The acceptance and adaptation of a foreign retail format: The case of the convenience store in Taiwan in the 1980s and 1990s

Taiwan has the highest convenience store density in the world (one store per 2800 persons; ACNielsen, 2005), and the convenience store is one of the major formats in the general merchandise retail industry in Taiwan. Since the late 1980s, the convenience store has developed and gradually replaced the traditional corner shops in Taiwan, and now it is ubiquitous. However, there is minimal research in English that discusses the development of this format in Taiwan. Based on literature review and in-depth interviews with convenience store retailers, this study aims to introduce the concept of the convenience store in Taiwan, consider the special Taiwanese features of this generic format, and explain the format's expansion and development from the 1970s up to the early 21st century.