China News Agency, Taipei, June 9th. Comprehensive Central News Agency, Zhongshi News Network, United News Network and other Taiwan media reported on the 9th that due to the current issue of contract renewal, it is impossible to reach an agreement with shareholders. Taiwan's Eslite Bookstore Xinyi Store may expire at the end of 2023 Store closed later.

　　Eslite Bookstore was established in Taipei City in 1989, and later developed into a comprehensive bookstore. Combined with the shopping mall business model, it created a cultural and creative trend, and attracted tourists with its 24-hour open feature.

According to the official website of Eslite Bookstore, as of April this year, the bookstore has 43 branches, 8 limited-time bookstores, and 1 Eslite Lifetime store on both sides of the strait and in Hong Kong.

　　Eslite Xinyi Store is a 24-hour bookstore located in the Xinyi Planning District, a first-class commercial district in Taipei City.

The Uni-President International Building, where the store is located, is jointly owned by seven companies.

Among them, Uni-President Enterprise Group is its largest shareholder.

　　According to the contract, Eslite's annual bottom line revenue is 5 billion yuan (NTD, the same below), and the Uni-President Group can take a proportionate share of more than 5 billion yuan.

However, since it has been in operation for 17 years, the single-year performance of Eslite Xinyi Store has never reached this figure, which is far from the original expected profit.

For the Uni-President Group, the annual return on investment is far lower than that of the prime location in Xinyi District.

　　Uni-President Group convened an interim board of directors on the 8th. Although the contract renewal case was not included in the discussion agenda, it was announced that the Group would purchase shares from the other two major owners, Huanci Construction and Kunqing International, from the 2nd to 6th floors of the shopping mall of Uni-President International Building, equivalent to Mastering more than half of the market share, laying the groundwork for taking over the operation of the market, Xinyi Eslite is more likely to turn off the lights by the end of next year.

　　For Taipei residents, Eslite Xinyi Store is a famous local cultural landmark.

Sun Daqian, a former representative of Taiwan's public opinion, said that Eslite Bookstore has become a part of Taiwanese people's life, and Xinyi Eslite is a place where many friends who love to read will linger.

For a long time, because of the Eslite Bookstore, the characteristics of Taiwan's scholarly culture have been preserved, and the habit of reading in the next generation has been cultivated.

　　Regarding the news that "the lease will not be renewed at the end of next year", Eslite Xinyi Store issued a statement on the 8th, saying that "so far, we have not received any official response from the landlord's representative."

　　In recent years, due to the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, more than ten Eslite Bookstore branches in Taiwan have been closed.

In the second half of this year, Eslite Kaohsiung Yuecheng Store and Kaohsiung SOGO Store will close soon, and Eslite Station Store in Taipei Main Station will also close ahead of schedule.

　　Regarding the closing of Eslite branches, Wu Minjie, chairman of Eslite Life, said in an interview a few days ago that Eslite's main revenue and profit come from physical bookstores. Due to the continuous impact of the epidemic, the chain store model in the past has made Eslite in many counties and cities. , the store cannot be deployed.

In addition, Eslite is also considering a new business model. In the future, it will speed up its withdrawal from the department store type that has declined in business districts and underperformed after the epidemic.

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