Luxury watches replaced by cheap accessories: Retail crisis in Ximen District
Luxury watches replaced by cheap accessories: Retail crisis in Ximen District
2022-07-20
We turn now to Taipei’’s trendy Ximen District, where retail is in crisis. Taiwan’’s borders are still closed to visitors from abroad, and for stores in Ximen, that’’s a real headache. Last year, a luxury watch store that had occupied a key spot in the iconic commercial district shut its doors for the last time. Now an affordable jewelry store has taken up shop in the building: a clear sign of the district’’s change in fortune.
Customers try on earrings and hair accessories in front of the mirror. This is a fantastic place for a bit of retail therapy.
You can try on a classic pose with this old-timey telephone or even a typewriter. This lounge area has become a perfect Insta photo spot. Ximen shopping district may have been hit by the pandemic, but this affordable jewelry store has set up shop in the prime spot on the first floor of Wan Nian Building.
Member of public
When I walked by here in the past, it was a watch store, or the Wan Nian Building or something. I think recently I came by and I saw it was jewelry, the kind of thing young girls would want to come and browse.
Member of public
I realized this setup was really big so I came in to have a look round.
Ximen is popular with young shoppers, and these affordable jewelry stores are aimed right at the key demographics here. But this first floor location was a high-end watchmaker for 50 years. The pandemic put paid to the watches, and the company bowed out in late 2021. You can still see faint traces of the watch store today. But the modest prices of this jewelry are incomparable to the high margins once charged on luxury products here. Does the new store pay the rent?
Chan Yu-hsin
Jewelry brand spokeswoman
Right now we believe that the pandemic is gradually receding, so it’s great to be coming in at this point in time. For example, at weekends now our average daily turnover is at least in the six digits. We are very optimistic about the future commercial potential here when the pandemic recedes.
Hsu Chia-hsin
Real estate expert
For this specific location, the market rental price for this area probably falls around NT$5,000 to NT$8,000 per ping. In reality, in this area, an affordable jewelry store probably achieves a certain standard in terms of its rate of substitution.
This real estate expert says that with all the young people shopping in Ximen, it should be possible for stores like this to keep business going smoothly. But judging by the large number of empty stores littering the area, and the lack of crowds, Ximen will be a shadow of its former self until Taiwan reopens its borders to foreign visitors.
危機入市! 平價飾品進駐西門町"萬年大樓"
2022-07-20
西門町"萬年商業大樓"，一樓黃金店面，過去由老字號鐘錶行長租半世紀之久，去年因疫情退場後，現在轉平價飾品店頂下，不過西門商圈自疫情後，屢傳退租消息、景氣蕭條，選在這時進駐，業者危機入市的心態濃厚。
鏡子前試戴比試，做工精緻的耳環、髮式琳琅滿目，讓民眾逛得心花怒放。
老電話、打字機，滿滿復古元素，休息區秒變拍照打卡聖地。平價飾品店無懼西門商圈受疫情重創，信心進駐萬年大樓一樓黃金店面。
[[民眾]]
“之前就走過來都是鐘錶行，或是萬年大樓之類的，然後可能最近經過，看到有一家飾品店，就是小女生會覺得會想要進來逛”
[[民眾]]
“最近來就有發現這個裝潢真的很大，會進來逛”
年輕人愛逛西門町，平價飾品正中商圈核心客群，不過這一樓店面，過去由精品鐘錶行長租半世紀，最後在疫情下，去年底黯然退場，現在飾品業進駐，隱約看得出當年鐘錶行的痕跡，可是商品單價低、跟鐘錶行的利潤根本不能比，業者如何吃下高昂租金。
[[飾品業品牌發言人 詹瑀馨]]
“我們現在其實認為，疫情其實已經漸漸趨緩，所以我們在這個時間點進來，其實是一個非常好的時機點，那比如說我們在假日的時候，平均每天的營業額都有6位數以上，那認為如果在疫情趨緩之後，我們覺得非常看好這裡未來的商機”
[[房產專家 徐佳馨]]
“其實以這個個案來說的話，它大概周邊的(單坪)租金行情會落在5000塊錢到8000塊錢左右，平價飾品事實上在這個地方來說，它應該在替代率的部分，會有一定程度的水準”
專家指出，年輕客群帶動下，營運可保持一定水準，但看看目前西門商圈的空租率，人潮不若以往，只有邊境開放、觀光客回流，西門商圈才有望榮景再現。
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