Hi there, and welcome to another episode of News Bites.

I'm Nancy Sun.

And I'm Jacob Ingram.

Today's stories…

Making money from convenience, saving newspaper kiosks, and the power of popcorn.

Let's check it out.

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台灣超商營業額破4千億大關

Taiwan's Convenience Store Craze

Convenience stores are a part of daily life in Taiwan.

We go there to pay bills, buy tickets, pick up packages…

Not to mention the usual necessities (必需品) and 24-hour services.

台灣有很多便利商店門市，民生用品種類多、而且24小時全年無休又服務多元化，讓它成為民眾生活中重要一部分。

The Ministry of Economic Affairs (經濟部) says as of December 2023, there were 13,706 convenience stores in Taiwan.

That's an average of one store for every 1,703 people.

Taiwan’s density (密度) of convenience stores exceeded (超越) Japan in 2016.

That made us the country with the second-highest density of convenience stores in the world.

South Korea is highest on the list, with 57,617 convenience stores.

That’s one store for every 897 people.

We see lots of convenience stores in Taiwan.

Sometimes, you can even see 3 stores on the same intersection (交叉路口).

And all those stores together means a lot of money.

The government says convenience stores in Taiwan made a total of $ 412.6 billion NT last year.

The stores have two peak sale periods.

The first one is in January, which is considered hot pot season.

Some people skip the supermarket, and buy their ingredients at convenience stores.

They think convenience stores are closer and open 24/7.

The second peak season is from July to August, during summer.

During the hot weather, drinks and ice-cream sales go through the roof (飆升).

And many convenience store chains promote membership.

When members buy something, they can accumulate (累積) points.

They can exchange these points for things at the store.

The stores will also roll out limited co-branded (聯名) products from time to time.

That includes famous cartoon characters, bags or even model cars.

All these promotions help increase sales.

Another source of revenue is from selling coffee.

Many adults like to get a cup of coffee before school or work.

Major convenience store chains sell a lot of coffee

In fact, if you stack up all the coffee sold by three major convenience store chains in 2020…

They would be higher than 100,000 Taipei 101s!

That's a lot of coffee! No wonder, it’s called black gold.

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義大利標誌性報亭沒落

Italy’s Disappearing Newspaper Kiosks

Have you ever seen a news kiosk?

It’s a stall that sells newspapers, books and magazines.

30 years ago, they could be seen all over Italy.

No street or plaza (廣場) was complete without a news kiosk.

For many locals, it was a place to socialize (社交、互動).

When you picked up a newspaper, you could also chat with neighbors, or talk about politics, soccer and the weather.

But over the years, newspaper sales have been going down.

And that meant the number of kiosks went down too.

In 2004, kiosks sold about 9.5 million newspapers every day.

But by January this year, kiosks only sold around 950,000 every day.

So over the past 20 years, two thirds of Italy's kiosks have closed down.

Italy's government wants to keep kiosks around.

It is offering incentives (獎勵) up to $2,000 euros for kiosks to stay open.

But kiosk owners say that money can't solve problems in the long term.

One owner says "Everything is online, no one reads papers and magazines anymore.”

Some owners say the only way to keep kiosks open is to diversify (多樣化).

And that is exactly what many are doing right now.

為了生存，許多報攤開始販賣紀念品給遊客。

Many kiosks now sell fridge magnets, baseball caps, T-shirts, football cards and more.

The future of newspaper kiosks is uncertain.

But there are still people out there working to protect their culture.

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So, in today's News Bites…

The government says convenience stores in Taiwan made a total of $ 412.6 billion NT last year.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs says as of December 2023, there were 13,706 convenience stores in Taiwan.

In fact, Taiwan is the country with the second-highest density of convenience stores in the world.

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And,

The number of newspaper kiosks in Italy is going down.

Italy's government wants to keep kiosks around, and it is offering incentives up to $2,000 euros for kiosks to stay open.

But kiosk owners say that money can't solve problems in the long term.

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趣味小點

Tasty Tidbit

Today's Tasty Tidbit is all about the power of popcorn.

Have you ever wondered how popcorn pops? It all has to do with water and heat!

Inside a kernel of popcorn, there's a tiny bit of water. When things get hot, the water turns to steam and quickly expands. This creates more and more pressure inside the kernel until…

POP!

The kernel explodes, turning into fluffy popcorn!

If you have a fun fact, a joke, or interesting news you'd like to share with us, record your message and send us your Tasty Tidbit to [email protected], and you might hear it at the end of an episode!

We'll see you next time for an exciting new episode of News Bites!