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.
MAKING A MOVE: Starting on Monday, short-term business travelers can apply for shorter quarantine periods, while transits of up to eight hours would be allowed The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday announced an easing of restrictions that would from Monday next week allow foreigners to visit or make a transit flight in Taiwan. A policy allowing short-term business travelers from countries with low or medium risks of COVID-19 infections to apply for shorter quarantine periods is also to resume that day. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that while the autumn-winter COVID-19 prevention program is to be extended after the end of this month, special conditions for foreign nationals to enter Taiwan would be restored from Monday. Foreign nationals
‘UNFRIENDLY’: COA Minister Chen Chi-chung said that Beijing probably imposed the sanction because the pineapple production season is about to start in Taiwan More than 99 percent of pineapples sold to China passed inspections, the government said yesterday, after China earlier in the day abruptly suspended imports of pineapples from the nation, which Taipei called an “unfriendly” move. From Monday, China is to stop importing pineapples from Taiwan, the Chinese General Administration of Customs said. The regulation is a normal measure for ensuring biosafety, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光) said in a news release later yesterday. Since last year, Chinese customs officials have repeatedly seized pineapples imported from Taiwan that carried “perilous organisms,” Ma said. Were the organisms to spread in China, they would
‘ONE PERSON PER UNIT’: People undergoing home isolation cannot stay in a housing unit in which non-isolated people live, unless they have special approval Starting tomorrow, people under home isolation would be required to follow the “one person per housing unit” rule if in private housing, or stay at a quarantine hotel or centralized quarantine facility, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said the rules require people under home quarantine to be quarantined with one person per housing unit, or at a quarantine hotel or centralized quarantine facility. “Starting on March 1, individuals under home isolation will also be subject to the ‘one person per housing unit’ rule,” he said. “We
CHIPS: Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua said Taiwan and the US have a track record of working closely together, of being ‘undeniably trustworthy partners’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday ordered a review of US supply chains, seeking to end the country’s reliance on China and other adversaries for crucial goods. However, the process could take months, offering no immediate solution for a shortfall of semiconductors that has idled vehicle production at several US factories. The Biden administration’s 100-day review is to cover chips, but also large-capacity batteries, pharmaceuticals and strategic materials, such as rare earth elements, a White House statement said. Although Biden did not specifically mention Taiwan on this occasion, the US last month appealed to Taiwan to help with the semiconductor shortages. Media outlets such
RSS