ETMall, a subsidiary of Eastern Media International Corporation (2614), reported good performance for July 2020, with a monthly revenue of NT$1.73 billion, an annual growth rate of 14.5%, and a profit of NT$136 million. Revenue in January-July 2020 reached NT$11.86 billion and profits were NT$720 million. The company enjoyed a 180% YOY growth from January to July, and EPS of NT$7.07. ETMall’s net profit margin has outperformed the industry since 2018, reaching 6.1% in January-July 2020 and EPS has outperformed the full year of 2019. In the first half of 2020, consumption habits have changed in response to the impact of the general environment. Looking back at the first half of this year, as consumers stopped going out, the “stay-at-home economy” has become a new battlefield for different industries, and the “transformation of e-commerce” has become an important retailing direction. In response to the success of the transformation, ETMall also shifted its focus to food and health food products and achieved outstanding performance towards its sales target. According to the recent sales data and rankings, ETMall’s annual growth rate for health foods from January to July 2020 was 31%, with the number of orders delivered growing by 370,000 compared to the same period last year. The annual growth rate of food products was 35%, with the number of orders delivered growing by 420,000 compared to the same period last year.
Gary Wang, president of Eastern Group, said, “in response to the uncertain times of the pandemic, ETMall reacted promptly by utilizing the Group’s resources to integrate online to offline (O2O). On the product side, in consideration of the changes in the consumer environment, the company has strengthened its product differentiation strategy and has formed alliances with well-known brands such as A-Yi Abalone, Hoyii Group, Evergreen Sky Catering Corporation, Regent Hotel, and Din Tai Fung. In addition, the company is committed to cooperating with major brands to produce value-added daily necessities under Eastern’s own brand. In the future, we will provide more and better exclusive limited products and self-operated daily necessities and services to all members, and our next step will be to promote the products in Asia and around the world. This year, the revenue target of ETMall is NT$24.7 billion, and EPS is expected to exceed NT$10. We will go against the trend and we expect to reach NT$64.8 billion in revenue in 2024 with the prosperous growth of the self-operated products category.
In 2020, influenced by the retaliatory consumption habits brought about by the pandemic, ETMall will be launching the largest “World-Renowned Eastern Jewelry Exhibition” in its history. The VividVenture GIA 3.01 carat Light Pink Diamond, priced at $9.6 million, and the VividVenture GIA 1.59 carat Fancy Light Blue Diamond Ring priced at NT$8.25 million, went on sale on ETMall channel 46 yesterday (8/6). This was also the first time in the history of ETMall that a blue diamond of such a large carat and of the highest grade has been sold here. Within 40 minutes, a large number of ladies of high society had made reservations for viewing, which shows the amazing spending power of Taiwanese consumers. On August 26th, the world’s only and once-in-a-decade legendary VividVenture GIA 71.02 carat Fancy Colored Diamond “Eye of God” will be auctioned on ETMall channel 46 from 22:40 to 23:40. The estimated hammer price at the auction is estimated to be over NT$100 million, while the Eastern price is at NT$46 million. Recently, it has been hotly covered by various media outlets, and it is also exciting to see if any of the top buyers are following ETMall.
Due to the rise of health awareness across the country as a result of the pandemic in the first half of the year, purchases of health supplements on ETMall increased greatly. The number of valid orders for health supplements in the first half of the year from January to July exceeded 1.5 million, which is a 31% growth compared with the same period last year. Products such as Huatuo Ostrich Turtle Deer Essence, lutein, and calcium tablets were particularly popular with consumers. In the food category, the best-selling products include the Palace Secret Recipe Pickled Plum Tea, Regent Hotel five-star braised beef noodle soup, and the Fish Season Premium Norwegian Salmon.
To ensure that health supplements did not take up the top spot in the first half of the year, ETMall aimed for the “stay-at-home food business opportunities” and focused on product differentiation strategies. ETMall entered into cross-industry cooperation with the five-star Regent Hotel, three-Michelin-starred A-Yi Abalone, the “Glory of Taiwan” Din Tai Fung, Evergreen Sky Catering Corporation, and Michelin-starred “Tim Ho Wan” and “Hawker Chan Taiwan” under Hoyii Group. This move set in motion the digital transformation of fine dining with the launch of EHS Select Premium Dining. In particular, the EHS Select Regent Hotel Braised Beef Noodle Set has been very well received since its launch in May, with more than 188,000 bowls sold in three months, which is equivalent to the height of 8.5 Taipei 101 Buildings stacked on top of each other.
By selling exclusive self-operated products through its various channels, Eastern not only collaborates with famous food and beverage brands and enterprises to expand new sales channels and increase performance, but also reaches out to different consumer groups and stimulates the consumer spending in physical stores. Furthermore, through the convenient and comfortable ETMall shopping experience, consumers in physical stores are diverted to online shopping platforms to achieve an overall win-win situation.
ETMall is deeply committed to helping local industries and will continue to fulfill our corporate social responsibility and help store owners to develop virtual channels for better business opportunities. We will provide more high-quality and diversified products to our members to create a win-win situation and continue to create the “most caring” platform. ETMall has been managed with care for many years and we have always pursued innovation and change. What remains unchanged is our commitment to our products and service. We uphold the spirit of “EHS Select” and adhere to the strictest selection and quality control process for all products. In order to take on the role as a gate-keeper for the consumers’ rights and interests, we view everything from the standpoint of the customers and strive to meet the needs of customers, so that consumers can enjoy the most pleasant and comfortable shopping experience from ordering to receiving the delivery.