Three domestic hypermarket chains plan to continue their expansion this year, aiming to create a total of 2,000 jobs, despite the economic uncertainty ahead, local media reported yesterday.
RT-Mart (大潤發), the second-largest hypermarket chain in Taiwan, said it could benefit from the downturn because hypermarkets could better attract buyers with offers of lower-cost goods, the Chinese-language Commercial Times said yesterday.
RT-Mart aims to see an 8 percent to 9 percent growth in its sales this year, with half of the growth coming from its new outlet in Chia-yi, which opened in October. This year, the company plans to open one or two new outlets, either in Sinjhuang City (新莊) in Taipei County or Fengshan City (鳳山) in Kaohsiung County, the report said.
RT-Mart said it had lowered the prices on 200 of its own-brand products and bakery items to remain competitive.
Far Eastern Geant Co (愛買), the nation’s third-largest hypermarket operator with 15 outlets nationwide, said it had been relatively unaffected by the global financial crisis. Although consumers have become more cautious in their spending, the company still saw sales last year grow 10 percent from the previous year. The company said consumers still needed to buy daily necessities even in difficult times.
This year, Far Eastern Geant plans to open two or three new outlets and expand its business into the Hualien-Taitung area. The company’s current operations are concentrated in central and northern Taiwan.
French retail giant Carrefour (家樂福), the largest hypermarket chain in Taiwan, said while it was difficult to predict when the economy would turn around, this would not affect the company’s expansion plans.
Carrefour said the expansion could help the company increase its market share. However, it has not yet decided how many outlets it would open or how big these operations would be.
Carrefour said it planned to expand its community presence by opening smaller community hypermarkets that sell around 20,000 items, compared with its existing outlets that sell up to 100,000 items.
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