E-Da World, of which the center is a part, is an investment undertaken by E-United Group. Located in Guanyinshan in Kaohsiung County, the center will occupy some 190,000 square meters.
With hotels, an amusement park, a university and a residential area, E-Da World is expected to receive more than 10 million visitors per year and to generate annual revenues in excess of NT$10 billion (US$312 million), said E-United’s Chairman Lin I-shou Feb. 9.
Jones Lang LaSalle, the main recruitment company for E-Da World, is planning to invite over 300 brands, including 100 well-known luxury brands, to open stores in the center. The outlet will offer the finest array of goods in Asia, outnumbering Japan’s largest outlet by 60 brands, according to sources familiar with the matter.
E-Da World expects to see 70 percent of its customers from Taiwan and the other 30 percent from abroad, consisting mainly of tourists from Japan, mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. The outlet’s architecture is designed in European style, with long covered galleries and domes.
Among the brands which have currently signed up with E-Da World, Gucci and YSL have received the most attention, as they will be under direct supervision of the brands’ Taiwan branches, something unprecedented in Taiwan’s outlets. Between 30 percent and 40 percent of the brands are estimated to be run by direct distributors in Taiwan.
According to Huang Shu-ling, Gucci’s public relations manager, outlet stores sell mainly off-season products, thus making them distinct from regular stores. E-Da World has visited Gucci’s headquarters in Milan, Italy, several times to brief it on its plans. Gucci has agreed to lend its name to the outlet because it identifies with E-Da’s town-making blueprint, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Other brands to be sold at the outlet include DKNY, Calvin Klein, Armani Exchange, Tommy Hilfiger, Marlboro Classic, Timberland, Nike, Adidas, Puma, Lacoste and many cosmetics brands. (KL-HZW)