Eslite Spectrum Corp (誠品生活), which runs the popular Eslite bookstore chain in Taiwan and abroad, plans to launch smaller outlets at the community level under the “eslite me-time” (誠品生活時光) brand to grow customers and sales, as the COVID-19 pandemic is reshaping consumer behavior.
The first “eslite me-time” in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖) is smaller than 100 ping (330m2) and has a soft opening scheduled for Oct. 27 to serve an increasing number of people who prefer to shop near home to avoid COVID-19 infections, the company said.
Eslite Spectrum chairwoman Mercy Wu (吳旻潔) said that the company aims to open 300 such neighborhood bookstores within the next three years to expand its customer base, while not giving up on flagship properties.
Photo: Luo Hsin-chen, Taipei Times
The strategy would allow Eslite to extend its reach from urban central locations to communities and neighborhoods where potential customers have been underserved, Wu said, adding that the smaller-scale stores could be set up quickly in different parts of Taiwan.
The “eslite me-time” branch in Neihu would also feature a food store brand “tea room” that serves cooked meals, as well as fresh produce and fish products, the company said.
The tea room is to collaborate with a local e-commerce operators focused on farm produce to better serve customers, Eslite said.
The community bookstores seek to nurture customers’ intellectual wellbeing, while the tea room aims to take care of their physical health, the company said.
Affiliated Eslite Hotel (誠品行旅) is to take charge of cooked meals for the tea room, it said.
The company’s Web site and app will lend support to the new business, whose limited space cannot put all items available for sale on display, it said.
Eslite Spectrum has been shaking up its business model in recent years, prompted by the rise of e-commerce and the pandemic.
It has shut unprofitable properties, while planning to add new ones in more promising locations at home and in overseas markets.
Eslite is also taking a hit from social-distancing requirements and border controls as its bookstores are popular cultural attractions among foreign and domestic tourists. It operates 42 branches in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Japan.
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