Taiwan’s five major convenience store chains had a total of 9,204 outlets nationwide at the end of last year, giving it the highest density of convenience stores in the world, with each store serving 2,500 people, the Fair Trade Commission said yesterday.
Of the total number of stores, 14.3 percent were company-owned outlets, while franchise stores accounted for 85.7 percent of the total, the commission’s tallies showed.
The commission attributed the large number of franchise stores to the relatively low cost and low investment risk.
President Chain Store Corp’s (統一超商) 7-Eleven had the largest market share, with 4,800 outlets last year, followed by Taiwan FamilyMart Co (全家便利商店), the country’s second-largest convenience store chain with 2,324 outlets.
This was followed by Hi-Life International Co (萊爾富) with 1,236 stores, OK Mart Co’s (來來超商) 824 convenience stores and 20 stores operated by Taiwan Sugar Corp (台糖), the survey found.
The number of new convenience stores declined, with the growth rate falling to 1.47 percent last year from 25.38 percent recorded in 1999, mainly because of economic sluggishness, store mergers and emerging market saturation, the commission said.
The number of convenience stores nationwide saw a record-high net increase of 1,002 in 1999, which had fallen to 133 by last year, the commission’s tallies showed.
The commission said that despite market saturation, there was still room for expansion, as the five chains still reported net increases in their store numbers last year.
Separately, the Executive Yuan yesterday approved a service industry development program aimed at boosting the industry’s GDP to NT$11 trillion (US$333.8 billion) by 2012 and its exports to 1.2 percent of the global total by the same year.
The Council for Economic Planning and Development, which drafted the plan, said in a report submitted to a Cabinet meeting yesterday that a lack of simulation abilities made Taiwan’s service industry import-centered rather than export-oriented.
Last year, the export value of the industry stood at US$33.8 billion, which accounted for 0.9 percent of the global total and ranked 28th in the world.
In 2007, the sector’s R&D spending was less than 0.2 percent of its GDP, far lower than the 7 percent recorded in the manufacturing sector, the council said.
The council said that more should be spent in this area to boost the sector’s international competitiveness, improve R&D and innovation performance, create platforms for differentiated services, strengthen talent recruitment and nurture development potential.
The government should guide domestic service providers toward tapping overseas markets and help them overcome barriers to market access by lifting and easing regulations and restrictions, it said.
PATENTS: MediaTek Inc said it would not comment on ongoing legal cases, but does not expect the legal action by Huawei to affect its business operations Smartphone integrated chips designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) on Friday said that a lawsuit filed by Chinese smartphone brand Huawei Technologies Co (華為) over alleged patent infringements would have little impact on its operations. In an announcement posted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, MediaTek said that it would not comment on an ongoing legal case. However, the company said that Huawei’s legal action would have little impact on its operations. MediaTek’s statement came after China-based PRIP Research said on Thursday that Huawei filed a lawsuit with a Chinese district court claiming that MediaTek infringed on its patents. The infringement mentioned in the lawsuit likely involved
Taipei is today suspending work, classes and its US$2.4 trillion stock market as Typhoon Gaemi approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Authorities had yesterday issued a warning that the storm could affect people on land and canceled some ship crossings and domestic flights. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) expects its local chipmaking fabs to maintain normal production, the company said in an e-mailed statement. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp said it has activated routine typhoon alert
GROWTH: TSMC increased its projected revenue growth for this year to more than 25 percent, citing stronger-than-expected demand for AI devices and smartphones The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) yesterday raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year from 3.29 percent to 3.85 percent, as exports and private investment recovered faster than it predicted three months ago. The Taipei-based think tank also expects that Taiwan would see a 8.19 percent increase in exports this year, better than the 7.55 percent it projected in April, as US technology giants spent more money on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and development. “There will be more AI servers going forward, but it remains to be seen if the momentum would extend to personal computers, smartphones and
Catastrophic computer outages caused by a software update from one company have once again exposed the dangers of global technological dependence on a handful of players, experts said on Friday. A flawed update sent out by the little-known security firm CrowdStrike Holdings Inc brought airlines, TV stations and myriad other aspects of daily life to a standstill. The outages affected companies or individuals that use CrowdStrike on the Microsoft Inc’s Windows platform. When they applied the update, the incompatible software crashed computers into a frozen state known as the “blue screen of death.” “Today CrowdStrike has become a household name, but not in