ETMall, a subsidiary of Eastern Media International Corporation (2614), announced today (11th) that its consolidated revenue from January-June, including Strawberrynet and Mama Bear Shopping, reached NT$13.96 billion, showing consolidated net earnings of NT$1.05 billion. Earnings per share (EPS) were NT$8.50, a new record high compared to last year’s January-June EPS of NT$8.44. ETMall pointed out that although the domestic and overseas large-scale e-commerce market is in recession, ETMall’s profit growth rate for the first half of the year (excluding Strawberrynet and Mama Bear Shopping) reached 10.1%, which was better than the average operating performance of the whole industry.

    ETMall pointed out that the ongoing impact of the Russia-Ukraine war and global inflation causing soaring prices have affected consumption, including for global large-scale e-commerce Amazon, Shopee, and Chinese e-commerce Alibaba and JD.com, which all suffered losses in the first quarter. There are even rumors that the parent company of Shopee will be laying off 30% of its employees. With most of the major domestic and overseas e-commerce companies experiencing a decline in the first half of the year, ETMall still managed to achieve an EPS of NT$8.50 and outperformed market expectations. Its profitability has secured its position as one of the top two e-commerce companies in Taiwan. The top key success factor lies in ETMall’s development of self-branded products since 2017. In 2021, the ratio of self-branded products to revenue reached 35%, while accounting for 65% of profits, which was the highest ratio among Taiwan’s integrated e-commerce platforms. The second factor is the proper use of big data to identify customer groups through accurate data analysis. ETMall designed different marketing strategies according to customers’ consumption tendencies to achieve precision marketing and better corporate efficiency.

    In the face of the changing economic environment, ETMall is taking a cautious view of the second half of the year and is flexibly adjusting its strategies in response. Internally, it has made the adjustment for centralized purchasing and established the “Group Purchasing and Marketing Division” to increase cross-channel sales of products to boost sales. Externally, it is accelerating the OMO online to offline customer guidance model. ETtoday Pets and Family Mart will collaborate to create the first pet store and convenience store complex in Taiwan. Located at the headquarters in Zhonghe, the “Eastern Sky Plaza” will combine services such as Eastern Natural Beauty, ETwarm, and Mama Bear Shopping pickup point, as well as a food court to create maximum traffic flow and provide consumers with a better service experience.

    By understanding consumer demand and further analyzing the performance of each channel, Mama Bear Shopping, which is a subsidiary of ETMall that focuses on fresh produce, saw a 64% increase in revenue from January to June compared to the same period last year. The growth rate of 5.5% for the online channels of ETMall in the first-half of the year was also a good performance compared to other channels. This shows that people’s demand for fresh produce at home has increased during the pandemic, and they are replenishing their daily necessities and epidemic prevention products through online shopping. The impact of the pandemic is expected to continue to drive e-commerce performance in the second half of the year.

    In addition to epidemic prevention products, the weather turned hot in July, and with an increase of typhoons and heavy rains, ETMall launched a “Summer Shopping Festival” in July, with site-wide spending challenges offering up to NT$1,100 cashback rewards. Orders over NT$2,000 entered a lucky draw with a 100% chance of winning prizes, including lotto bonus, ET coins, and discount coupons. ETMall is fighting the inflation together with consumers and has offered various lifestyle product discounts. For the first time, certain “toilet paper” products will have a 10% ET coin discount. In response to the increase in electricity prices, the entire range of air conditioning products will get a discount starting from 21%, with energy-saving air conditioning to save money and cool down in first place. As for Tatung rice cookers, the top choice of basic income earners, ETMall launched an exclusive milk-tea colored model at only NT$3,080.

    In the 2021 “Taiwan Top 2,000 Companies Survey” by CommonWealth Magazine, there was a selection of “Top 200 Resilient Companies.” Eastern Media International Corporation ranked 23rd in the “Resilient Companies – Annual Growth Top 100.” A “resilient company” is an organization that not only anticipates, responds, and adapts to environmental changes, but also thrives in the face of adversity. Eastern Group is indeed such a “resilient company” that is brave enough to face the changes and impacts of the environment, and it is committed to the spirit of innovation and service to build sustainable competitiveness. The 19th National Brand Yushan Award recently announced the list of award recipients. Eastern Group has once again reached new heights under the leadership of President Gary Wang. Five Eastern Group affiliated enterprises have won a total of 17 awards, becoming the biggest winner at this year’s Yushan Award. Gary Wang, President of Eastern Group, said that this honor was only possible with the efforts of all employees. Eastern Group has invested a great deal of effort in consumer protection and care in the past, and it will continue to follow the global trend in the future. The Group has integrated online and offline resources such as the online platforms of ETMall and Strawberrynet, as well as brick-and mortar beauty and pet stores. This will facilitate the continued expansion of sales channels and increased consumer adhesion, so that Eastern can improve its services and establish a food, cosmetics, and supplement Online merge Offline (OMO) environment.