering private consumption is one of key factors behind the better-than-expected performance in annual year-end sales promotions,” Shin Kong Mitsukoshi vice president of operations Joseph Yang (楊宗榮) told the Taipei Times.
Far Eastern Department Stores Co (遠東百貨), which operates 10 department stores and shopping malls nationwide, saw its accumulated sales in Taiwan break the NT$40 billion mark as of the middle of last month, with sales for the year expected to reach NT$41 billion. The company is confident that annual sales are set to reach the 7 percent growth target it set for last year.
Far Eastern president Nancy Hsu (徐雪芳) attributed the company’s strong showing to the performance of Greater Taichung’s Top City (台中大遠百), which helped generate more than NT$10 billion revenue for the company.
The stronger-than-expected revenue generated by year-end sales at the company’s 10 department stores, which rose 7.5 percent from the same period last year to stand at NT$11.22 billion, was another driver for the department store operator last year, Hsu added.
Pacific Sogo Department Stores Co (太平洋崇光百貨), the other department store chain under the Far Eastern Group (遠東集團), said it expected its Big City store (巨城) in Hsinchu to become the chain’s third branch to see annual sales hit NT$10 billion last year, following Taipei’s Zhongxiao (忠孝) and Fuxing (復興) stores.
The three stores helped the company post 7 percent growth in annual sales last year, beating its target of 3 percent.
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