middle class versus middle class
i've shied away from american products here my entire time in taipei. i've noticed that american products here cost as much as they do in America - sometimes even more.
an iced coffee at Dunkin Donuts is near ~$100 TWD (~$3USD). given that the raw materials, the labor, and leases are cheaper, what gives? local competitors are selling very similar products at about 1/3 of the price (you can get an iced coffee for $30-40 TWD), and i'd be very surprised if all the additional cost of doing business overseas ate up all of that difference. being able to pick up an entire meal for the price of a cup of coffee at starbucks, gives me a new perspective on the dispairites here in taipei.
the shopping mall at taipei 101 is a menageries of labels and brand names that are rarely found in such density in the US, except maybe at an outlet mall. the basement level is always the most crowded, mainly because that is where the food court is. the higher up you go, the more exclusive the retail shops get, and the sparser the people are. yet, with hardly any retail spaces up for lease, these shops must get a fair share of business. who are these people?
in the US, the malls are geared at the wide range of people we consider the middle class - often a shopping mall will have a combination of an old navy, the gap, or a banana republic within its confines. but with the average college graduate making only around $1000 USD per month here in Taipei, the "middle class" of taipei can only afford the simplest of choices at the large Taipei malls, save for a few select items a few times a year. very few people here own an ipod - the symbol of american disposable income. however, there is enough money floating around here for a mall that very few people would go to in America.
where is it coming from?