Japanese discount chain Don Quijote coming to Taiwan on Jan. 19

日本折扣連鎖店唐吉訶德將於1月19日登陸台灣

Don Don Donki store to open in Taipei's Ximending shopping area in 2 weeks


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Popular Japanese discount chain Don Quijote is going to open its first branch in Taiwan on Jan. 19.

The chain's first store in Taiwan will travel under the Don Don Donki brand and will be located at No. 123 Xining Street in Taipei City's Ximending shopping district. The new outlet will have three stories and sell all kinds of Japanese beauty products, snacks, biscuits, soft drinks, household appliances, daily necessities, fresh fruits and vegetables, cooked food, and sushi, as well as exclusive services for the Taiwan market.

Don Quijote, also known as Donki, has more than 637 stores around the world and has been expanding in Southeast Asia since 2017. Its first East Asian store outside of Japan was established in Singapore on Dec. 1, 2017, and it now has six stores in the city.

In 2019, it set up its first stores in Thailand and Hong Kong, the latter of which now has six branches. Its first outlets in Malaysia and Macau are also both slated for this year.

As early as 2019, there were reports that the chain would be opening stores in Taiwan in the Yongfu Building at Zhongxiao East Road, Section 4, in Taipei City's Da'an District. However, according to haofang.com, the landlord refused to install escalators in the building out of safety concerns.

In September of last year, Dan Quijote posted job recruitment ads on Taiwan's 104 Job Bank, prompting Taiwanese to begin to speculate on the arrival and location of the popular chain.

After over a year of anticipation, Donki fans were excited to see the company on Tuesday (Jan. 5) announce on its Facebook page that its first store in Taiwan will open at 10 a.m. on Jan. 19 in Xinmending under the name Don Don Donki. It is expected to offer special exclusive services for the Taiwan market, such as apples directly imported from Japan and live shellfish sold in its fresh seafood area.

Given that the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic has led to strict border controls, there has been a shortage of Japanese goods in Taiwan. It is therefore expected that the opening of the new Don Don Donki will lead to a large shopping spree by Taiwanese craving Japanese products.