Chairman Douglas Hsu's Speech to Mark the 50th Anniversary of Far Eastern Department Stores

The 50th anniversary is a milestone worth celebrating.  In Taiwan, given the extremely intensive competitions in the retail industry, department stores with such long history rarely exist now.  Reflecting back, the Far Eastern Group started its retail business operation 50 years ago by changing the four sales rooms of Skyscraper Brand of Far Eastern Textile located at Yongsui Street, Taipei City in front of Zhongshan Hall (current address of “Far Eastern Polyclinic”) into a six-story building to establish the first store of the Far Eastern Department Stores (FEDS).

With Taiwan’s withdrawal from the United Nations in 1971 and the precarious political situation, the Group Founder Y. Z. Hsu demonstrated the strong determination and confidence to run business in Taiwan.  He established FEDS Taipei Branch at Baoqing Road and merged the Store at Yongsui Street to expand the scale.  The grand opening of FEDS Baoqing Store introduced Taiwan’s first large department store incorporated with a supermarket, which not only became Taipei’s first major landmark, but also boosted people’s spirits for the whole nation.  During these days, many people are not aware of the lack of merchandises to sell.  Therefore, in the beginning there were insufficient goods to fill the store shelves.  In contrast, fifty years later, a wide variety of famous brands from all over the world is on display in the sales space.  Now, in addition to FEDS’ self-run 10 Branch Stores, the Far Eastern Retail Group also encompasses brands including Pacific SOGO Department Store, Amart, and city'super.  Operating with totally 54 sites and annual revenues of NT$125.7 billion, among which FEDS accounts for $43.35 billion, a world of tremendous difference compared with half a century ago.

Despite its ever-increasing business scale, the retail industry has encountered drastic changes along with time, in particular the innovation in technology and changes in consumer behaviors have brought tremendous challenges.  We need to continue to transform and change so as to constitute one-stop shopping environment for the consumers and strive to engage in e-commerce and mobile-commerce, explore more shopping channels and opportunities via the borderless e-commerce platform after business hours.  Even if customers are just browsing through or window shopping in our stores, they also receive warm welcome because selling is only part of our business operation, the most important task is to offer them satisfaction and joy to visit often.  This total customer satisfaction depends on the joint efforts of our colleagues and vendors to be more creative in delivering excellent services and products.

Today, FEDS has transcended its first 50th anniversary.  Compared with the retail landscape half century ago, though the economic outlook may not be optimistic, we still urge everyone to keep changing, improving, and enabling the consumers to feel comfortable with delicate services once they step into our stores.  We also hope to make outstanding sales, help boost economy and welcome the next prosperous 50 years！＃