Market Report — Taiwan
By Caroline Kennedy -- Gifts and Dec, 9/18/2006 2:28:00 PM
September 18, 2006 — Business travel is always an adventure, what with the inconveniences of long lines at the airport, security checks and delayed flights. But there are also bright spots that make the inconvenience worthwhile — or at least tolerable.
My visit to Taiwan began in such a mixed manner. Because it was an international flight (and because of today’s increased security issues), I arrived at the airport extra early. But checking in and getting through security was easier than I’d anticipated (perhaps because I had planned for it), so I had plenty of time to exchange some currency and settle down for a leisurely dinner. But just my luck — and I use that term loosely — my flight was delayed. Of course!
What is a traveler to do? For me, the solution was easy. Browsing retail shops is a favorite activity of mine, and strongly recommended for anyone in our industry — especially retailers. You never know when or where you’ll come upon something of interest.
The bright spot that made my flight delay tolerable was the window display at the Hermes shop in Terminal 1 at John F. Kennedy airport, which elevated the common wooden clothespin into the status of art. In larger windows, clothespins were used to create elaborate sculptures of the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, and other objects upon which merchandise was showcased. In the smaller displays, the clothespins were creatively assembled into simple forms, using the shape of the clothespin itself to create design interest.
GLOBAL CHALLENGE
When you fly halfway around the world, the impact of the global community really hits home, in more ways than one. Geography and culture certainly differ, but the economics and challenges of doing business are similar in many ways.
I’ve come to the Far East to visit manufacturers catering to the gift and decorative accessories industry, and learn more about the gift trade and trade shows in Taiwan. Taiwanese giftware producers, who for years have had a thriving industry producing affordable items ranging from Christmas ornaments to figurines to faux florals to plastics and novelties, are facing greater challenges and increasing competition from emerging markets, especially China.
Likewise, the Taiwanese gift trade show, Giftionery (October 24–26) competes with other shows worldwide, especially Hong Kong, to attract exhibitors. When competitive show dates overlap, exhibitors are challenged not just to attract buyers, but also to have enough samples available to exhibit in multiple booths. Otherwise, they must choose one show over another, thereby cutting the exposure of their business and reaching fewer potential customers.
Sound familiar?
TAIPEI TRAVELOGUE
I arrived on Saturday morning and took some time to acclimate before getting down to business. To that end I went out exploring a bit. And one doesn’t have to look very hard to find something familiar in the capitol city of Taipei: Stepping outside my hotel, I could see a 7/11 convenience store on the next corner!
My destination was Taipei 101, a shopping center that is housed in one of the world’s tallest buildings. The first five floors are devoted to a very high end shopping mall that includes such retail shops as Tiffany & Co., Prada, Montblanc, Crabtree & Evelyn, and Lladro, among many other familiar names. In the lower level, there’s a Grand Market (what we would call a food court) featuring the likes of McDonald’s, KFC and Subway, along with traditional Chinese food vendors.
And in this traditionally tea-drinking country, the coffee culture has definitely caught on. Starbucks is here in force, though not on every corner as it is seems to be in the U.S. The American coffee giant has to compete with other brands such as Lavazza, Dante and Barista for prime locations. Still, its presence and brand identity are strong.
Taipei is a modern city of contrasts, with contemporary office towers rising beside one story, tin-roofed buildings; traditional noodle shops next door to designer boutiques; Chinese characters next to logos and signage in English. A striking difference from U.S. cities is the number of motor scooters on the street. The scooter is the predominant mode of transportation around the city, and they seem to even outnumber cars. They park all along the sidewalks, often presenting obstacles to pedestrian navigation.
And cities like New York could borrow a page out of Taipei’s book when it comes to crossing signals. Here, the “walk” lights show an animated moving character along with the amount of time allotted for crossing. As the time counts down, walkers know how long they have to get across the street before the light changes.
DOWN TO BUSINESS
First thing Monday morning it was time to go to work. William Shih, a representative of Taitra, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council, escorted me and two other journalists to our first of several stops that day: Artilize Worldwide, where we met with CEO Tony Tseung and sales director Luke Lo. Though the visit was listed as a factory tour, the Taiwan facility of Artilize is not, in fact, a production plant, but a design and development studio, where product prototypes are created. Like many other Taiwanese manufacturers, in order to stay competitive, Artilize carries out production in China.
Artilize Worldwide is an interesting young company with two distinct product lines: Magic Light, a novelty line of whimsical, rubberized animal characters colorfully lit from the inside with an LED, so they glow; and Tales by Pave, a line of decorative art tiles. Though young, it’s a sophisticated company poised for growth, and is looking to expand its marketing reach.
The Tales by Pave line has appeal across several merchandise channels, including furniture, and gift and home decor, as well as the interior design market. Each decorative tile measures 15x20cm, and is made of a stone powder and resin mixture that creates a lightweight piece with a stone-like look so that it can be hung on a wall. Each collection of tile designs draws design elements from symbolic patterns, architectural elements, paintings and other art treasures. Individual tiles can be displayed alone or grouped to create uniquely personal wall art displays.
The company has its own copyrighted library of designs drawn from Chinese and other Asian cultural sources. Current collections include Great China, featuring symbols and cultural elements of ancient China; Chinese artist Max Chi-wei Liu; Taiwan artist Yang Yinfong; Ying-Luo, featuring Buddhist art treasure elements; Floral, Songster & Tenderness; and Japan, featuring Japanese cultural design elements.
Next month, Artilize will introduce a new collection of 15 pieces based on the collections at Taiwan’s National Palace Museum. It will also add a line of accessories to aid in showcasing the tiles in the home. There are two styles of wall frames to offset a tile or group of tiles, and three styles of furniture stands for tabletop display. The wall frames allow displays to be changed.
Looking to the future, Artilize is working to develop designs from other Asian countries, as well as more fashion-oriented and contemporary culture designs — but with Asian themes. They believe that the Asian design will continue to have a strong worldwide appeal as a home decor aesthetic.
On the other hand, the Magic Light line from Artilize is as far removed from the Tales by Pave line as you can get. From the more serious art aesthetic of Tales, we move to a fun, whimsical novelty item. These light-up critters have broad appeal across age categories and also offer a functional element beyond illumination: They can be desk accessories! Built-in magnets allow Magic Lights to grab paperclips. Other styles hold pushpins or a flower bud. They can be mood lights, night lights or just plain fun lights, and they’re rechargeable. Three new collections will be introduced in October: baby, dogs, and Monk Buddha. In the Monk Buddha collection, each design has a function — for example, one is a business card holder — related to its symbolic meaning.
Next: On to Sumplus Enterprise, iCute, and others.
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