《TAIPEI TIMES》 Cosmed, Starbucks celebrate 600th stores

Uni-President Group chairman Lo Chih-hsien, second left, and his wife and the head of Uni-President’s beauty and wellness business, Kao Hsiu-ling, attend the grand opening of a new mega-combination store in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA

/ Staff writer, with CNA Cosmed and Starbucks Taiwan are to continue their retail expansion after hitting a milestone of 600 stores for each brand nationwide yesterday, with parent company Uni-President Group chairman Lo Chih-hsien （羅智先） declaring that the company is already gearing up to establish “the next 600 outlets.”

Lo made the remarks at the grand opening ceremony of a new mega-combination store in Taipei’s Nangang District （南港）, opposite the Nangang Station. The location marks the simultaneous launch of Cosmed’s 600th outlet and Starbucks Taiwan’s 600th branch.

Named Yuen-Hsiu （愿秀）, the flagship store honors the group’s late founder, Kao Ching-yuen （高清愿）, and his daughter, Kao Hsiu-ling （高秀玲）, who is Lo’s wife and heads Uni-President’s beauty and wellness business.

The venue was jointly launched by Cosmed, Starbucks and 7-Eleven, all subsidiaries of Uni-President Group — Taiwan’s largest food and retail conglomerate.

With Cosmed and Starbucks hitting the 600-store mark in Taiwan, Lo expressed immense optimism regarding future market capacity.

Citing an industry report indicating that Taiwan now has more than 5,000 coffee shops, Lo observed that “there is still a very long way to go” in strategic retail channel development.

Addressing market concerns about Starbucks’ profitability despite its growing footprint, Lo said that the coffee chain’s earnings have never actually declined.

He said that fluctuations in financial reports primarily reflect rising royalty payments adjusted for inflation, as licensing fees increase periodically.

Excluding these royalty-related adjustments, Starbucks’ profits have continued to grow steadily, Lo said.

Yesterday’s opening also marked the first time that Cosmed, a fully domestic brand, has overtaken its major foreign-backed competitor, Watsons, in total store count, making it Taiwan’s largest drugstore chain by number of outlets.

Downplaying the fierce rivalry, Lo remarked, “We haven’t permanently surpassed them; Watsons is just temporarily lagging a little behind in this ongoing process. Everyone will continue to work hard.”

Lo added that future expansion plans would depend heavily on regional demand, with large and small-format stores under consideration, depending on real estate availability and suitable landlords.

The newly unveiled Yuen-Hsiu outlet reflects a strategic shift toward next-generation beauty and lifestyle trends, debuting exclusive counter sections dedicated to trending South Korean cosmetics brands, according to Kao Hsiu-ling, who also attended the ceremony.

Kao highlighted that Cosmed has experienced robust growth, not only in cosmetics and daily necessities, but also in pharmaceutical products — a trend directly driven by Taiwan’s rapidly aging population.

Moving forward, she said the company would continue to aggressively introduce trend-aligned, innovative products to meet evolving consumer demand, while aiming to offer shoppers an enriched sense of novelty and interactive experiences.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES