Mon, May 14, 2007 page12

• Interview: Marks & Spencer to open Kaohsiung store on Saturday

  Mark & Spencer Group PLC is coming to Taiwan with its first store scheduled to open in Kaohsiung's Dream Mall on Saturday. Stephen Walker, chairman and managing director of the British retailer's reporter Jackie Lin last week to talk about his observations and expectations for the local market

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  Taipei Times: In preparations for entering Taiwan, Marks & Spencer (M&S) formed a joint venture with President Chain Store Corp (統一超商) in January to establish Marks and Spencer (Taiwan) Corp. How does the partnership work?

  Stephen Walker: We're working on the strength of M&S and the strength of President Chain. M&S has a majority 60 percent share, so we control the operations. What President Chain does is allow applications for such things as for tax, investments and logistics to go smoothly. They also arranged some leases [of the Taipei office and retail spaces] for us.

  TT: Apart from the Kaohsiung store, what's your plan for other locations in Taiwan?

  

  Stephen Walker, chairman and managing director in charge of Marks & Spencer (Taiwan), smiles during an interview with the ''Taipei Times'' on Friday.

  PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES

  Walker: We didn't start our business until January. But by the middle of autumn, we'll have three stores in Taiwan, two of which will be in Taipei. I see those three stores in Taiwan launching within five months of each other. For the two future stores, one will be a standalone on Zhongxiao East Road, in the middle of the prime shopping district in Taipei. One will be within a shopping mall in the Xinyi District. They'll all be around 600 pings [2,000m2].

  TT: As M&S is a new brand here, how do you position yourself? A supermarket, hypermarket or a department store?

  Walker: In Taiwan, people have very definite, different definitions. Department stores offer a wide range of products from a wide range of brands. So in that sense, we're not a department store because we only offer own-brand products.

  Another definition is that of specialty store, which is genuinely quite small, usually about 70m2. M&S is close to a specialty in one sense because everything has the M&S label and everything is own-brand, but outside it looks like a department store. So there is a definition missing there. But we're not a supermarket or a hypermarket.

  We provide a wide spectrum of fashion for ladies, men and children. Also, we have food products. M&S in the UK is famous for the quality of its food. We'll bring as many products as we can to Taiwan, except chilled foodstuffs. Our specialty food includes cookies, sweets, chocolates, Christmas items and M&S wine.

  TT: Who will be your major rival?

  Walker: The whole retail market is our major rival. We're a middle-market retailer. The customers we want to attract might also shop at department stores or at specialty stores. We are unique in terms of size, 100 percent own-brand, and we have sub-brands to help customers differentiate themselves.

  For men's wear, for example, we have Autograph the top brand, Blue Harbor, which is more casual, and Blue Harbor Vintage for younger people. For ladies wear we have sub-brands like Per Una, Limited Collection and Classic Collection. Our job is to communicate with the public in Taiwan. In the UK, we have 30 percent of the ladies' underwear market.

  TT: What specific consumption behaviors you have noticed to make you believe this is a good market to enter?

  Walker: Taiwan is a very developed market, developed across the whole island. The opportunity for M&S is not just in the capital city; actually it's island-wide. I think that's a big difference. Taiwanese consumers are sophisticated, affluent, well-educated and well-traveled. All those things work in our favor as we're an international brand.

  The consumers here demand quality, they like newness and they also like innovation, which is one of our core values. We've got a denim that is water resistant. You can pour water and just brush it off. It'll be great when you're on a scooter in the rain.

  People talk about Taiwan being competitive, but the UK retail market is much more competitive. And M&S is a winner in that market and others. So I think consumers will respond to the quality, newness, innovation and value we offer.

  TT: What kind of product mix can we expect?

  Walker: Food will be below 10 percent. Beauty products will take only a small percentage. The vast majority is fashion products. But we'll find out whether Taiwanese want more of something or less of something else, and we'll adjust.

  TT: Did you choose to partner with President Chain and its parent company Uni-President Group (統一集團) because of a long term plan to expand in China, where M&S has yet to develop a presence?

  Walker: I'm not here to answer that question. Whenever we come to make a decision for China, we'll certainly look to what we learned from Taiwan. But the decision to enter Taiwan was purely based on the decision to enter Taiwan. There are no other considerations. I was here in 1997 and 1998 looking at the market. When you enter a market, it has to be right for the company and the country. Those two things haven't coincided until just recently.

  TT: Are you worried about M&S' performance considering the lukewarm reception Dream Mall (夢時代購物中心) has received?

  Walker: Although the Dream Mall had a soft opening in March, some of the major anchors have not opened yet.

  The Hankyu Department Store, its biggest tenant, opened [last] Saturday. Six other big anchors didn't open until [last] Saturday and we'll open this Saturday. So the attractiveness we talk about here will increase significantly following the mall's formal launch.

  I've been to many countries. The mall is a world-class shopping center.

  And you'll have two MRT lines open this July and in July next year and the World Games are coming the year after. It'll only become stronger.
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