Eslite Spectrum Corp (誠品生活), which operates Eslite Bookstore (誠品書局), Eslite Hotel (誠品行旅), department stores and other businesses, said yesterday that its revenue last year increased 6 percent year-on-year to NT$24 billion (US$729.86 million).
Eslite Spectrum chairwoman Mercy Wu (吳旻潔) said the company is looking at continued improvement this year, expecting revenue to grow by 5 percent to 8 percent from last year.
The company already turned profit in the third quarter and has a high chance of ending three consecutive years of losses for the whole of last year, Wu said at a news conference in Taipei, adding that the opening of new flagship outlets helped drive the turnaround.
Photo: CNA
Eslite Spectrum opened new outlets in Chaiyi and Pingtung counties last year, and plans to add a new one in Tainan this quarter, Wu said.
The forthcoming store would occupy 6,000 ping (19,800m2) of floor spaces on a four-story building near Anping Port (安平港) and Chimei Museum (奇美博物館), she said, expecting it to benefit from the city’s historical and culinary appeal.
The company sold more than 9 million books last year, an increase of 700,000 books from the year before, as physical books remain popular among readers, Wu said.
The physical bookstores reported an 8 percent growth in revenue while books sold through e-commerce channels saw a faster 17 percent uptick, she said.
Wu blamed the company’s losses from 2021 to 2023 on COVID-19 pandemic restrictions that dampened book sales. However, profitability started to improve last year, as the company opened new bookstores one after another, while the renovation of several shopping outlets also helped boost customer traffic, she added.
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