Eslite Spectrum Corp (誠品生活), which operates bookstores, shopping malls and restaurants, yesterday said that it would continue to add stores in the Greater China market.
Eslite president Wu Wen-chieh (吳旻潔) told the annual shareholders’ meeting that the firm has taken root in Taiwan and that after extending its reach into Hong Kong in 2012, has transformed itself into a cultural creative brand in the Greater China area.
Wu said that the company is to continue to expand in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China, and operates a total of 46 outlets in the three markets by teaming up with cultural creative brands.
For the growing China market, Wu said that Eslite is planning to enter Shanghai by opening a store in the second half of this year after its first Chinese outlet was launched in Suzhou in November last year.
In addition, it is planning to open a store in Shenzhen in 2018, Wu said.
Eslite has three stores in Hong Kong.
Wu said that the company is studying the feasibility of opening more stores there.
While Eslite has closed two stores in Taipei’s Tianmu (天母) and Ximending (西門町) areas, and is to close another in the National Theater and another one in Hsinchu, Wu said the company has never changed its objective of continuing to grow in Taiwan.
Wu said that Eslite is determined to open new stores, including in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店), Taichung and Kaohsiung in the second half of this year.
Eslite chairman Wu Ching-yu (吳清友) said that the company has set its sights beyond the Greater China market, with the aim of opening stores in Japan and the US.
The chairman said that two property developers in Japan have made contact with Eslite.
Last year, Eslite reported sales of NT$3.82 billion (US$118.42 million at current exchange rates), up 9 percent from a year earlier, and made NT$412 million in net profit, up 11.6 percent from a year earlier, with earnings per share of NT$9.12.
Eslite said that with its efforts to expand, its revenue and earnings for this year are expected to grow accordingly.
Eslite shares gained 1.06 percent to close at NT$190 on Taipei’s over-the-counter market, which closed up 0.35 percent yesterday.
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
PRESSURE EXPECTED: The appreciation of the NT dollar reflected expectations that Washington would press Taiwan to boost its currency against the US dollar, dealers said Taiwan’s export-oriented semiconductor and auto part manufacturers are expecting their margins to be affected by large foreign exchange losses as the New Taiwan dollar continued to appreciate sharply against the US dollar yesterday. Among major semiconductor manufacturers, ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光), the world’s largest integrated circuit (IC) packaging and testing services provider, said that whenever the NT dollar rises NT$1 against the greenback, its gross margin is cut by about 1.5 percent. The NT dollar traded as strong as NT$29.59 per US dollar before trimming gains to close NT$0.919, or 2.96 percent, higher at NT$30.145 yesterday in Taipei trading
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