A press statement from Grey said: "It is inappropriate for us to offer any comment at this moment as discussion between Hwa Wei and Grey Group on the matter is still in progress. Grey Group is a minority shareholder. Our plan going forward will largely be based on the action and decision of the majority shareholder Hwa Wei.”
Owen Dougherty, a communications spokesperson for Grey in New York, added: “It looks like we will exit the joint venture but the details still have to be worked out. We have a small stake in the agency. Discussions with the owners about the future began less than two weeks ago.”
No one was available for comment at Hwa Wei Grey's Taipei office, and former managing director Shaw-hu Wang's email account is no longer active.
This lends credence to a report in local marcom title Brain Magazine, stating that staff learned of the closure after returning from the Chinese New Year holiday. Creative and account staff were told not to return to the office. The public announcement came much later on 31 March.
In its heyday, Hwa Wei Grey was one of Taiwan's most successful advertising agencies. But, like all of the island's agencies, suffered from a drop in adspend over the past decade.
Hwa Wei's decline accelerated in 2007 after losing key clients including prominent local dairy and food conglomerate Kuang Chuan, followed by Wrigley, Novartis and LG.
Sources outside of Grey say that most of the group's key clients in Taiwan were already lost to competitors. Hwa Wei formerly worked with a local media agency believed to be called MediaPlan which has since been acquired by GroupM.
Owen Dougherty, a communications spokesperson for Grey in New York, added: “It looks like we will exit the joint venture but the details still have to be worked out. We have a small stake in the agency. Discussions with the owners about the future began less than two weeks ago.”
No one was available for comment at Hwa Wei Grey's Taipei office, and former managing director Shaw-hu Wang's email account is no longer active.
This lends credence to a report in local marcom title Brain Magazine, stating that staff learned of the closure after returning from the Chinese New Year holiday. Creative and account staff were told not to return to the office. The public announcement came much later on 31 March.
In its heyday, Hwa Wei Grey was one of Taiwan's most successful advertising agencies. But, like all of the island's agencies, suffered from a drop in adspend over the past decade.
Hwa Wei's decline accelerated in 2007 after losing key clients including prominent local dairy and food conglomerate Kuang Chuan, followed by Wrigley, Novartis and LG.
Sources outside of Grey say that most of the group's key clients in Taiwan were already lost to competitors. Hwa Wei formerly worked with a local media agency believed to be called MediaPlan which has since been acquired by GroupM.
