In recent years Taiwan's postal system has been making efforts to branch out into new businesses, one of which is serving as a distributor of various products.
Efforts in this regard have been quite successful, with the postal authority selling a greater number of items. This in turn is helping to boost annual revenues.
In a move to bolster this initiative, more and more items are now being sold on shelves set up at post offices.
The Tainan City postal service's marketing department commented that the postal system has post offices all throughout the island, from the largest cities to the tiniest of hamlets.
Many companies look to the post office to sell goods on their behalf, treating the post office as a distribution network. These companies believe they can rely on the strong credibility of the post office to promote those products, alleviating the need to dedicate large amounts of money to advertising.
Consequently, this is turning into a win-win situation for the makers of these items as well as the post office, which is experiencing higher revenues.
The marketing department explained that providing agency sales is offering enormous business opportunities. The Tainan post office is promoting items from Nan Liu Enterprise, originally a maker of nonwoven fabrics, but that has now branched out into facial masks and creams.
The company has seen its sales skyrocket by selling its products through the post office. Increasing its presence in the skin products industry, the company has grown enough to now be listed on the over-the-counter market.
Lover Honey Co., a maker of honey products in Yunlin, also sells its items through the post office, providing it a ready distribution network. Last month, the company sold several hundred jars of honey through the Tainan postal system and the company is now planning to rent space on a wall in the post office to put up advertising posters.
The post office's marketing department said revenues derived by selling products made by various manufacturers have been rising virtually every year. The Tainan postal administration has set a target of a 7-percent rise in revenues this year.
The post office said selling the products via counters or showcases prevents consumers from directly testing or handling the product. To address this issue, the post offices in Tainan will be creating shelves so that products can be out in the open, enabling consumers to test them and look at them more closely.
The post office expects that this will further boost interest in buying various products, which will result in even greater sales.
(This article originally appeared in The Liberty Times July 12.)