Uni-President Enterprises Corp (統一企業) yesterday said it would not extend its 10-year mall partnership with Japan’s Hankyu Hanshin Department Stores Inc that is set to expire on March 2 next year.
Once the contract expires, the Taiwanese food and retail conglomerate will not have to pay a percentage of its department store sales to the Japanese company, but consumers’ interests would not be affected, Uni-President said.
The company is expected to unveil a new name and branding for the department stores before March.
Chinese-language media reports indicate that the Uni-President Hankyu stores will likely be grouped under the Dream Mall (夢時代) shopping mall brand run by Uni-President and Tainan Spinning Co (台南紡織).
Since launching the partnership with Hankyu on March 3, 2006, the Taiwanese firm has operated two Uni-President Hankyu department stores (統一阪急百貨), one in Taipei and the other in Kaohsiung.
Amid speculation that there had been rifts in the partnership, a Uni-President Hankyu spokesperson said the partnership objective had been completed.
Under the partnership pact, Hanku Hanshin has provided technical consultation services, while Uni-President has provided the capital to build the stores.
As its retail operations share many similarities with Hankyu Hanshin, Uni-President does not rule out future collaborations, the spokesperson said.
Uni-President last year terminated another partnership with a Japanese company, selling its stake in Muji (Taiwan) Co (台灣無印良品) to that firm’s Japanese parent, Ryohin Keikaku Co.
Known for its minimalistic design and premium household goods, Muji established a foothold in Taiwan in 2004.
The sale of its Muji stake provided Uni-President with a one-time gain of NT$1.02 billion (US$32.7 million at current exchange rates).
However, the two firms have continued to collaborate by selling Muji products at 7-Eleven.
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