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TAIWAN’S HIGH-END RETAIL HIGH-RISE

By Curt Hazlett

For a country no larger than the states of Maryland and Delaware combined, Taiwan thinks big. The island nation has, after all, the world’s third-largest pool of foreign reserves, a large trade surplus and one of Asia’s highest levels of per capita income.

Nowhere are Taiwan’s outsized ambitions better displayed than in the capital city of Taipei, where the world’s tallest completed skyscraper, Taipei 101, commands the skyline.

The tower is impossible to miss in a city of low-rise architecture. Its design mimics the style of both a pagoda and a bamboo stalk, with eight blocks of eight floors each stacked atop one another, each one wider at the top than the bottom. (In China eight is considered a lucky number.) Architects designed the building with 101 stories — one more than 100, which is representative of perfection in Chinese culture. And they consulted with a feng shui master to ensure what they say is a healthy flow of chi (natural energy) in the building.

Four years after opening, though, Taipei 101’s office tower may be in need of a chi recharge, because its vacancy rate stands at about 30 percent. But there is abundant energy in the building’s retail component, a five-story, 828,000-square-foot space that has become a magnet for luxury shopping in Taipei.

The lineup is an ‘A’ list of the world’s luxury retailers. The first-floor Avenue 101 boasts Calvin Klein, DKNY, Dolce & Gabbana, Mango and a dozen others. One floor up is the Designer Walk, where Jean Paul Gaultier, Ralph Lauren, Savile Row tailor Gieves & Hawkes and Japanese department store Sogo ply their trades. The third floor is all about couture and features Dior, Louis Vuitton, Prada and Tiffany in an intimate setting designed to appeal to the VIP.

In all, the center has 170 retail spaces, and its mix of luxury and fashion, along with a big helping of restaurants and food markets, has created an appealing mix for Taipei’s upwardly mobile shoppers, says Fred Chang, senior manager of retail services at the CB Richard Ellis Taipei office.

“When a new retailer comes to the Taiwan market, the Chung Hsiao area and Taipei 101 are the best locations to expose their brand,” Chang said. (Chung Hsiao East Road is one of the city’s most upscale shopping areas.)

This exposure in Taipei 101 comes at a cost, to be sure. Chang says monthly base rents for fashion tenants range from $300 to $750 per ping (an area measurement used in Taiwan, Korea and Japan; it equals about 36 square feet), while food and beverage tenants pay about $150 to $750 per ping.

Uneasy is the head that wears the crown, though, and Taipei 101 will not be the world’s tallest building much longer. In July the Burj Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, technically surpassed the Taipei landmark, but it will not officially receive the tallest-building title until it formally opens in 2009.

Even so, Taipei 101’s mall seems secure in its success. It is fully leased, according to its property manager, Citta Management, of Sydney, Australia. Perhaps the architect’s affinity for Chinese symbology helped — the building also resembles a stack of ancient Chinese money boxes.