Taipei Times: Do-it-yourself (DIY) furnishing stores are traditionally the places customers go to sample and purchase the furnishing items and installation services they want. Why would you decide to go virtual?
Mariusz Gliwinski: Customers always like to surf the Web before they make a decision. It's not just a commercial enterprise; it's also about enhancing the customer experience, teaching the customers how to shop and supporting the existing stores.
We're going to enhance the Web page in the future. And you'll be able, for example, to sign up for the visits of consultants who actually will do the design of the project at your home.
TT: Does the online shop offer different products?
Gliwinski: There will be definitely a different product mix. The majority will be simple products to buy and pick up because that's the nature of the Web. Mainly the things sold [online] come from tools, power tools and electric products. We also put items like paints [online], which we know from our experience internationally that they're good products for the Web.
Furniture is also available on the Web but you will not be able to buy a kitchen, because kitchens require design and measurements. However, what we're going to provide in the future is that you will see the choices of the kitchen at B&Q, then you can sign up through the Internet and the consultants will call you back to organize an appointment with you to design your kitchen.
TT: Is this the very first Internet store for B&Q?
Gliwinski: No, we've got an online store in the UK. We learned how they do the business. However, Taiwan is different. For example, in the UK, almost 60 percent of the products come from kitchen and bathroom, which are installed by the customers in the UK. They do it by themselves. But in Taiwan, customers prefer kitchens and bathrooms to be installed for them. Therefore we can provide the service and our people will contact you through the Web and do the design for you.
An additional thing we'd like to introduce in the future is functionality. If you have a problem with, for example, painting, you can go on the Web, ask our employees, describe your problem and they can reply to you on how you can deal with your problem.
Therefore, functionality in the future will incorporate three aspects: sales, services [installation and design] and know-how [providing simple advice], so that we can link our customers with our employees.
TT: Vice general manager Winnie Teng (鄧文薏) said earlier that the firm predicts the virtual store will take in NT$40 million [US$1.2 million] in sales in the first year. How does that compare with other stores?
Gliwinski: We don't have very high expectations for the online store in terms of sales, as this is an important tool for us to maintain communications with our customers and to let them browse our product selection before they go to the store. I believe this helps them to actually make a decision in the store.
TT: An advantage for online business is that costs are greatly reduced. Will you provide bigger discounts on the Web?
Gliwinski: I'm a home improvement retailer, not an e-commerce retailer. We believe our Internet operations should be consistent with our existing stores and that's why people should pay the same prices.
Customers visiting the online store don't need to bother to go to the store. If they purchase more than NT$2,000 [in goods], the shipment will be free of charge.
TT: Talk about your sales goal for this year and expansion plans.
Gliwinski: Last year our sales were more than NT$10 billion and we're not expecting this year to be lower than last year. It will be growing, but I can't reveal the figure. This year is difficult and tough because of credit card loans and a lack of consumer confidence.
About expansion, next year we are going to open at least three stores. We think we can open to at least 35 islandwide for the next five to six years.
As there's really no competitor on the market, we can't grow through acquisition. But it's not the end of growth in Taiwan [in terms of the expansion target]. We're thinking of other ways of growing to tap into different kinds of customers like high-end customers, and diversifying into another kind of market segment.
BYPASSING CHINA TARIFFS: In the first five months of this year, Foxconn sent US$4.4bn of iPhones to the US from India, compared with US$3.7bn in the whole of last year Nearly all the iPhones exported by Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) from India went to the US between March and last month, customs data showed, far above last year’s average of 50 percent and a clear sign of Apple Inc’s efforts to bypass high US tariffs imposed on China. The numbers, being reported by Reuters for the first time, show that Apple has realigned its India exports to almost exclusively serve the US market, when previously the devices were more widely distributed to nations including the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. During March to last month, Foxconn, known as Hon Hai Precision Industry
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) yesterday announced the launch of the TSMC-UTokyo Lab to promote advanced semiconductor research, education and talent development. The lab is TSMC’s first laboratory collaboration with a university outside Taiwan, the company said in a statement. The lab would leverage “the extensive knowledge, experience, and creativity” of both institutions, the company said. It is located in the Asano Section of UTokyo’s Hongo, Tokyo, campus and would be managed by UTokyo faculty, guided by directors from UTokyo and TSMC, the company said. TSMC began working with UTokyo in 2019, resulting in 21 research projects,
Ashton Hall’s morning routine involves dunking his head in iced Saratoga Spring Water. For the company that sells the bottled water — Hall’s brand of choice for drinking, brushing his teeth and submerging himself — that is fantastic news. “We’re so thankful to this incredible fitness influencer called Ashton Hall,” Saratoga owner Primo Brands Corp’s CEO Robbert Rietbroek said on an earnings call after Hall’s morning routine video went viral. “He really helped put our brand on the map.” Primo Brands, which was not affiliated with Hall when he made his video, is among the increasing number of companies benefiting from influencer
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) yesterday expressed a downbeat view about the prospects of humanoid robots, given high manufacturing costs and a lack of target customers. Despite rising demand and high expectations for humanoid robots, high research-and-development costs and uncertain profitability remain major concerns, Lam told reporters following the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Taoyuan. “Since it seems a bit unworthy to use such high-cost robots to do household chores, I believe robots designed for specific purposes would be more valuable and present a better business opportunity,” Lam said Instead of investing in humanoid robots, Quanta has opted to invest
RSS