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Convenience store number up 1.64% in 2016

2017-08-30
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Taipei, Aug. 29 (CNA) The number of convenience stores in Taiwan rose 1.64 percent year-on-year in 2016, slightly higher than the growth seen a year earlier, according to data released Tuesday by the Fair Trade Commission (FTC).

As of the end of 2016, Taiwan had a total of 10,374 convenience stores, up 167 from a year earlier, representing growth that topped the 0.52 percent seen in 2015, which was the lowest increase in six years, according to the FTC statistics.

Currently, Taiwan's convenience store market is dominated by five major chains -- 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Hi-Life, Circle K and Million, which is run by state-owned Taiwan Sugar Corp., the FTC said.

While the growth picked up slightly in 2016, the increase was capped by market saturation after years of fast development, the FTC added.

Since 2005, the number of convenience stores in Taiwan had risen 14.9 percent by 2016, indicating that the saturated market has slowed down the pace of expansion for convenience store chains in recent years.

The latest number of convenience stores means that there was one store for every 2,269 consumers in 2016, based on the country's population of 23.54 million, the commission said.

According to the FTC, the number of total visits by consumers to the five major chains in Taiwan hit 2.88 billion last year, which means that each consumer visited convenience stores about 122 times throughout the year on average.

The commission said that the average consumption at convenience stores per consumer stood at NT$76 (US$2.52), up NT$10 from 2011. The figure indicates that each consumer in Taiwan spent about NT$9,272 in convenience stores on average last year.

It said that the increase in consumption resulted from a move by the chains to provide more services. In addition to merchandise sales, convenience stores have launched new services, such as taking payment for parking bills, tax bills and utility bills, while also selling train tickets and concert tickets.

The data shows that more than 70 percent of Taiwan's convenience stores in 2016 were located in the six special municipalities -- Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung -- with New Taipei, the most populous city in the country, having the highest number of 2,057, or 19.83 percent of the total.

Taipei came in second with 1,501, or 14.47 percent, ahead of Taoyuan (1,234 stores or 11.90 percent), the data shows.

In 2016, tobacco generated the largest sales for the five convenience store chains, followed by beverages. Boxed meals, sandwiches and other hot food came in third with the average gross margin in the category topping 20 percent, while the gross margin for fresh coffee even hit 50 percent.

The FTC said that due to the efforts to launch new services and introduce new products, as well as the business strategy of staying open 24 hours a day, local consumers have come to depend heavily on convenience stores. 

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