Uni-Ustyle Department Store (統一時代百貨) on Thursday said it has set an aggressive whole-year sales growth target of 5 percent amid improving sentiment in the local retailing industry.
Opened in 2010 next to the Taipei City Hall MRT Station in the upscale Xinyi District (信義), Uni-Ustyle became one of the most profitable subsidiaries of President Chain Store Corp (統一超商), the nation’s largest convenience store chain.
Buying interest for catering services and cosmetic products have been growing since August last year, general manager Wang Po-ming (王寶銘) told a media briefing.
Overall sales grew 5 percent annually last month and 2 percent year-on-year in the first three weeks of this month, showing that the economy is picking up, he said.
The nation’s department stores generated total revenue of NT$23 billion (US$7.63 billion) last month, up 2.2 percent annually on the back of retailers’ anniversary sales, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Friday, citing the latest statistics on domestic commercial sales.
Uni-Ustyle plans to hold a large marketing campaign during its anniversary sales period from Oct. 5 to Oct. 29, which should boost its revenue momentum in the final quarter of this year, Wang said.
As part of its strategy to improve its brand image, 38 brand-name tenants at its two stores in Taipei and Kaohsiung plan to conduct renovations by the end of the year, Uni-Ustyle said.
The department store said it has launched a mobile app and is providing customers with diversified payment methods, such as Line Pay, to improve brand loyalty.
More than 60,000 people have downloaded the app since its launch in March, Uni-Ustyle said.
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