Hundreds of people formed a long line along bustling Zhongxiao E Road in Taipei yesterday morning, waiting for the grand opening of Japanese clothes giant Uniqlo’s flagship store in Taiwan.
The Japanese casual wear designer, manufacturer and retailer opened its sixth flagship store in the world in Taipei yesterday.
It is the first of six stores it is planning to launch within two months in Taipei. As of 10am, more than 700 diehard fans of the brand were ready to snap up the clothes once the store opened.
Photo: Pan Shao-tang, Taipei Times
Huang Yu-ting, 24, who happened to have a day off, arrived at about midnight for a place at the head of the line.
Waving her “No. 1” card with a smile, Huang said that her “main target” was a down jacket, adding that her budget for the day was about NT$5,000 to NT$6,000.
Uniqlo’s flagship store occupies the first three floors of the 12-story Ming Yao Department Store (明曜百貨), which also held a grand opening yesterday after seven months of renovation.
Uniqlo’s billionaire founder Tadashi Yanai and Uniqlo Taiwan Ltd chief executive Kousaka Takeshi attended the opening ceremony.
They said they were delighted at the opening and promised to provide top-level service as a way of thanking their customers.
Due to the large crowds at the grand opening of Taiwan’s first Uniqlo store, also in Taipei’s east district, in October last year, the company asked about 500 staff to be on duty yesterday.
When the first Taiwan Uniqlo store opened, 2,500 customers lined up and 7,000 people visited the shop on the first day.
The 3,630m2 flagship store at Ming Yao with 39 fitting rooms and 45 cashier counters is the biggest Uniqlo store in the country,.
Uniqlo casual wear is popular among local young consumers and at present the company has two outlets in Taiwan.
Earlier, Takeshi announced that Uniqlo was launching a plan next year to open 30 outlets each year in Taiwan. The goal is to eventually have 100 outlets around the country.
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