Taipei City Government

Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je attended the Revamp Taipei Storefront Renovation Project on the afternoon of November 16. He said during his speech that century-old stores are all well and good, but new elements must be introduced to maintain their competitiveness in the modern era. Consequently, the Taipei City Government’s Department of Economic Development (DOED) has launched the Revamp Taipei project in 2015, and so far it has benefitted 80 stores. Mayor Ko emphasized that a street block will be formed progressively through store renovation and brand creation in order to transform Taipei City into a city museum.

Ko commented that store renovation is divided into 2 parts: one is the revamping of storefronts through brand positioning and spatial transformation to endow them with a brighter and more aesthetic appearance, thereby improving their business; the second part involves enhancing the store’s original brand and elevating its brand values through marketing and promotion.

The mayor reiterated that based on previous experience, renovated stores will benefit from at least a 10% increase in revenue. More importantly, once the stores become more aesthetically pleasing, the entire street block will follow suit. The best example of this phenomenon is Dadaocheng, which has become a very important cluster in Taipei City attracting countless Japanese and Korean tourists. This is made possible because of a trend started by stores that have undergone renovation, which enticed other establishments in the vicinity to follow suit and eventually form a street block.

Mayor Ko mentioned that after the successful experience of the Dihua District, the DOED has expanded the campaign’s scope to include Zhongzheng District and Wanhua District. In particular, the most notable success story is Zhaoyang Fashion Accessories Market, which was formerly a button-manufacturing district; after the transformation, buttons were imbued with more stylish designs and exquisite craftsmanship, turning the district into a popular street block and destination among domestic tourists. Moreover, the buttons and related accessories are now being exported to overseas markets. Another great example is Sunway Restaurant, a well-known establishment in Wanhua that managed to open branch stores abroad after enjoying tremendous success from the renovation project.

He mentioned that the city government will continue to make headway along 2 fronts: the first is the renovation of stores coupled with brand creation and spatial transformation, and the second is turning the stores into fad stores. Since they already have well-established brands, it is possible to introduce more values to the original brands through marketing and promotional campaigns. Most importantly, it is hoped to consolidate individual stores to form a street block that will, in turn, facilitate Taipei City’s transformation into a city museum.

Lastly, Mayor Ko extended his invitation to citizens to partake in today’s event with a fresh perspective and look forward to the brand-new appearances of the 21 revamped stores.