According to retailing experts, a large department store needs a population of around 300,000 to support it. Taipei and the surrounding suburbs together account for a four-million-person base, on which 20-some department stores and countless smaller retailers rest their profit hopes.
根據百貨業專家的估算，要養活一家大型綜合百貨公司，至少需要卅萬的人口。以大台北地區四百多萬活動人口的荷包，卻有廿幾家百貨公司，加上林立的服裝專賣店、專業超市，以及各類零售店爭奪瓜分，百貨業似乎前途無「亮」。