Eslite Spectrum Corp (誠品生活), a subsidiary of the Eslite Group (誠品集團) that focuses on operating department stores, plans to open its second store in Hong Kong early next year as part of the group’s broader overseas expansion plan.
The group opened its first bookstore in Hong Kong — its first overseas store — in the second half of 2012, a two-floor location in Causeway Bay’s Hysan Place (希慎廣場).
Taking over a space originally planned for Wing On Department Stores (HK) Ltd (永安百貨), Eslite Spectrum will have two stories of lettable floor area spanning more than 4,552.25m2 in Cityplaza for its second store in Hong Kong.
“We are excited to be working with an original and trend-setting brand such as Eslite Spectrum, and we are confident that our shared creative vision will bring about a refreshing shopping center experience for our visitors at Cityplaza,” Alvin Kong (江璣若), retail director at Swire Properties Ltd (太古地產), one of the territory’s biggest developers and the operator of Cityplaza, said in a statement on Thursday.
Cityplaza has undergone a HK$100 million (US$12.9 million) facelift that upgraded its facilities, enhanced interior finishing and introduced more than 30 local and international retail brands, the statement said.
Swire Properties said Eslite’s lifestyle bookstore and shopping complex might further enhance Cityplaza’s trade mix and quality retail offerings, reinforcing the mall’s position as the largest shopping and entertainment center in Hong Kong.
Eslite Spectrum said it hopes the new store would continue to bring the energy of reading and cultural creativity to the territory.
Eslite Spectrum president Mercy Wu (吳旻潔), who is also vice chairwoman of the Eslite Group, last year said that the group plans to launch two or three outlets in Taiwan and at least one store in an overseas market per year, most likely in China and Hong Kong.
The group is scheduled to open two stores in China later this year in Suzhou and Shanghai.
The group is also ready to open its first boutique hotel in Taipei’s Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, with a media opening of the 104-room facility on Friday next week.
Eslite Spectrum reported consolidated sales in the first month of the year of NT$304.79 million (US$9.69 million), slightly up 0.01 percent from a year earlier. Its overall revenue for last year stood at NT$3.51 billion, up 2.07 percent from 2013, company data showed.
The company posted a net profit of NT$239.85 million, or NT$5.32 per share, for the first nine months of last year, up from a net income of NT$234.14 million, or NT$5.24 per share, recorded in the same period in 2013, statistics said.
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