Bicycle maker Giant Manufacturing Co Ltd’s (巨大機械) board yesterday elected a new management team, as its chairman and chief executive officer are both expected to retire by the end of the year.
Chief financial officer Bonnie Tu (杜綉珍) has been appointed chairman and Young Liu (劉湧昌) as chief executive officer. The change comes as the 44-year-old company seeks to transform into a service-oriented firm on the global stage.
“Giant has been recognized as a bicycle brand for many years, and we want to improve customer services by launching ‘smart’ manufacturing and developing better marketing strategies based on customers’ preferences,” Liu told a news conference in Taipei.
Photo: CNA
“Bicycle manufacturing is a labor-intensive industry,” said Liu, who is son of founder and chairman King Liu (劉金標) and will take over Anthony Lo’s (羅祥安) position.
“There is still much room for improvement in the production processes,” Young Liu said.
Commenting on Giant’s marketing plans, Young Liu said that the company hopes to attract more customers by enhancing online-to-offline commerce services, instead of relying on its e-commerce business.
Online-to-offline commerce refers to a business strategy that attracts potential customers from online channels to physical stores.
“We found that people still prefer to buy bicycles at physical outlets, as they need professional advice,” Young Liu said.
Giant has more than 12,000 dealers in 80 countries, its Web site said.
The company declined to elaborate on its capacity target and outlet expansion plans for next year.
Asked about Giant’s outlook for the coming year, Young Liu said that he expects the company’s high-priced products to be future sales catalysts, including electric bikes and carbon fiber bikes.
“Recovering demand for electric bikes is expected to boost sales in the Chinese market by 10 percent next year,” he added.
Revenue from electric bikes made up 7 percent of the company’s total sales last year, but Giant is upbeat about the growth momentum in the sector, company spokesman Ken Li (李書耕) told the Taipei Times.
Giant’s accumulated revenue in the first 11 months of this year declined 5.97 percent year-on-year to NT$52.9 billion (US$1.7 billion). The company attributed the decline to weak sentiment in the global market.
Giant shares dropped 2.08 percent to close at NT$188.5 in Taipei trading before the announcement, underperforming the benchmark TAIEX, which fell 0.36 percent to 9,326.78 points.
MAKING WAVES: China’s maritime militia could become a nontraditional threat in war, clogging up shipping lanes to prevent US or Japanese intervention, a report said About 1,900 Chinese ships flying flags of convenience and fishing vessels that participated in China’s military exercises around Taiwan last month and in January last year have been listed for monitoring, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said yesterday. Following amendments to the Commercial Port Act (商港法) and the Law of Ships (船舶法) last month, the CGA can designate possible berthing areas or deny ports of call for vessels suspected of loitering around areas where undersea cables can be accessed, Oceans Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. The list of suspected ships, originally 300, had risen to about
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
Japan’s strategic alliance with the US would collapse if Tokyo were to turn away from a conflict in Taiwan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday, but distanced herself from previous comments that suggested a possible military response in such an event. Takaichi expressed her latest views on a nationally broadcast TV program late on Monday, where an opposition party leader criticized her for igniting tensions with China with the earlier remarks. Ties between Japan and China have sunk to the worst level in years after Takaichi said in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese
The WHO ignored early COVID-19 warnings from Taiwan, US Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Jim O’Neill said on Friday, as part of justification for Washington withdrawing from the global health body. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said that the US was pulling out of the UN agency, as it failed to fulfill its responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHO “ignored early COVID warnings from Taiwan in 2019 by pretending Taiwan did not exist, O’Neill wrote on X on Friday, Taiwan time. “It ignored rigorous science and promoted lockdowns.” The US will “continue international coordination on infectious
RSS