 |
(Left to right) Ever Rich Vice President Kevin Chiang, Chairman Simon Chiang and Kinmen County Magistrate Lee Wo-shih take a tour of the new facilities on Monday |
TAIWAN. Ever Rich Duty Free Shop this week celebrated the soft opening of Asia’s biggest duty free store, the Kinmen Ever Rich Golden Lake Plaza on Greater Kinmen Island.
The Taiwan-controlled Kinmen Islands (known collectively as Kinmen) are located just off the coast of Mainland China, a few miles from the city of Xiamen.
Ever Rich said: “This shop is the product of over 800 days of joint all-out effort by Ever Rich’s more than 5,000 employees. With the utmost sincerity, gratitude and humility, Ever Rich is determined to help build Kinmen, to repay local people and to live up to their expectations. Together with the locals of Kinmen, we welcome an era of endless splendid possibilities.”
Ever Rich Golden Lake Plaza stocks a wide range of top international brands. Besides being Asia’s biggest duty free store, it also features Kinmen’s largest fashion shopping center, the islands’ first imported goods supermarket, and their first multiplex cinema.
The company said: “Targeting the cross-strait China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau markets, the opening of Golden Lake Plaza is expected to attract a large number of people to Kinmen, not just for shopping but also to enjoy good food, films and culture, injecting a new vitality into the development of Kinmen’s tourism industry.”
Ever Rich said that since signing the contract to build Golden Lake Plaza in 2012, it has worked conscientiously to complete the project on time and to the highest standard. “We have also tried our best to ensure that the local community benefits from our presence,” it noted.
The company’s focus on repaying locals includes environmental conservation, involving the community shopping center planning, attracting business to the island and recruiting employees, Ever Rich said.
 |
Ever Rich’s retail-to-entertainment investment represents a major boost to Kinmen’s nascent tourism industry |
 |
In a highlight of the opening, Ever Rich handed out 1,000 exclusive “˜Camouflage’ shopping bags to local citizens, upon presentation of a newspaper coupon. These reflect Kinmen’s unique and poignant battleground history (see The Moodie Blog panel).
County Magistrate Lee Wo-shih attended the opening, where he gave his encouragement and best wishes to Ever Rich. According to figures from Kinmen County Government Department of Tourism, the number of visitors to Kinmen in the first quarter of 2014 rose +30% year-on-year, underlining the islands’ tourism potential.
 |
Memories of life and death on the Kinmen Islands |
| The Kinmen Islands are steeped in history. They are a place of beauty but also of poignancy and sorrow. Many people died here in the first and second Straits Crises between Taiwan and Mainland China decades ago. |
Ever Rich commented: “The opening of Golden Plaza is not just the addition of a good place to go for entertainment and leisure in Kinmen; its duty free price advantage, top brands, world class multiplex and authentic Taiwanese food will also attract visitors from Xiamen.
“In the not too distant future it can be expected that Ever Rich Golden Plaza will become a new shopping and entertainment mecca for the people of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. When the Golden Plaza Hotel opens for business next year, Kinmen will become one of the most attractive holiday destinations for ordinary people in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.”
THE INVESTMENT BACKGROUND
Ever Rich Golden Lake Plaza, consisting of a shopping center and hotel, is the first major infrastructure project to be completed since County Magistrate Lee Wo-shih came into office. Construction began in April 2012 and the project was completed and opened in just two years.
Golden Lake Plaza, built to the scale of an international shopping centre, sells a wide range of international luxury goods, fashion brands, cosmetics & fragrances and jewellery, including many top international labels.
 |
So as not to compete for business with local retailers, Golden Lake Plaza offers a dedicated gifts area that sells products from all over Taiwan, the intention being to help boost the development of Kinmen’s tourism industry and revitalise the local economy.
The plaza has what Ever Rich describes as a complete range of facilities that will serve visitors from Taiwan as well as locals. These include a supermarket, various themed restaurants and an outlying duty free shopping floor. Together these form an integrated shopping centre that offers fashion, quality food and entertainment, satisfying the requirements of various customer groups, the company added.
Ambassador Theater has invested over NT$100 million to open a multiplex facility with six screens and 630 seats, providing audiences with a high-quality 3D-viewing experience. The intention is also to attract people from the coastal areas of Fujian, China to travel the short distance across the sea to Kinmen to watch Hollywood films.
Ever Rich noted: “The Ambassador multiplex theater is a new entertainment destination for visitors and locals alike, aiming to make the leisure environment and tourism facilities on Kinmen more complete.”
STAFF TRAINING IS KEY TO ENHANCING KINMEN’S TOURISM POTENTIAL
Underlining its confidence in Kinmen’s future, Ever Rich has also placed considerable emphasis on improving the quality of travel infrastructure to extend the average visitor stay. The 281-room Golden Lake Hotel will open in 2015, featuring large banquet and conference halls, spa, pool, gym and other high-class facilities.
It will also take advantage of the trend towards medical beauty-related travel. Situated next to the beautiful scenery of Little Tai Lake and offering a leisure space that exudes Kinmen’s artistic and humanistic charm, linked to a full-service experience, Ever Rich plans to create Kinmen’s first 5-star hotel.
Ever Rich estimates that around 200 employees and management will be recruited for the Golden Lake Hotel, providing a host of local job opportunities and helping to boost Kinmen’s tourism competitiveness.
 |
(Above and below) These images underline the elegance and ambition as well as the brand power of Ever Rich’s new duty free offer on the Kinmen Islands |
 |
 |
 |
 |
BUILDING ON SOLID FOUNDATIONS
In 2005 Ever Rich began providing a duty free shopping service to travellers who passed through Kinmen’s Shuitou Commercial Harbor. The company’s first outlying island downtown duty free shop was opened in 2010.
In keeping with its strong commitment to local culture, Ever Rich has long been involved with cultural activities such as the celebration of Welcoming the City God, the Mid-Autumn Moon-cake Gambling Game and other festivals, as well as the Kinmen marathon and other international events.
The company also has extended its sense of Corporate Social Responsibility to beach-cleaning activities by employees, by sponsoring the Children and Families Center and by providing financial assistance to families in urgent need. Underlining the importance it attaches to education, Ever Rich has also established the National Kinmen University Ever Rich Chair.
Ever Rich concluded: “The building, planning and operation of Golden Lake Plaza (and hotel) will in total create 1,000 employment and training opportunities for local people. In the future we will continue to recruit outstanding young locals to be trained to become international-level duty free professionals, working hard to increase the actual benefits that Kinmen receives from tourism, while meeting the tourism requirements of visitors to Kinmen.
“This will create burgeoning business opportunities for Kinmen and push its tourism industry onto the international stage.”
IMAGES OF EVER RICH’S 18TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS 2013
 |
Father and son: Ever Rich Chairman Simon Chiang and Vice President Kevin Chiang spoke from the heart about the company’s commitment to society |
 |
The Ever Rich senior management team celebrated a landmark anniversary at the culmination of the Gala Dinner |
 |
The Moodie Report Chairman Martin Moodie paid tribute to a travel retailer “unlike any other” |
 |
Guests at the Gala Dinner were treated to a VIP viewing of the magnificient Ever Rich Art Gallery, dubbed ‘The Mini National Palace Musuem’ |
