Ever Rich set to open spectacular duty free stores in Taipei and Kinmen

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TAIWAN. Ever Rich Group Chairman and CEO Simon Chiang and Vice President Kevin Chiang this week unveiled full details of two of Asia’s most significant duty free projects to The Moodie Report.

In his first-ever business media interview, held at Ever Rich headquarters in Taipei [to be previewed in next week’s e-Zine and covered in full in the May issue of The Moodie Report Print Edition], Simon Chiang, together with his son Kevin, spoke of their ambitions for a major new flagship downtown duty free store to be opened in October in the Neihu district of capital city Taipei.

And in the second quarter of 2013, the company will open a vast duty free shopping mall on the Kinmen Islands, offshore from Xiamen on the Chinese Mainland, selling to Taiwanese and Mainland Chinese tourists. This will be followed by the opening of the Ever Rich Kinmen Hotel in the first quarter of 2014.

The spectacular Neihu building, described by the retailer as a “˜new shopping paradise, combining duty free sales, arts and entertainment’, features a four-layer butterfly wing-style façade. It will be spread over six storeys with a further three basement levels set aside for parking.

“The building is ready now, we’re finishing [internal] construction and it will open in October,” said Simon Chiang.

Above and below: The new Ever Rich downtown flagship store will target the booming Mainland Chinese tourism market




The store’s core target is Taiwan’s fast-growing Mainland Chinese tourism sector – including free independent travellers (FITs) and group tourists.

Ever Rich’s Shopping Mall in Kinmen will include two floors of duty free space and four other retail and service levels


“We are concentrating on Chinese tourists coming into Taiwan,” he continued. “Now the government is very close with China”¦ so more and more tourists will come here. We need to be able to service them, so we have built the new [downtown duty free] building, which offers big space.”

Taiwan welcomed 1,630,735 Mainland Chinese visitors in 2010, up by +68% as more direct flights commenced and 1,784,185 in 2011, a gain of +9.41%..

Martin Moodie meets Simon Chiang (above) and Kevin Chiang at Ever Rich headquarters in Taipei this week



The store will also serve Taiwanese outbound travellers; business people who commute between Neihu Technology Park and NanKang Software Park; and Japanese tourists who take the direct flight to Taipei from Tokyo Haneda Airport.

In its publicity material, Ever Rich says that Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Authority is promoting the concept of a “Golden Quadrilateral Flight Zone”, linking Shanghai Hongqiao Airport, Tokyo Haneda Airport – both already linked to Taipei – and Seoul Gimpo Airport (commencing later this year) with Taipei Song Shan and Taoyuan International airports.

MAJOR HOTEL AND DUTY FREE SHOPPING DEVELOPMENT IN KINMEN

The Kinmen development is one of Asia’s most ambitious retail-to-leisure projects. Today, 5 April, is a landmark day as the company starts on the digging work for the development.

The spectacular Ever Rich Kinmen Hotel will fuse modern aesthetics with the ambience of historical Kinmen


Kinmen comprises 12 islands, 30 minutes by ferry from Xiamen, China and a 40-minute flight from Taiwan. Considered a land of beauty and culture, it attracted 1.13 million Taiwanese tourists last year and about 0.36 million direct visitors from China. Transit passengers from China and Taiwan represented a further 1.1 million. The total passenger volume is expected to climb sharply to 5 million by 2014.

The Ever Rich Kinmen Hotel is located on the shore of Tai Lake and will represent “a fusion of modern aesthetics and an image of historical Kinmen”.

In line with Ever Rich’s long-standing commitment to giving back to society (see below), the hotel and adjacent shopping complex will be a fusion of shopping, cultural experience and the arts.

The shopping mall and related services will be spread over nearly 89,500sq m of space. The first two levels will host a duty free shop, while the third to sixth floors will feature a major shopping mall, embracing restaurants, a convention centre, ball room, art gallery and fitness centre.

The duty free shop will feature 6,549sq m on floor one and 4,722sq m on the second level. The actual shopping mall alone will boast another 19,544sq m.

Ever Rich DFS is much more than a conventional travel retailer. It has also been involved in some pioneering development of the public services areas at Taoyuan International Airport Terminals 1 and 2, creating elegant and Taiwanese-themed areas annd fostering a real Sense of Place at the main Taipei gateway.





ABOUT EVER RICH D.F.S. CORPORATION

Ever Rich Duty Free Shop Corporation was founded in 1995 and is considered one of Asia’s most innovative travel retailers, one that is synonymous with public service.

It operates a range of stores at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Terminals 1 and 2; Kaohsiung International Airport; Song Shan Airport; Magong (the Profond stores both airport and downtown); and Taichung Airport.

It also has pre-order duty free stores at Taipei Neihu and Taipei Minquan; plus outlets in Keelung Harbour; Kinmen Shuitou commercial harbour passenger service center and Kingfond.

The company has a tremendous commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility, one embraced with a passion by its owners, management and entire team.

Above and below: Ever Rich is involved in a tremendous range of Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, helping out under-privileged sections of society and stepping in to assist those affected by natural disaster both at home and abroad





The company organised the Taiwan 100th anniversary Ever Rich literature competition on ‘The Beauty of Formosa’


The Moodie Report named Simon Chiang one of its People of the Year in 2011, commenting: “The President of Ever Rich Duty Free Shop Corporation has long been a role model for the way he has championed charitable causes. This year, in Taiwan’s ultimate recognition of Corporate Social Responsibility, the company received the prestigious National Civic Service Award from the Premier of Taiwan Executive Yuan, Wu Den-yih. The award honours individuals and groups that make charitable contributions and promote humanitarian activities.

“Ever Rich was the only with profit institution to earn the accolade. The inspirational Simon Chiang’s words on receiving the award were humble and heartfelt – “Love is the most beautiful thing and practising charity is the most joyful.”

Look out for our more detailed report in The Moodie Report e-Zine, out next week.

Simon Chiang receiving the National Civic Service Award from the Premier of Taiwan Executive, Yuan Den-yih Wu


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