Ximending (西門町), a popular shopping area for young people in western Taipei, is gradually losing its local color as some of its best-known businesses are being driven out by soaring rents and giving way to international brands.
Ximending is seeing changes every week, said Jason Cheung (張哲生), a history and cultural studies expert who has lived in the area for 40 years.
The shopping area, known for its wealth of movie theaters, apparel stores, and toy model and kit shops, has become home to a number of hotels and hostels due to an increase in younger independent tourists staying in the area.
The trend has driven rents in the bustling commercial area in the western part of Taipei higher and forced the closure or relocation of some well-known stores.
A domestic underwear brand, for example, closed its flagship store on Chengdu Road in Ximending late last year after 10 years because of a 70 percent rent increase.
Similarly, a 50-year-old dumpling house on Emei Street moved from the ground floor of its building to the second floor because its monthly rent rose to NT$350,000 (US$10,442) from NT$250,000.
Eslite (誠品), an iconic bookstore chain, shut down its “Eslite 116” store late last year due to high rental costs. The Ximending landmark, located near an exit of the MRT’s Ximen Station, is to give way to an international fashion brand.
The trend has local residents worried that the commercial circle could lose its appeal to young people because of the loss of these businesses that give the area its unique character.
A person familiar with the area’s rental structure said he heard Eslite decided to leave after the rent for its five-story store in the New World Building was increased to NT$12 million a month, but the price is apparently palatable to a major international fashion brand that is eyeing the location for its advertising benefits.
Ximen Pedestrian Area Development Association head Hung Ming-tung (洪明通) acknowledged the concerns, but said he was not pessimistic about the area’s future.
There are 104 hotels in the shopping district and tourist visits have risen from 1.8 million to 2.6 million over the past four years, Hung said, and he believes that the established stores can still catch up with the pace of the area’s growth.
The addition of international brands to Ximending could also attract more office workers and a more diverse range of customers to the district and spur consumption, Hung said.
Store owners in the area should update their operating models by accepting credit cards, stored value cards and cashless mobile phone payments to adapt to global trends, Hung said.
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