The nation’s largest military uniform and apparel commissary opened on Monday, providing service members with uniforms and other services at Kaohsiung’s Zuoying Naval Base.
Carnival Industrial Corp’s apparel outlet, operated in partnership with sports-equipment supplier Momentum, is the first store in a three-story military shopping complex to open in June, Carnival general manager Chang Tsui-hui (張祖蕙) said at the store’s opening.
The navy believes the store will offer navy personnel high-quality uniforms, clothes and services, and hopes it will be a commercial success, Commander of the Navy Admiral Liu Chih-pin (劉志斌) said.
Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei Times
The commissary provides uniforms, laundry, tailoring and uniform-exchange services as part of a government initiative to improve service members’ standard of living, Chang said.
The mall is to have a sports and recreation theme, and contain gyms, space for family activities, dining and an open-air recreational area, she added.
Although the complex is designed to cater primarily to service members, civilian visitors would also be welcome, she said, adding that Carnival expects to benefit from domestic tourism.
Promotions for service members include gifts, a 40 percent rebate on suits and an 80 percent rebate on other items at Carnival outlets, while coupons for shopping at the uniform commissary are redeemable for other Momentum items, Chang said.
Carnival is to prepare a convoy of vehicles with uniforms and tailors to travel to other military locations as a mobile one-stop source for military apparel and related services, the company said.
Officials plan to open a network of uniform and apparel commissaries on bases in Keelung, Taichung and Tainan, and Hualien, Penghu, Taitung and Yilan counties, in addition to electronics stores in collaboration with 12 commercial entities, the military said.
The new uniform supply system would replace fixed-quantity orders made by military personnel through their savings card, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said on Monday last week.
Soldiers could order uniforms at stores or online, and items would be delivered by logistics providers, he said.
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