Don Quijote, the biggest discount store in Japan, is opening its first store in Taiwan today.
The three-story Don Don Donki store in Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) area, which operates 24 hours a day, has already created 400 jobs, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said in a press release.
Many Taiwanese, including Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊), consider a trip to Don Quijote an essential stop in Japan.
Photo courtesy of Department of Investment Services, Ministry of Economic Affairs
“I have been to Don Quijote at least 10 times myself,” Huang said yesterday at a news conference announcing the store’s opening. “They are rendering an important service, because we cannot travel outside of Taiwan at the moment.”
“There are a lot of Don Quijote fans in Taipei and by going to the store they can get a ‘mock travel’ experience,” she said.
Huang credited the Invest in Taipei Office (ITO) for assisting Don Quijote in opening its doors in Taiwan amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The ITO and the MOEA were with the company every step of the way, from forming the Taiwanese company to selecting the location,” Huang said. “As a result, we have [today’s] opening and jobs for many Taiwanese workers.”
A media tour through the store yesterday showed that more than 2,000 Japanese snacks will be available, along with fruit and seafood imported from Japan.
Other products for sale include cosmetics and skincare products, groceries, discount items and even adult entertainment products.
The COVID-19 pandemic is the reason Don Quijote decided to open a branch in Taiwan, said Mitsuyoshi Takeuchi, head of the Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau business for Pan Pacific International Holdings Corp, the parent company of the Don Quijote chain.
“In the past Taiwanese travelers would go to Don Quijote in Japan to pick up authentic products; now they can get the products they were used to picking up in Japan in Taiwan any time,” Takeuchi said.
The Taiwanese outlet is to focus on products, such as Japanese snacks, that are not commonly available in Taiwan.
Takeuchi said there is fierce retail competition in Taiwan.
“To compete with Pxmart [全聯實業] and Carrefour, we have to keep innovating with new stores and new services, such as delivery or e-commerce,” he said.
SCHEDULE: Nancy Pelosi was expected to visit the legislature for about an hour before speaking with democracy advocates at Jingmei Human Rights Park US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taipei last night and was reportedly scheduled to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), legislators and democracy advocates before departing later today. The speaker departed from Kuala Lumpur yesterday afternoon and touched down at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) at about 10:43pm, where she was greeted by Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The stop marks the first time in 25 years that a sitting US House speaker is visiting Taiwan. Beijing has strongly condemned the visit, with Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying (華春瑩) yesterday warning that the US “will
MIDWAY ACTIVITY: A source said that Chinese aircraft conducted tactical moves of briefly ‘touching’ the median line of the Taiwan Strait before circling back from it The Ministry of National Defense yesterday raised its combat alertness level until noon tomorrow in response to Chinese live-fire exercises ahead of a visit to Taiwan by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The alert is to be adjusted depending on the military threat from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), a source familiar with the matter said. However, the source added that combat readiness remains at “normal readiness” under the nation’s two-tier system and had not been raised to “emergency readiness.” Before Pelosi’s arrival yesterday, several Chinese warplanes flew close to the median line of the Taiwan Strait, another source told
‘IRRATIONAL ACTS’: The defense ministry condemned the drills, during which China tested successors to missiles deployed during the Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1995 and 1996 China yesterday fired several Dongfeng ballistic missiles as it began four days of unprecedented military drills off Taiwan proper following US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei the previous day. On Tuesday, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) said Beijing would “take all necessary measures” in retaliation should Pelosi visit Taiwan during her Asia tour. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) from 1:56pm to 4pm fired 11 Dongfeng missiles into waters north, east and south of Taiwan proper, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Taiwanese armed forces, using “forward warning and surveillance mechanisms,” monitored the missile tests
ANNEXATION PLANS: Remarks by the Chinese ambassador to France showed that Beijing seeks to normalize genocide, re-education and gulags, a US official said European and US officials condemned comments from Chinese Ambassador to France Lu Shaye (盧沙野), after he on Wednesday said that Taiwanese would be “re-educated” after any annexation by China. In an interview on French television, Lu accused the Democratic Progressive Party of “extremist” propaganda and turning Taiwanese against “reunification” with China. “We will re-educate. I’m sure that the Taiwanese population will again become favorable of the reunification and will become patriots again,” Lu told BFM TV. The term “re-education” has been used to describe Chinese authorities’ treatment of Uighurs and other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang. European Parliament Subcommittee on Security and Defense Chairwoman
RSS