Who do so many cellphone cover/case shops exist?

I don’t know if this is specific to Taipei/Taiwan.

Everywhere I go shopping there are at least 20 shops selling mobile cases and covers.

Just why do so many of them exist? Are they really profitable?

Yes the profit margin is massive. Maybe 100s or 1000s of %?
As to how many sales they can make, no idea.

Supply and demand, I suppose.

I say that with some observations:

  1. They never have a cover for MY phone.
  2. I’ve heard that many TW youth change their mobiles at least twice a year. More like once every two years for me.
  3. I think they offer other services, such as attaching a protective clear cover to prevent scratches.
  4. As @Brianjones mentioned, the mark-up on cheap plastic is quite substantial.

That being said, I don’t know how they make a profit, since it’s not like they’re selling stinky tofu or anything else people will line up for. Furthermore, there are so bloody many of the same shops. I’ve often wondered the same thing about those stores filled with fully illuminated “claw machine” and coin-operated knickknack dispensing machines, open 24 hours a day with a huge number of lights on and nary a customer to be seen. There are three within a mile of my home. One used to be the 鹽酥雞 (fried chicken store that served curry flavored chicken) that I loved.

True this. I went to factories few times in Guangzhou and they will offer an iPhone case for US$0.05-20 for the cheap plastic ones. Couple dollars max for the high-quality designer ones if you buy in bulk.

Then chargers and stuff at the night markets are low budget cheap quality and fake stuff.

As many other ‘stores’, money laundering!

This isn’t only specific to Taiwan. I live in London and it’s the same here. They usually provide repair services too.

Same reason there are so many temples. But cellphone shops aren’t tax exempt and easier to start, so it’s for the lower level group.

The claw machine places that seem neglected tend to fill up in the wee hours when hoodlums and hopeless addicts crawl out of their dens of misery.