With most businesses in Taiwan facing a serious revenue slump, the capital’s nightlife has apparently bucked the trend and remains as busy as ever, management at several Taipei nightclubs said.
“We have not seen an impact from the economic downturn on our business as it has in other [sectors],” said Moon Feng, supervisor of the Marketing and Promotion Department of Room 18, one of the most popular night spots in Taipei.
Feng said the number of patrons had remained steady, with turnout averaging 1,500 every open night.
Other indicators such as frequency of visits and nightly expenditures on food and drink have also remained steady, she said, and Christmas could be even stronger than in past years.
With the pub’s 25 private rooms completely booked and various promotions offered to coincide with the holiday, “we are confident that more than 2,000 people will attend our holiday event,” Feng said.
“People probably want even more to seize the opportunity provided by the holidays to have fun and be merry [even] when the economy is not doing so well,” she said.
Meanwhile, Joanna Su, marketing manager of LOOP Production, which owns Luxy, another popular venue in downtown Taipei, said her club had also been relatively immune to the impact of the sluggish economy.
The club’s advanced sales for its Christmas Eve festivities have been strong, she said, with pre-sold tickets to its three ballrooms nearly all gone.
With free drinks offered before 11pm as well as the planned appearance of a popular local singer, Su said she hoped attendance tonight would also exceed 2,000.
Taipei-based Primo said the club had not suffered from a drop in consumer spending. In fact, business has boomed.
Primo project planner Manson Yu said the club, which caters to upscale customers such as celebrities and entrepreneurs, saw business double in the past month compared to February, when it opened.
With privacy a major concern for most of his patrons, Yu said that “exquisite attention to service” played a pivotal role in gaining customer trust and loyalty.
For example, each new club employee must sign a “privacy clause” that forbids them to leak the identities of club guests. At the same time, Primo has 20 security guards covering an area of less than 660m².
The club has also cultivated repeat business through its membership system, Yu said.
“We know what a customer’s favorite drink is and we will also offer to throw him or her a birthday party when that special day arrives,” Yu said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS