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.
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
ADVERSARIES: The new list includes 11 entities in China and one in Taiwan, which is a local branch of Chinese cloud computing firm Inspur Group The US added dozens of entities to a trade blacklist on Tuesday, the US Department of Commerce said, in part to disrupt Beijing’s artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced computing capabilities. The action affects 80 entities from countries including China, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, with the commerce department citing their “activities contrary to US national security and foreign policy.” Those added to the “entity list” are restricted from obtaining US items and technologies without government authorization. “We will not allow adversaries to exploit American technology to bolster their own militaries and threaten American lives,” US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said. The entities
Minister of Finance Chuang Tsui-yun (莊翠雲) yesterday told lawmakers that she “would not speculate,” but a “response plan” has been prepared in case Taiwan is targeted by US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, which are to be announced on Wednesday next week. The Trump administration, including US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, has said that much of the proposed reciprocal tariffs would focus on the 15 countries that have the highest trade surpluses with the US. Bessent has referred to those countries as the “dirty 15,” but has not named them. Last year, Taiwan’s US$73.9 billion trade surplus with the US
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort