German Mail-Order Group In Asia Push

Mail order plays an important role in the provision of consumer goods, said Michael Otto, head of the German group. Many Asian countries, especially Taiwan, provide a very well developed setting for establishing catalogue shopping.

Mail order was until recently concentrated in the developed countries of North American and Europe because of its dependence on a strong infrastructure. More than 90 per cent of global mail-order sales are from the US, Germany, Japan, the UK and France.

The Taiwanese venture is being carried out in co-operation with Chailease, a trading concern controlled by the Koo family, one of Taiwans leading business groups.

It is aimed at Taiwanese women, many of whom work outside the home and who generally control family finances. They also tend to shop for the entire family, including their husbands clothes and household items.

However, in a country where homes are cramped and alternative leisure activities extremely limited, shopping is not so much a practical matter as a form of entertainment.

Taiwan has one of the highest population densities in the world, and the retail sector is highly developed.

Shops are open seven days a week, often until 9pm or 10 pm, after which lively night markets take over until the small hours.

Otto also aims to co-operate with Chailease to tap internet shopping in Taiwan, which is believed to have the highest and fastest-growing internet usage in Asia, outside Japan. Cybershopping is not well developed, however.

In Germany, Otto launched CD-Rom shopping in 1994, followed by shopping via the internet in 1995, and has reached sales of DM 435 million ($ 247m) through these channels to become then market leader.

The company believes this will be a strong growth area, estimating that by 2000 global sales via the internet and other new media will top DM11 billion.