EXODUS OR OPPORTUNITY? An Office of Commerce official said that while some stores have left the area, new shops have replaced them and occupancy is up

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 14, 2019
By: Yang Hsin-hui and Jake Chung  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Taipei City Government should introduce measures to combat excessively high rental prices in the city’s East District (東區), which has caused an exodus of shops from the area, Taipei City Councilor Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) said on Thursday.

The informal district refers to alleys and backstreets near the intersection of Zhongxiao E Road and Dunhua S Road.

A number of renowned stores, such as outlets of South Korean clothing chain H:Connect, hot pot chain Man Tang Hung and shaved ice shop Ice Monster, have all moved out of the area due to high rental fees, Wang said.

Ice Monster’s East District store was paying NT$13,000 per ping (3.3m2), NT$2,000 more than rents for stores on Tokyo’s Omotesando, she said, referring to an avenue that is home to numerous fashion flagship stores.    [FULL  STORY]