Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store Co (新光三越百貨) yesterday said that sales at its four stores in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) would reach NT$1 billion (US$32.59 million) on the first day of its month-long anniversary event, thanks to robust sales of home appliances and cosmetics products.
The sales event began yesterday and is to end on Nov. 11.
The Xinyi stores — A4, A8, A9 and A11 — are forecast to generate combined anniversary sales of NT$5.6 billion this year, up 1 percent from last year’s event, the company said.
Photo: CNA
The four stores saw a 5 percent sales growth in the first half of this year, the company said, without giving exact figures.
Overall anniversary sales from its 15 stores nationwide are expected to reach NT$20.4 billion this year, it added.
“Average consumption per customer is expected to remain steady, but the customer flow today seems lower than a year ago,” Shin Kong Mitsukoshi executive vice president Richard Wu (吳昕陽) said.
An unstable global political and economic environment has negatively affected Taiwan’s economy and therefore the department store’s customer flow, Wu said.
The Xinyi stores saw strong first-day sales of Estee Lauder, SK-II and Lancome cosmetics and skincare products, while sales of vacuum cleaners, air purifiers, large-screen TVs and air fryers showed the greatest growth among home appliances this year, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi said.
As temperatures drop, sales of major apparel brands are likely to grow, it said.
The company said that it plans to raise average sales per customer by offering discounts and gifts, as well as special offers through its mobile app.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, booked its first-ever profit from its Arizona subsidiary in the first half of this year, four years after operations began, a company financial statement showed. Wholly owned by TSMC, the Arizona unit contributed NT$4.52 billion (US$150.1 million) in net profit, compared with a loss of NT$4.34 billion a year earlier, the statement showed. The company attributed the turnaround to strong market demand and high factory utilization. The Arizona unit counts Apple Inc, Nvidia Corp and Advanced Micro Devices Inc among its major customers. The firm’s first fab in Arizona began high-volume production
VOTE OF CONFIDENCE: The Japanese company is adding Intel to an investment portfolio that includes artificial intelligence linchpins Nvidia Corp and TSMC Softbank Group Corp agreed to buy US$2 billion of Intel Corp stock, a surprise deal to shore up a struggling US name while boosting its own chip ambitions. The Japanese company, which is adding Intel to an investment portfolio that includes artificial intelligence (AI) linchpins Nvidia Corp and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), is to pay US$23 a share — a small discount to Intel’s last close. Shares of the US chipmaker, which would issue new stock to Softbank, surged more than 5 percent in after-hours trading. Softbank’s stock fell as much as 5.4 percent on Tuesday in Tokyo, its
COLLABORATION: Softbank would supply manufacturing gear to the factory, and a joint venture would make AI data center equipment, Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) would operate a US factory owned by Softbank Group Corp, setting up what is in the running to be the first manufacturing site in the Japanese company’s US$500 billion Stargate venture with OpenAI and Oracle Corp. Softbank is acquiring Hon Hai’s electric-vehicle plant in Ohio, but the Taiwanese company would continue to run the complex after turning it into an artificial intelligence (AI) server production plant, Hon Hai chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said yesterday. Softbank would supply manufacturing gear to the factory, and a joint venture between the two companies would make AI data
The Taiwan Automation Intelligence and Robot Show, which is to be held from Wednesday to Saturday at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, would showcase the latest in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven robotics and automation technologies, the organizer said yesterday. The event would highlight applications in smart manufacturing, as well as information and communications technology, the Taiwan Automation Intelligence and Robotics Association said. More than 1,000 companies are to display innovations in semiconductors, electromechanics, industrial automation and intelligent manufacturing, it said in a news release. Visitors can explore automated guided vehicles, 3D machine vision systems and AI-powered applications at the show, along