In the Taiwan Top 2,000 Companies Survey of 2022 by the CommonWealth Magazine, Eastern Media International Corporation was ranked No. 257 in the Service Industry Overall Performance category, 16 places higher than in 2021, and No. 16 in the Trade category. Its subsidiary, ETMall, also entered the top 100 in the Service Industry category, ranking 70th, an improvement of 5 places, while also entering the top 10 in the Department Store, Wholesale, and Retail Industry category, with a 7th place ranking.
More than two years after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the markets of Europe and North America ushered in post-pandemic revenge consumption, with the manufacturing industry, the most active worldwide, showing an explosive growth. In 2021, ETMall’s annual revenue was NT$27.2 billion and profit was NT$1.808 billion, up 25.7% from the same period last year, ranking 63rd in the service industry. In 2021, the EPS reached NT$17.72, with a 6.65% profit margin—an impressive performance. In 2021, Eastern Media International Corporation ranked 153rd in the service industry in terms of profitability with an annual revenue of NT$5.512 billion and a profit of NT$745 million, ranking 117th with a 13.52% profitability.
The pandemic outbreak in Taiwan last May and the government’s epidemic alert level 3 both significantly affected the department store, wholesale, and retail industry, but the growth of e-commerce was the highlight in the domestic market. According to the CommonWealth Magazine, last year’s online retail sales exceeded NT$430 billion, a growth of 24.52%, but only accounted for 10.8% of the total retail sales, so future growth can still be expected. Last year’s pandemic prompted people to panic-buy supplies, causing a major logistics congestion. This highlighted the fact that e-commerce platforms are no longer just competing in terms of products and offers, but also on the actual capabilities of their infrastructure. ETMall already put the 33,060-m2 Yangmei warehouse into service in advance at the end of last year, which enabled the platform to sail smoothly through possible logistics crises.
The significant growth in profitability of ETMall is attributed to the product strategy of “full development of self-owned brands,” which was first implemented five years ago. Furthermore, the ratio of self-owned products to revenue reached 35% in 2021, which also accounts for nearly 40% of the profit, the highest ratio among Taiwan’s integrated e-commerce platforms. Gary Wang, Chairman of ETMall, said that in the face of the pandemic era, Eastern has learned more on know how to adjust its strategy at any time, and has entered into cooperation with well-known brands to develop self-owned co-branded products. For example, we have sold 800,000 “CooKing Cooking Kits” since their launch in collaboration with the “CooKing” program in May last year, creating a record sales of NT$47 million. As for lifestyle self-branded products, Eastern Group, Namchow Group, and TCI BIO co-branded long-lasting antibacterial laundry detergent with a certified antibacterial effect of up to 168 hours. The product has achieved a great performance based on the concept of “pandemic prevention” with 20,000 units sold and generating NT$16 million in sales.
In last year’s Taiwan Top 2,000 Companies Survey by CommonWealth Magazine, Eastern Media International Corporation ranked 23rd in the “Top 200 Resilient Companies – Annual Growth Top 100,” while ETMall ranked 23rd in the “Top 50 Operational Performance” ranking. Under the leadership of President Gary Wang, Eastern Group once again delivered an impressive score card in 2021. From January to April this year, the consolidated revenue of ETMall was NT$9.554 billion and the cumulative consolidated net earnings reached NT$608 million, with an EPS of NT$5.96 per share, representing an annual growth rate of 12.5% and a record high for the same period.
Taiwan is currently in the grips of a pandemic outbreak. Mr. Gary Wang is committed to the spirit of “others are about business, Eastern is about public welfare.” Recently, Eastern Group donated NT$2 million worth of masks to the Taipei Veterans General Hospital. In addition, donations were made to the Tri-Service General Hospital, including tents to serve as screening stations and other supplies, so that Eastern can fight the pandemic together with the front-line healthcare personnel. Eastern Group also upholds the vision of a “Happy Enterprise”; for this reason, Eastern ensured that employees’ health during the pandemic was well taken care of. In addition to giving employees with health supplements to strengthen their immunity, the company also provided free rapid screening tests to employees who were suspected of having contracted the virus, so that they could take precautionary measures as needed. Gary Wang said that he hopes everyone will do their best to prevent the spread of the virus, wear masks, and wash their hands regularly to overcome the pandemic together. Eastern Group will continue to be courageous in the face of the changes and impacts of the environment, as well as continue to build up our “resilience” and innovative service spirit to strengthen our sustainable competitiveness!