Consumer electronics retailer Tsann Kuen 3C (燦坤) is hastening the opening of new stores, in an effort to dominate the local retail market before it reaches saturaturation point, an executive of the company said yesterday.
"Market space for consumer electronics outlets will probably be saturated within [the] next two years," said Eileen Shou (守寧寧), spokesperson of the company.
Tsann Kuen hopes to grab more than 50 percent of the market by the end of next year, she added.
Opening its first store in 1991, Tsann Kuen 3C has a total of 103 outlets, 30 of which were opened this year.
"We want to be the 7-eleven of consumer electronics stores in Taiwan," Shou stressed.
Tsann Kuen 3C, a subsidiary of Tsann Kuen Enterprise Co (燦坤實業) was listed on the TAIEX and the NASDAQ in 2000 and 2001 respectively. The company has NT$300 million in capital set aside specifically for outlet expansion.
Interestingly, the slow economy has helped Tsann Kuen's development plans.
"Some retailers went out of business in the [poor economic]climate, allowing us to establish new stores in good locations [at a lower] rent," Shou said.
Tsann Kuen will open two new stores in December, one on Taipei's Nanking East Road and the other in Hsimending, replacing City Mall (永琦百貨) and Lai Lai Department Stores (來來百貨) respectively.
And with rental property prices falling, Tsann Kuen took over the facility at a 20 percent discount.
One market pundit said Tsann Kuen's plan looked solid.
"When running a retail business, size or the number of stores is very important," said Wen Tuan-lien (文端廉), a retail industry analyst at Polaris Securities Co (寶來證券). Companies can enjoy lower operational costs and strong brand awareness once they reach an economy of scale, Wen explained.
In addition, as a distribution channel, Tsann Kuen's bargaining power with product manufacturers will increase when its outlet chain is expanding.
However, another analyst said it might be risky for Tsann Kuen to expand so fast.
"Every Tsann Kuen outlet covers thousands of pings and the rent is considerable," said Belinda Yu (于蕙玲), a deputy manager at Jih Sun Investment Co (
One industry source told the Taipei Times that Tsann Kuen's 2,000-ping flagship store in Shihlin costs them NT$2.2 million per month.
Sales of Tsann Kuen 3C in 2001 was NT$5 billion and its profit was NT$45 million.
With an approval rating of just two percent, Peruvian President Dina Boluarte might be the world’s most unpopular leader, according to pollsters. Protests greeted her rise to power 29 months ago, and have marked her entire term — joined by assorted scandals, investigations, controversies and a surge in gang violence. The 63-year-old is the target of a dozen probes, including for her alleged failure to declare gifts of luxury jewels and watches, a scandal inevitably dubbed “Rolexgate.” She is also under the microscope for a two-week undeclared absence for nose surgery — which she insists was medical, not cosmetic — and is
CAUTIOUS RECOVERY: While the manufacturing sector returned to growth amid the US-China trade truce, firms remain wary as uncertainty clouds the outlook, the CIER said The local manufacturing sector returned to expansion last month, as the official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose 2.1 points to 51.0, driven by a temporary easing in US-China trade tensions, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The PMI gauges the health of the manufacturing industry, with readings above 50 indicating expansion and those below 50 signaling contraction. “Firms are not as pessimistic as they were in April, but they remain far from optimistic,” CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said at a news conference. The full impact of US tariff decisions is unlikely to become clear until later this month
GROWING CONCERN: Some senior Trump administration officials opposed the UAE expansion over fears that another TSMC project could jeopardize its US investment Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is evaluating building an advanced production facility in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and has discussed the possibility with officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration, people familiar with the matter said, in a potentially major bet on the Middle East that would only come to fruition with Washington’s approval. The company has had multiple meetings in the past few months with US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and officials from MGX, an influential investment vehicle overseen by the UAE president’s brother, the people said. The conversations are a continuation of talks that
CHIP DUTIES: TSMC said it voiced its concerns to Washington about tariffs, telling the US commerce department that it wants ‘fair treatment’ to protect its competitiveness Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reiterated robust business prospects for this year as strong artificial intelligence (AI) chip demand from Nvidia Corp and other customers would absorb the impacts of US tariffs. “The impact of tariffs would be indirect, as the custom tax is the importers’ responsibility, not the exporters,” TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said at the chipmaker’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Hsinchu City. TSMC’s business could be affected if people become reluctant to buy electronics due to inflated prices, Wei said. In addition, the chipmaker has voiced its concern to the US Department of Commerce