Eslite Spectrum Corp, which runs the Eslite bookstore chain in Taiwan, is waiting for approval from its landlord to extend the lease for its 24-hour store in Taipei’s upscale Xinyi District (信義).
In its annual general meeting on Friday, Eslite chairwoman Mercy Wu (吳旻潔) told shareholders that the bookstore chain has been at a stalemate with conglomerate Uni-President Group, the largest of its seven landlords of the Xinyi store, in its talks to extend the location’s lease, which expires at the end of 2023.
The statement has raised fears that Taiwan’s only 24-hour bookstore could disappear if it cannot extend its lease.
Photo: CNA
The Xinyi store began 24-hour services in the spring of 2020, soon after the Eslite branch in the Dunnan (敦南) area closed in May that year. That branch opened in 1989 and began 24-hour operations in 1999.
Eslite has twice offered better terms in a bid to keep the location, with six of the seven landlords supporting the lease, and Uni-President Group being the only one to not respond, Wu said.
Eslite has agreed to a rent increase and to allow the landlords to share more of the sales revenue from the Xinyi branch, she said.
Eslite has paid NT$8 billion (US$272.57 million) in rent for the Xinyi branch over the past 18 years, she added.
Market sources said that Uni-President Group, which owns Taiwan’s largest food brand, Uni-President Enterprises Corp, and runs the 7-Eleven convenience store chain in Taiwan, owns an approximately 40 percent stake in the property where the Eslite Xinyi branch is located.
The other landlords include Prince Building and Development Corp, Tainan Spinning Co, Universal Real Estate Development Co and Kung Ching International Development Co.
Wu said many shareholders are concerned about whether the lease might be extended, adding that Eslite has been sincere in its dealings with the landlords about continuing the Xinyi branch, which attracts 12 million visitors a year.
Sources said Uni-President Group is considering using the property to extend the Uni-Ustyle department store, which is adjacent to the Eslite Xinyi outlet.
The Uni-President Group said that it is still considering the terms of the new contract given that there is ample time before the current lease expires.
Wu said that she hopes to receive a reply soon so that Eslite can move forward in its operational planning, emphasizing that her company does not want the location to close.
Eslite has new stores in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) and Taichung scheduled to open next year, Wu said.
The Sindian store is planned to be an 19,000 ping (62,810m2) mega outlet within a shopping center being developed by the automaker Yulon Group, Wu said.
That branch is to contain restaurants, coffee shops and cultural creative stores, and is currently seeking tenants, she said, adding that the branch is expected to generate NT$4 billion to NT$5 billion a year, with food and beverage shops accounting for up to 40 percent of revenue.
Eslite is also planning a to open a new store in Tainan in 2024, which at 6,500 ping would be the largest bookstore in the city.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to