While the times have changed, their customers have changed, and the area where they are located has changed - they have stubbornly stayed the same. I am reminded of the traditional Chinese medicine shops in Dadaocheng that have not changed a bit in over 100 years. What could be the reason for this? Is it resistance to change? Unwillingness to venture outside of their comfort zone? Or flat-out denial that there’s room for improvement? When asked, “How much does it cost and where do people buy it,” one business didn’t respond, and the other said, “Tell people to email us.” I can think of two small businesses featured on this site who at the time of publication, did not have a way for people to purchase their items online. I mean set up an online store, have a pricing strategy, figure out inventory, fulfillment and customer service. But a couple of times, I have wondered to myself, are they still going to be in business in 12 or 18 months? The reason: they do not know how to sell. One of the things I love doing on this site is interviewing young Taiwanese designers and sharing their work. But all that happened was one business started doing exceptionally well, so other people wanted to strike it rich, too. Less than two years later, there were more than 50. When Moooon Spring Cafe & Play opened in Neihu in 2013, there was nary a parenting cafe in Taipei. In a market as small as Taiwan’s, I guess you have to take it as a compliment.Ī recent example is the niche category of parenting cafes, or cafes that cater to young families. When one business strikes it rich, you can count on its clones to come out of the woodwork with logos that look uncomfortably similar. Shameless copycatting is a sad part of Taiwan’s business landscape. And they have also adopted the chunky brick shape SunnyHills made famous. Speaking of SunnyHills, the majority of Taiwan’s pineapple cake brands now make a pineapple cake that is 100 percent pineapple. So it has been fantastic to see more of their shiny experience centers popping up around town this past year, and even more of their scooters on the streets. They actually want to change the way people travel and make a positive impact as a company. Their mission is not to steal incremental market share from Taiwan’s legacy scooter brands. Everything about how the SunnyHills business is run, to how you feel when you step inside their stores in Minsheng Community and overseas simply oozes quality and care.Īnother is Gogoro. The promising news is there are a few Taiwanese companies that actually strive for excellence. You wonder, what is so hard about giving a crap? But apparently, for many Taiwanese companies cha bu duo translates to hakuna matata. There is no vision, and there is definitely no allocated budget. If you are a fan of Kavalan, you have to assume the company simply does not care about its physical stores. It is hard to imagine Yamazaki with a year-round Christmas tree - complete with flashing lights - in their tasting room like Kavalan does. Imagine this page on their website as a retail space.Īnd if you have been to the Kavalan distillery in Yilan, compare it with the Yamazaki distillery in Osaka. Likewise, you can find Kavalan sold at many Mr. Brown cafe - they sold the parent company’s frozen fish brand in freezers just a couple of feet away from the Kavalan whiskey display. At a now-closed Kavalan storefront on Xinhai Rd - currently a Mr.
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