Where's the Breeze?

The Breeze Center opened its smaller sister last Friday, and that evening I visited the center. The Breeze 2 is, as I said in my previous posting, the new incarnation of the ATT located on the north side of Chunghsiao East Road Section 4. But if it hadn’t been for the big pink posters showing Taiwan top model Lin Chi-ling on one side of the mall, I wouldn’t have noticed the change in ownership. The stores at the Breeze 2 seem to me to be precisely the same stores that were present at the old ATT: Tommy Hilfiger, Timberland, Roots. Inside, I noticed the outlet by Germany’s Odbo, with its typical black bags.
In the past, the main sales period in Taipei was in autumn, with the famous so-called Anniversary Sales in September-October. But this year, June is already climbing to the top of the sales extravaganzas with the Mid-Year Sales or Semi-Annual Sales, depending on the glossy brochure you’re reading.
Apart from straightforward sales with articles at reduced price, there are also the goodies you get if you spend a certain minimum amount with a certain credit card, and the system where you get points for what you buy which you can then exchange later for presents. The Sunrise Department Store is sticking to a traditional lottery with airline tickets and cellular phones as prizes.
The Breeze Center and the Idee already started early with their mid-year sales, the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi chain starts this coming Friday, and the Far Eastern Group – including the Sogo – kicks off its sales next week.
For those of you who can't bear the heat of a Taiwanese summer, Christian Dior already presented its Autumn/Winter highlights to a select public this week.
And tomorrow Monday, I’ll be attending my first class in Eslite’s Summer of Fashion. A report on that later this week, before I leave on a long overseas trip.