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Tag: bangkok

  • Index Living Mall unveils new store concept in Bangkok

    Index Living Mall unveils new store concept in Bangkok

    Index Living Mall has unveiled its next retail concept in Bangkok’s Ekkamai district, with a focus on apartment furnishings, fresh graphics and new store layout.

    Called ‘ Fresh-up Ekkamai, lift-up your life’, the concept introduces new zones and features a variety of new-to-market homewares and furniture items.

    The “Condo Collection” zone presents furniture specially designed for condominiums, while the “Younique” zone offers customized furniture. Other zones include a Sofa & Recliner Exhibition, Outdoor life and Storage Solutions & Home Organisation.

    Index Living Mall MD, Kridchanok Patamasatayasonthi, said the store’s renovation was undertaken because Ekkamai is becoming a popular residential neighborhood, with multiple condominium units rented to both locals and foreigners.

    The new concept store will suit shoppers with tight budgets who are seeking functional items for compact living spaces.

    Index Living Mall’s Ekkamai store also offers customers free consultations with in-house specialists.

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  • Siam Piwat & Simon JV opens in Bangkok in Siam Premium Outlets

    Siam Piwat & Simon JV opens in Bangkok in Siam Premium Outlets

    Siam Piwat and partner Simon Property Group will open Siam Premium Outlets in Bangkok next week.

    Located near the Suvarnabhumi International Airport, the first Premium Outlets-branded shopping center in Thailand will open on June 19. The center will feature more than 200 brands, from global luxury labels including Burberry, Balenciaga, Coach, Hugo Boss, and Montblanc, to local brands, including EveandBoy and Jim Thompson.

    The joint venture, Siam Piwat Simon, said 60 brands will feature exclusively at Siam Premium Outlets Bangkok.

    The shopping center will also house a 1300sqm Nike premium store, locally inspired art, and a 1200sqm food hall concept by Food Republic.

    “Siam Premium Outlets Bangkok will be an economic driver for the Thai economy; the center will create more than 1000 career opportunities,” said Michael Tang, MD of Siam Piwat Simon.

    “The experience of the center extends beyond shopping with amenities and design features that make the center an exciting community space and a relaxing shopping destination.”

    According to Tang, the shopping center will team up with other key tourist attractions to “enhance the appeal of the area as a major local and tourist destination”.

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  • Giant Nike Thailand opens flagship store in Bangkok

    Giant Nike Thailand opens flagship store in Bangkok

    A giant Nike Thailand flagship store has opened in Bangkok’s Siam Center, with a footprint spanning more than 9000sqft.

    Designed to showcase Nike’s product innovation across multiple categories, the store also offers the brand’s first “Nike By You” in-store customization service in Thailand.

    Operated by Southeast Asian luxury and lifestyle retail specialist Valiram, the new Nike Thailand store offers a blend of physical and digital retail experiences for shoppers

    “Nike Bangkok at Siam Center exists to offer everyone the ability to make sport a daily habit, ensuring they are inspired and committed to staying active,” said director of Nike stores Southeast Asia & India Tarundeep Singh.

    “The top Nike offerings have been carefully curated for this community, and the store has been conceptualized with multiple touchpoints for a fully immersive and seamless Nike experience that is truly personalized and unique.”

    Services such as head-to-toe apparel fitting and footwear trialing are offered at the store to provide consumers with opportunities to deepen their connection with the brand and select products suited to their needs. Shoppers can also book one-on-one sessions with running experts and styling specialists.

    Valiram executive director Ashvin Valiram describes the new Nike Thailand store as a “truly unique and immersive experience that pushes the boundaries of retail, empowering our consumers to engage with Nike products in new ways”.

    “Creating a world-class retail environment is a Valiram hallmark and the opening of Nike Bangkok at Siam Center in partnership with Nike reaffirms that”.

  • Thai AirAsia chief proposes longer weekends

    Thai AirAsia chief proposes longer weekends

    Thai AirAsia’s executive chairman is proposing to the government a policy allowing one day working from home per week to avoid public congestion and boost the domestic tourism market to reach its target of 100 million trips this year.

    As more people get used to working from home, the government should consider allowing civil servants and private companies to work remotely one day a week, said Tassapon Bijleveld, executive chairman of SET-listed Asia Aviation (AAV) and the largest shareholder of Thai AirAsia.

    He said that when people are not bound to an office routine for Fridays, there’s a chance they’ll consider taking more trips for three-day weekends.

    The Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Finance Ministry are working on a tourism stimulus plan to make activities more affordable in the second half of the year.

    Mr Tassapon said he discussed the idea with the state agency, arguing that it would help efforts to push domestic tourism once the coronavirus crisis ends.

    “The domestic market still has a chance to take the lead in restoring the national economy, but it will depend on the scale of efforts from the government and cooperation from the private sector,” he said.

    He also encouraged the Interior Ministry and governors of each province to scrap the 14-day quarantine for inter-provincial travelers, as well as make clear whether a health certificate is needed. Some provinces have not clarified the rules, and airlines cannot plan routes to those destinations.

    Mr Tassapon said that while the aviation industry in Thailand is at a critical stage, the government can help it by offering local travelers a tax deduction on expenses for domestic airfares, which the previous scheme didn’t cover.

    According to the Tourism and Sports Ministry, local travelers took 24.7 million trips during the first four months of this year, down 50.3% year-on-year, generating 190 billion baht for the economy, down 48.3%.

    Mr Tassapon said Thailand’s tourism landscape after the global health crisis will lean towards quality tourists because more requirements for each trip will make people want to stay longer and spend more in Thailand instead of coming 3-4 times a year as they did before the pandemic.

    Moreover, Thailand should preserve the natural resources that have been restored during the outbreak.

    To achieve those goals, attractions are necessary for certain areas such as the northeastern provinces of Thailand.

    In the past, most tourists went to southern Thailand, which boasts plenty of famous resort islands, resulting in exploitation of nature and unbalanced tourism revenue.

    The Board of Investment should invite a major theme park operator such as Disney or Universal Studios to open a full-scale park in destinations that lack natural attractions, Mr Tassapon said.

    He noted that almost every province in the Northeast has an airport already. New investment could create many jobs for local communities.

  • Central Retail takes full control of FamilyMart Thailand

    Central Retail takes full control of FamilyMart Thailand

    Central Retail has taken full control of the FamilyMart Thailand business, a precursor to expanding the network in the country.  Currently, FamilyMart has just 1000 convenience stores, largely centered in the capital city of Bangkok. That’s a fraction of the 14,000-odd stores under CP All-owned rival 7-Eleven.

    “The acquisition of all the shares of FamilyMart is in line with Central Retail’s strategy to strengthen our Central Retail & Service Platform, reaffirming our leading position in the retail business, as well as to increase our potential in offering full-scale services through customer-centric omnichannel,” said Central Retail CEO Yol Phokasub.

    He said the company plans to continue expanding the FamilyMart Thailand store network but did not provide any further details.

    Central Retail has run the FamilyMart Thailand business in partnership with Japan FamilyMart Co since 2012, through a company called SFM Holdings. Central held 50.65 percent of the shares in SFM and its Robinsons department store division 0.35 percent. Yesterday, Central bought the remaining 49 percent from the Japanese company.

    Phokasub says the deal strengthens the power of Central’s food and convenience-store businesses at a time when Thailand’s food market is thriving.

    “Over the past eight years of operating FamilyMart convenience stores, CRC has always been committed to improving the business model and expanding stores to offer convenience to consumers through products and services, with unique selling points to meet the needs of consumers in all areas. It has become a lifestyle & food destination with ready-to-eat meals, beverages, Arigato fresh coffee, and open spaces for everyone to come mix and mingle 24 hours a day,” he said.

    Under Central Retail’s leadership, the FamilyMart Thailand concept has expanded into other areas of convenience, including installing 24/7 coin-operated washing machines in some stores.

    During the Covid-19 crisis the chain launched vending machines both inside and outside stores, serving ready-to-eat meals, beverages, and snacks.

    The company also recently partnered with delivery-service Grab to allow customers to purchase products from FamilyMart remotely

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  • Royal Enfield To Launch New Motorcycle Every Quarter

    Royal Enfield To Launch New Motorcycle Every Quarter

    Royal Enfield is going on the product offensive with a string of new products planned for the next three to four years, the company’s CEO Vinod Dasari revealed in online interaction in Freewheeling with SVP. According to Dasari, Royal Enfield’s product development team has been hard at work over the last few years to significantly accelerate Royal Enfield’s product plan. With new platforms, and models and variants under each platform, Royal Enfield intends to launch a new motorcycle every quarter for the next 3-4 years, Dasari revealed.

    The Royal Enfield Meteor 350 will employ the new 350 cc platform, with a new engine and new double-cradle frame

    “One of the things that we’ve done over the last 3-4 years is to significantly accelerate new product plans. We will remain a mid-sized company, that’s somewhere between 250 and 750 cc. In this range, there are five levels that we’re looking at. The first is a platform. We have a new platform coming up. We would have launched it by now, we will launch it some time, as soon as the lockdown is over. So we have the platforms, and under the platforms, we have the models, within each model we have variants, within each variant we have several color trims and graphics, and then we have the limited editions.

    “So five levels, we’re so excited that, to a point, every quarter, for the next three to four years, every quarter, we have a new model. It’s not just changing the colors or something, it will be almost a new model, or a variant, coming for the next three to four years,” Dasari said.

    The Royal Enfield Hunter is expected to be the second new model based on the same 350 cc platform

    Royal Enfield is already getting ready to launch an all-new 350 cc platform, which will debut in June 2020 with the new Royal Enfield Meteor 350. The new platform will employ a new 350 cc engine with significant performance and refinement than the existing UCE 350 engine, Dasari said, adding that the new platform will be a modular infrastructure, with the same engine, same gearbox and same frame, but will support several new models and variants.

    The new 350 cc engine is likely to replace Royal Enfield’s traditional pushrod architecture with overhead cams, and also use counterbalancers. While the CEO of Royal Enfield did not disclose any technical details about the new engine, we have reason to believe that it will be almost like a downsized version of the 650 cc parallel-twin engine, with a slick-shifting six-speed gearbox, and will be free-revving with smooth and refined performance. More details are expected when the new Meteor 350 is launched by the end of June 2020.

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  • The Coffee Academics releases Dalgona coffee

    The Coffee Academics releases Dalgona coffee

    Hong Kong specialty coffee chain The Coffee Academics has launched its own version of Dalgona coffee at its Thai flagship store in Bangkok.

    Dalgona coffee, which originated in South Korea, has become a viral craze on social media throughout Asia and sparked a leap in sales of instant coffee products which consumers use to make the beverage at home.

    Different from the original recipe – which uses only instant coffee, sugar and milk – The Coffee Academics has elevated the concept with house-blended espresso, oat milk and organic coconut sugar to create its own version.

    With Thai stores now reopened for dine-in service, guests can have the new coffee at The Coffee Academics’ stores or order it delivered via Wongnai or Lineman app.

    A Dalgona coffee costs THB240 (US$7.40) and will be available until June 30.

    We’ve reached out to The Coffee Academics in Hong Kong to see if there are plans to release the blend in other markets.

  • Chaos, privacy fears as Bangkok malls reopen doors

    Chaos, privacy fears as Bangkok malls reopen doors

    As Bangkok malls reopened in line with relaxed lockdown rules, Thais are being forced to download a tracking app to enter properties, sparking privacy concerns.

    Consumers rushed to return to shopping as usual from Sunday following two months of restricted movement, with most venues requiring the use of hand disinfectant and fask masks as a condition of entry as well as instituting temperature checks on all mall-goers. In some malls, consumers were photographed and registered before being allowed entry, and in other cases entry to individual stores was controlled by a QR code scanning system.

    Customers and retailers were asked to concede to restrictions on the number of shoppers allowed in retail spaces and an alcohol ban on in restaurants. Robots measuring customer temperatures were seen roving around some crowded food courts, as tables were divided by plastic and cardboard barriers to enforce social distancing.

    Disposable plastic gloves were provided to customers while shopping at some malls, with UV machines being used for the sanitation of shopping bags.

    “We are pleased to see Thailand’s success in handling this crisis which enables us to resume operations,” said The Mall Group CEO of The Emporium and Executive Committee Kriengsak Tantiphipop, “but, for us as for our clients, this comes with a strong sense of responsibility and a need to adapt to the new normal.”

    The nationwide mall reopening saw lengthy queues outside popular venues in Bangkok and in the provinces even before opening hours, with overcrowding forcing some businesses to temporarily close, overwhelmed by the number of shoppers. The Ikea store in Bang Na closed its doors as a means to control high shopper traffic, while Future Park Rangsit monitored consumer numbers based on scans of a QR code upon entry.

    Major mall operator Central Pattana reopened all 33 branches of its shopping centers nationwide under tight density control measures, limiting crowds to one person per five sqm. The owners of Bangkok malls reopened are continuing to offer rental discount rates to tenant stores over the next three to six months, with customer traffic in the early phase of the reopening expected to be just 25–40 percent of normal.

    According to a report in the Bangkok Post, some customers faced difficulties registering their details on an app designed to boost safety by reporting on store congestion. An average of 4635 people were using the app per minute. The app, named “Thai Chana” (“Thailand Wins”) is designed to be used by the Thai government to trace social contacts in case of a new outbreak of the coronavirus. The government will send messages via the app if a coronavirus case is discovered in a specific venue.

    One foreign consumer described the app to Inside Retail Asia as “shocking” reflecting widespread concern about the tracking feature of the app. However, government authorities rushed to assure consumers the app would only be used to identify people who potentially came into contact with a Covid-19 infected person if a patient was identified as having been in a store.

    Bangkok malls reopened following a slowing down of Thailand’s outbreak, with only three new cases announced on Sunday, and total cases just cresting 3000. The impact of the virus and subsequent lockdown is expected to see the Thai economy contract by more than six percent.

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  • Thai Vietjet offers THB9 promotional tickets for flights from August

    Thai Vietjet offers THB9 promotional tickets for flights from August

    Thai Vietjet is offering more than a million promotional tickets priced from only THB9 (approximately USD 28 cents) (*) for Thailand flights from August. Passengers can book the promotional tickets on Vietjet’s website from 27 April to 3 May 2020. Tickets are valid for travel between 1 August to 31 December 2020.

    The promotional tickets are applicable for all routes from Da Nang and Da Lat in Vietnam to Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi airport), and from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam to Udonthani. This also includes Thailand’s domestic routes from Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi airport) to Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phuket, Krabi, Udon Thani, from Phuket to Chiang Rai, and from Udon Thani to Chiang Rai.

    More detailed information about the flight schedules will be available on Vietjet’s official channels including Vietjet’s website, hotline (19001886), official Facebook page, ticket offices and official agents of Vietjet. Payment can be easily made with Visa/ MasterCard/ AMEX/ JCB/ KCP/UnionPay cards.

    Vietjet is currently offering Power Passes that allows its holders to take unlimited flights within Vietnam. The two Power Pass options include the Power Pass Sky6 priced at VND8,999,000 (approximately USD 382) (*) for unlimited domestic flights until the end of 30 September 2020, and the Power Pass Sky12 priced at VND16,999,000 (approximately USD 724) (*) for unlimited domestic flights until the end of 31 March 2021.

    To improve public health and prevent the spread of COVID-19, Vietjet conducts disease prevention, thorough health check procedures for all passengers and crew before all flights and follows all mandatory requirements such as the wearing face masks. All Vietjet flights are in alignment with all global standards and guidelines from the local authorities, the World Health Organization and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to ensure the health and safety for passengers, flight crew and the community.

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  • Central Pattana improves Covid-19 communication to reassure shoppers

    Central Pattana improves Covid-19 communication to reassure shoppers

    Thai shopping center operator Central Pattana is promoting new hygiene and preventive measures to reassure customers their centers are safe during the coronavirus pandemic.

    Central Pattana’s ‘Central’s Hygiene and Safety’ plan is designed to reassure customers that the highest standards of hygiene and safety are being observed in shopping centers should they need to visit for buying essential products.

    The new plan covers five key core ideas with more than 75 measures, including extra screening, social distancing, safety tracking, extra cleaning and a touchless experience.

    “Despite some uncertainty around the current Covid-19 situation, the company is deeply concerned and has been proactively pioneering a master plan … to implement in our shopping centers, stores and with employees to help curb the spread of the pandemic and to ensure everyone’s highest safety at our shopping centers,” said Central Pattana deputy CEO Wallaya Chirathivat.

    “In response to this ‘new normal’ of changing consumer behavior facing the pandemic, this master plan is open as a guideline for general use for the best interest of the nation to hereafter set a new retail and social norm.”

    Central Pattana’s properties include CentralWorld, CentralPlaza, CentralFestival, Central Phuket and Central Village malls.

    “Central Pattana has been fully cooperating with the government’s mandates as well as encouraging social distancing,” added Wallaya, “… in the midst of this uncertainty, the re-opening of our shopping centers will be strictly in compliance with government’s mandate.”

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  • Central Pattana launches one-click service linking tenants, consumers

    Central Pattana launches one-click service linking tenants, consumers

    Thailand’s Central Pattana has launched ‘One call x One-click’ service which allows its customers to shop remotely during social distancing.

    With ‘One call x One-click’ service, customers now can shop and order from more than 1200 stores and restaurants with a single one phone call or one click through Central’s Line account.

    “The current situation is indeed a challenge for our marketing team,” said Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, executive VP of marketing at CPN. “We need to appropriately and rapidly adjust our strategy to catch up and create new services for customers while trying to understand the situation and its impacts on consumer behavior and ensure the safety of customers.

    “At the same time, we need to help our partners maintain their businesses and facilitate them.”

    Other Central Pattana One call x One click services such as pick-up counters and drive-thru pick-up points are available at all of the company’s shopping centers throughout Thailand.

    CPN has partnered with fellow Central Group retail businesses, including Tops Supermarket, Robinson Department Store, B2S and SuperSports, to launch the drive-thru business model nationwide.

    Last week, Bangkok shopping-mall operator Siam Piwat introduced a similar initiative, allowing customers to make purchases via phone call or on OneSiam’s Line account.

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  • Thai grocery Loxley pivots to delivery

    Thai grocery Loxley pivots to delivery

    Thai grocery wholesaler Loxley is pivoting to delivery services as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

    Loxley’s distribution subsidiary LTC has set up an online grocery store for essential items during the country’s lockdown period, with some of the firm’s fleet of delivery trucks converted into mobile grocery stores.

    The mobile stores are retailing goods such as packed rice, cooking oil, fish sauce and roasted peas to consumers residing in crowded communities such as Klong Toey and Phra Khanong. Items are discounted at 15 to 20 percent below regular sales channels.

    LTC is a leading FMCG distributor within the territory, covering more than 30,000 wholesale, retail, modern trade and convenience stores nationwide, including hotels and restaurants. The firm has seen a 40-per-cent spike in sales over the past two months, predominantly caused by panic buying.

  • Strict Thai curfew forces stores to close cross nation

    Strict Thai curfew forces stores to close cross nation

    Thailand’s government has imposed an overnight curfew effective tonight that will force the closure of tens of thousands of convenience stores and street vendors.

    The curfew will run from 10pm to 4am. During that time all Thais and visitors to the country must remain indoors, with exceptions only for emergency services, medical workers and patients.

    Further exemptions include the transportation of goods, farm produce, medical supplies, fuel, parcels, goods destined for export or import, vehicles transporting people to quarantine sites, shift workers, and people traveling to or from airports.

    People who breach the curfew face up to two years in jail and/or a fine of up to Bt40,000 (US$1200).

    A majority of Thailand’s 7-Eleven stores, and rival chains, in urban areas traditionally trade 24 hours a day serving shift workers and tourists, but as of tonight, they will be forced to close.

    The move follows a ban on restaurants and bars serving customers on-site and a total, indefinite liquor retailing ban in one northern province.

    Thailand’s usually vibrant tourist industry has been decimated by the coronavirus epidemic with foreigners now all but banned from entering the nation and lockdowns and social-distancing measures being enforced nationwide.

    In addition to the curfew, public transport will be suspended across Thailand from 9.30pm to 4am, from tonight onwards.

    As of Thursday, Thailand had reported 1875 cases or coronavirus and 15 fatalities.

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  • Central Food Hall employs robot in coronavirus fight

    Central Food Hall employs robot in coronavirus fight

    Thai supermarket Central Food Hall has begun using UV-C Disinfection Robots to sterilize stores in a move to combat coronavirus transmission.

    The firm is the first supermarket in the region to implement disinfection robots, certified by the WHO and CDC to sanitize areas around 360 degrees to destroy more than 99.99 percent of all pathogens within seconds.

    The robot is currently being deployed at Central Food Hall Central Chidlom while the store is closed. Plans are afoot to introduce robots at other Tops Market and Central Food Hall branches in the interests of employee and customer safety.

    UV-C light is considered to be without harmful side effects on the food and products in the store. The technology has been in use for more than three years in Thai hospitals, factories, companies, hotels, schools and other places that need effective disinfection.

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  • Don Don Donki opens second store in Thailand

    Don Don Donki opens second store in Thailand

    Amidst the Covid-19 outbreak, Japanese discount-variety store Don Don Donki has continued ahead with the opening of its latest branch in Bangkok, Thailand as part of its international expansion.

    The Japanese retailer, known at home as Don Quixote, entered Thailand in February last year, opening a Donki Mall in the expatriate haven of Thonglor.

    The new store, located at The Market mall, will retail more than 130,000 items including fresh groceries and daily necessities.

    The new branch also features its private-label Jonetsu Kakaku with an in-store dining space. However, in the short term, the branch will provide only take-away services for cooked food due to the coronavirus pandemic and government limits on cafe operations. To further adjust to the current situation, the retailer will limit the number of store entrances and exits and will control the flow of customers into the store. The temperatures of staff and customers will be checked at numerous touchpoints around the store and baskets and cashier counters will be sterilized frequently.

    Chairman Shimanuki Yosuke says the company had imported large stocks of products in advance of the opening, and before the coronavirus pandemic broke out.

    Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, the daily customer count of the company’s stores there tripled during recent weeks as locals stocked up on imported goods, unable to travel abroad.

    There are widespread rumors that Don Don Donki is about to open its fifth outlet in the territory, at Central. The news leaked out during rental leasing negotiations for nearby properties.

    Local media is reporting that the retailer has its eye on two-storey premises at 100 Queen’s Road Central, spanning 17,800sqft. Earlier reports had the company opening more stores at Tseung Kwan O and Causeway Bay, to complement its flagships in Tsim Tsa Tsui and Tsuen Wan.

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