ETMall, a subsidiary of Eastern Media International Corporation (2614), today (7th) announced that its consolidated revenue (including Strawberrynet and Mama Bear Shopping) for January-May amounted to NT$11.84 billion, and its cumulative consolidated net income before tax reached NT$896 million, with an EPS of NT$7.31 per share, an annual growth rate of 8.9%. Analysis showed that revenue growth was mainly driven by the performance growth of Mama Bear Shopping and Strawberrynet. Demand for fresh produce at home increased due to the pandemic, with Mama Bear Shopping’s revenue increasing by 55% in May and 101% from January to May this year, which is a remarkable performance. The Hong Kong cross-border e-commerce company Strawberrynet launched an affordable rapid screening test, triggering a fierce purchase rush, with Strawberrynet’s annual revenue showing a growth rate of 11.4% in May.

    With the pandemic becoming more severe in Taiwan, people started to go out less and to use online shopping to stock up on daily necessities and epidemic prevention products, which continued to drive the growth of e-commerce. ETMall set up a “Pandemic Prevention Section” to provide various epidemic prevention products during the outbreak of the pandemic in April. The pandemic reached its peak in May and performance doubled compared to April and tripled compared to May last year, when an outbreak also occurred. This shows that people’s epidemic prevention awareness is rising, and even if the country is not on epidemic alert level 3, people still eat out less frequently and shop online instead, which will continue to bring momentum to e-commerce operations in the second quarter.

    Further analysis of the public’s purchasing needs showed that in May the popular keywords on ETMall “COVID-19 rapid screening test” and “Strawberrynet” also made it into the top 10 most popular searches in addition to the original “NRICM101” and “Jing Si Herbal Tea.” Since the government announced on May 11 that people could buy rapid screening tests from overseas, Strawberrynet, a cross-border platform in Hong Kong with 100% investment from ETMall, quickly launched affordable rapid screening tests at an average price of NT$46 per test, which was snapped up by members. To date, more than 800,000 tests have been sold. This cross-border e-commerce service allows people to get the rapid screening tests quickly and affordably, helping them to tide over the pandemic.

    Analyzing consumption trends from the most popular products, following the government’s attitude shift toward co-existence with the pandemic, people have been aiming to improve their own immunity, while using sanitizing alcohol, masks, and other epidemic prevention products. Among the top 20 products in terms of sales volume, health food products accounted for half, with the highest sales volume in the category of epidemic prevention tea and beverages. The “Jing Si Herbal Tea” and concentrate, launched by Tzu Chi Foundation’s Jing Si Books, sold more than 15,000 units, while the “Chameleon Plant Calming Drink” and “Chrysanthemum and Goji Berry Tea” became popular for epidemic prevention. In addition, vitamin D, which helps strengthen immunity, made it into the top 10 bestsellers, and the “Eastern Comprehensive Care Capsules” produced by Hua To, the authorized manufacturer of NRICM101, continued to sell well, with sales of NT$50 million.

    Since the weather is getting hotter with the arrival of the rainy season, in addition to epidemic prevention products, air conditioners, dehumidifiers, and electric fans have been selling well recently. Nearly 3,000 units of dehumidifiers were sold in May, a 2.5 times increase over April’s performance. The 618 Mid-Year Festival, which is the largest mid-year shopping event, took place in June. From June 1 (Wed) to June 10 (Fri), ETMall launched a 618 warm-up celebration, offering members a daily free lucky draw of ET coins, a draw for lotto bonus for every order reaching the spending threshold, and a draw for gifts up to NT$10,000 in value for accumulated spending over NT$10,000. The business opportunities brought by the pandemic coupled with the 618 Mid-Year Festival are expected to help push up the revenue in June again.

    In the post-pandemic era, the e-commerce market is optimistic about its future prospects, but in the face of uncertainties such as the Russia-Ukraine war and global inflationary pressures, ETMall not only continues to deliver excellent revenue performance, but also takes the initiative to take care of its employees by offering big bonuses and organizing incentive trips. At the beginning of this year, the company also offered a year-end bonus of up to six months and an additional bonus of NT$10,000 for each entry-level employee earning less than NT$40,000 to boost employee morale, so that everyone could continue to work together for the company.