Test Rite International Co (特力), a partner of do-it-yourself home furnishing retailer B&Q Taiwan, may team up with the British department-store chain Debenhams Retail PLC to set up a department store in Taiwan, a Test Rite executive said yesterday.
"We've been in close talks with Debenhams for nearly six months," said Ted Chen (
Chen refused to elaborate on the details of the investment plan. He said the two parties were still studying the issue.
"We won't make a proposal at the board meeting until August," he said.
Test Rite supplies home improvement tools to leading retailers in Europe and the US, such as Wal-Mart and Home-Depot. The firm linked up with UK-based Kingfisher PLC to establish B&Q stores in Taiwan in 1995.
As of today, the 50/50 B&Q Taiwan joint venture has set up 14 stores that collectively generated NT$8 billion in sales last year, Chen said.
Test Rite intends to use the same joint-venture mold with UK-based Debenhams to kickstart its department-store business in Taiwan, he added.
The company is currently conducting market research and looking for suitable locations to open a department store.
"We don't plan to build a store by ourselves. Instead we plan to lease a space," Chen said.
Debenhams, one of Britain's favorite department stores, was established in 1905 and is positioned as a high-street department-store chain. It currently runs 102 stores across the UK and Republic of Ireland, as well as a network of franchised stores in 11 nations worldwide including United Arab Emirates, Iceland, Hungary and Malaysia.
In addition to Test Rite, Debenhams has also contacted another two retailers -- Taipei 101 Mall in Hsinyi district and Miramar Entertainment Park (
"About one and half years ago Debenhams talked to us ? but we haven't had any further talks," said Simon Van de Velde, senior development, leasing and marketing manager at Lend Lease Pty Ltd Taiwan, retail leasing planner of Taipei 101 Mall. The mall is sched-uled to open in November.
A Miramar's marketing official yesterday said on condition of anonymity that last month a local company representing Debenhams asked about a leasing plan.
They didn't cut the deal because Debenhams was looking for several thousand pings of retail space, while Miramar is interested in small-scale tenants. Miramar is planning to open its businesses next year.
An analyst poured cold water on the plan, saying now is not a good time to enter the retail market.
"Taiwan's department-store market is nearly saturated," said Peter Tseng (
Severe competition and a slow economy have left no room for new entrants to profit, he said.
Last year, most department stores reported a 4 to 5 percent sales drop from the previous year, and "outlook for this year is not optimistic," Tseng said.
And amidst continued price war among retailers, even if department-store sales increase, profits are expected to go down for sure, he added.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp takes center stage for Wall Street this week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over US federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. US equities pulled back last week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the US government’s US$36 trillion in debt. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5 percent and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when US President Donald
UNCERTAINTY: Investors remain worried that trade negotiations with Washington could go poorly, given Trump’s inconsistency on tariffs in his second term, experts said The consumer confidence index this month fell for a ninth consecutive month to its lowest level in 13 months, as global trade uncertainties and tariff risks cloud Taiwan’s economic outlook, a survey released yesterday by National Central University found. The biggest decline came from the timing for stock investments, which plunged 11.82 points to 26.82, underscoring bleak investor confidence, it said. “Although the TAIEX reclaimed the 21,000-point mark after the US and China agreed to bury the hatchet for 90 days, investors remain worried that the situation would turn sour later,” said Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of the university’s Research Center for
RSS