The number of convenience stores in Taiwan last year grew at the fastest pace in 14 years, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said yesterday, indicating that the market for these ubiquitous stores has yet to become saturated.
There were 11,429 convenience stores in the nation as of the end of last year, an increase of 524, or 4.81 percent, from a year earlier, the fastest annual growth rate since 2006, the commission said in a statement.
The figures were based on a survey by the commission covering Taiwan’s five major convenience store chains — 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Hi-Life, OK Mart and Taiwan Sugar Corp’s Million.
Based on a population of 23.6 million, that equates to one convenience store per 2,065 consumers, the second-highest density in the world after South Korea’s 1,205, but ahead of Japan’s 2,233, the commission said.
The nation’s six special municipalities — Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung — which account for about 69 percent of the nation’s population, had 8,416 convenience stores at the end of last year, or 73.64 percent of the total, the statement said.
New Taipei City, the most populous city, had 2,228 convenience stores, or 19.49 percent of the total, ahead of Taipei’s 1,631 stores and Taichung’s 1,388, the statement said.
The survey found that consumers bought items at convenience stores about 130 times on average last year, spending NT$82.6 on average, up NT$3.7 from a year earlier, a sign of the high consumer dependence on these stores, it said.
The three most popular items in terms of sales value for convenience stores were tobacco, beverages and mealboxes/sandwiches, and hot food items, it said.
7-Eleven, FamilyMart and Hi-Life — the three largest convenience store operators — accounted for more than 75 percent of all convenience stores and revenue last year, the statement said.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last