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Tag: bangkok

  • Bangkok’s Stadium One puts focus on sports retail

    Bangkok’s Stadium One puts focus on sports retail

    Downtown Bangkok’s first sports community mall, Stadium One, is planned to open in November.

    Developed by Sportsociety Co, the retail project is at the Banthat Thong intersection opposite Tesco Lotus hypermarket and near National Stadium, Chulalongkorn University and several shopping centres.

    Stadium One will cover about 27,000sqm, of which 20,000sqm will house 124 shops selling sports products and equipment. The five-storey building will also include a sports clinic, 5000sqm for indoor sporting activities, and 2000sqm for events.

    Sportsociety’s four partners – Thanomkiat Summavuthichai, Natapak Rekijtisirikul, Sittichai Srisanguansakul and Pongwat Tiyapornchai – have budgeted THB200 million (US$6 million) to rent the project site from Chulalongkorn University for seven years.

    Executive director Thanomkiat says the number of people concerned with their health has been continually rising. The market size for the sporting business is estimated to be worth THB160 billion, with growth of 8 to 10 per cent a year.

    “Thailand’s sporting market is in an upside trend,” Thanomkiat says. “The market size for sporting goods is still lower than Singapore and Malaysia by several times. With this growth opportunity, sporting goods and fitness chains will be parading to the Thai market soon.”

    Leading the way will be a Swedish fitness brand that will offer around-the-clock service in a 1000sqm space at Stadium One in November, says Sportsociety director Natapak.

    He says about 60 per cent of space at Stadium One is already booked and about 90 per cent  is expected to be taken by opening time.

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  • New trucks spur business use of Lalamove

    New trucks spur business use of Lalamove

    Hong Kong on-demand delivery app Lalamove has gained more business clients since introducing its fleet of high-top pick-up trucks.

    Its vehicles are now standardised and branded, while the drivers wear Lalamove uniforms, introduced last month. The trucks are closed to offer maximum protection to the goods in transit, and the drivers undergo regular training.

    In Thailand, one of its most active markets, Lalamove has 150 active trucks, with a pool of 500 drivers in Bangkok alone. It dropped its pricing in May for door-to-door delivery services in Bangkok, Chanthaburi Chonburi, Nakhon Rachasima and Rayong.

    Lalamove Thailand MD Chanon Klahan says there is a growing demand for logistics, specifically last-mile delivery, attracting the corporate market. “We are expanding to meet the expectations of this market. Our drivers accept jobs within 45 minutes, and we also provide business customers with insurance.”

    There are also flexible packages and delivery options that appeal to businesses seeking a more customised approach.

    Business delivery demands include a range of goods, such as IT equipment, office furniture, medical supplies, vehicle spare parts, industrial goods, gardening tools and equipment.

    Lalamove also works in Hong Kong, Manila, Singapore, Taipei and Vietnam, as well as in 43 cities in China. It employs more than 50,000 drivers.

    Thailand downloads of the Lalamove app have surpassed 240,000.

  • Hitachi forms IoT alliance with Thailand’s EEC

    Hitachi forms IoT alliance with Thailand’s EEC

    Hitachi has teamed up with Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) Office to apply digital technologies including IoT to establish an innovative environment to promote development of the corridor.

    Under the agreement, the EEC Office and Hitachi will be working collectively using advanced digital technologies, including IoT related technologies, within the Eastern Economic Corridor region to establish a ‘cutting-edge’ IoT center.

    The EEC Office and Hitachi will collaborate on EEC development in various areas, such as implementing necessary study, introducing advanced science and technology.

    EEC Office will also provide relevant information and possible support in creating bases for the use of advanced digital technologies. With the EEC Office’s cooperation, Hitachi will promote the use of IoT technologies – for example, through undertaking data analytics using AI based on big data obtained from plants, office buildings, and other sources.

    It will also utilize the solution core and customer cases for Lumada, Hitachi’s IoT platform, and roll out digital solutions that contribute to the resolution of various issues in Thailand and the ASEAN region as a whole.
    Thailand is currently promoting measures aimed at establishing an advanced economic base and achieving further economic development.  In 2015, Thailand 4.0 was presented as a long-term vision of an ideal economic society, and the EEC development plan was laid out as one key measure in realizing this vision.

    Based on the EEC development plan, total investments on a scale of 1.5 trillion baht ($45.34 billion) are expected in the public and private sectors combined, and in addition to expanding airports and high-speed railways, the country will aim to attract and foster growth in 10 targeted industries, including robotics, digital technologies, and next-generation automotive.

    Meanwhile, as part of its 2018 Mid-term Management Plan, Hitachi will be promoting growth in the global market through the rollout of the Social Innovation Business, which creates new value through collaborative creation with customers by combining operational technology, IT, and products.

    Hitachi’s largest scale of business in the ASEAN market is in Thailand, where it is rolling out business in a broad range of fields, including the railways, elevators/escalators, industrial products, and information and telecommunications systems businesses.

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  • AirAsia to operate flights to Bangkok

    AirAsia to operate flights to Bangkok

    AirAsia will operate direct flights to Bangkok from Visakhapatnam either from October or from November this year. The airline submitted a letter to Airport Director of Visakhapatnam International Airport requesting for time slots.

    Tour and Travel Operators Association of Andhra (TTOA) has been following up continuously with the airline operator starting with the visit of High Commissioner of Thailand Pisan Manawat and his team and also the top decision makers of Thai Smile to Visakhapatnam on August 31, 2013, according to TTOA chairman O. Naresh Kumar and its president K. Vijay Mohan. In the absence of a direct flight, people from Vizag region are going to Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata to catch flights to Bangkok and other cities in Thailand.

    The advantages of having direct flights from Vizag to Thailand over other nearest major cities is that the distance between these two destinations is only 1,905 km as against 2,400 km from Hyderabad to Bangkok and 2,254 km from Chennai to Bangkok. This will save a lot of time and money to the travellers from this region, according to the TTOA representatives. Pharmaceutical product manufacturers and other traders exporting their goods to Japan from Vizag can now route them through Bangkok, which is 268 km less than sending them through Hyderabad.

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  • Central Group launches luxury cross-border shopping

    Central Group launches luxury cross-border shopping

    Conglomerate Central Group has taken a step toward an omnichannel strategy by launching a cross-border e-commerce luxury brand experience it claims is a world first.

    It has introduced access to its luxury-brand websites through messaging app WhatsApp as part of its vision of integrating online and offline shopping channels, says Central Group chairman/CEO Tos Chirathivat.

    “This move is calculated to serve the lifestyles of Central Group’s new customers by providing seamless integration of online and offline shopping channels,” he says. “That is the vision of the group moving forward.”

    Central Group is putting together a network of global luxury department stores across eight cities, including locations in Italy, Spain, Denmark and Germany, as well as Bangkok’s Central Chidlom and Central Embassy.

    It offers a digital magazine and e-newsletter through the website AuxVillesDuMonde.com, provides information fashion, food and culture in the eight cities. The website supports eight languages and also has a mobile app for Android and iOS.

    Users can add luxury department stores in WhatsApp, check product availability through live chat and make purchases through online payment options. Users can then pick up products at the store or have them shipped to their home.

    Central Department Store Group CEO Yuwadee Chirathivat says the company has spent €500,000 (THB19.8 million/US$595,000) on the website.

    “Cross-border shopping at nine stores in eight global cities is a new retail phenomenon,” she says. “Through the WhatsApp live-chat option, Thai shoppers will be able to order products from Europe and have them shipped in two to five days.”

    Shoppers have to pay import tax depending on the country of origin of their purchases.

    Central Department Store Group expects revenue from overseas stores to climb by 40 per cent this year, with revenue from abroad representing more than 20 per cent of Central Department Store’s THB130 billion (US$3.9 billion) revenue.

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  • Honestbee flies high with new logistics services honestbee GOODSHIP

    Honestbee flies high with new logistics services honestbee GOODSHIP

    Honestbee, Asia’s leading and trusted online concierge and delivery service has today officially announced the launch of honestbee GOODSHIP, their logistics service in Thailand.

    Honestbee GOODSHIP has been operating parcel deliveries in Bangkok for a couple of months before this official announcement, catering to B2B and B2C deliveries. The focus is on last-mile same-day or next-day e-commerce delivery with a move towards on-demand delivery for end-consumers within an hour to follow soon.

    Country Head of honestbee GOODSHIP, Theresa Mathawaphan has a background in retail, technology management and business start-up and was part of the international team who developed the country’s first tech start-up incubator at the Thailand Science Park. She is confident that honestbee GOODSHIP will be a good partner for many businesses in the city.

    “Logistics can let companies down and therefore being able to call on the reliable services of a third-party, and one that understands the need for a fast, trustworthy delivery is crucial, particularly in a city where, whether online or offline, goods need to move quickly. Customer tracking and a real-time fleet tracking system are essential elements of this service too.”

    Thailand’s Electronic Transactions Development Agency has forecasted that the total e-commerce market in Thailand this year will be worth Bt2.52 trillion (USD74 billion).

    With daily deliveries of honestbee GOODSHIP now surpassing the grocery and restaurant deliveries combined, the target is to deliver in excess of 50,000 orders per day over the next 12 months.

    As well as Thailand, honestbee GOODSHIP has a successful presence in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Japan.  More countries are to be rolled out to provide the excellent services to its partners and non-partners.

    Currently, honestbee runs two B2C delivery services in Bangkok; groceries handpicked by shoppers and delivered fresh to customers’ doors in one hour as well as restaurant food deliveries with customers ordering online and on-demand delivery in less than 60 minutes.

    Bounthay Khammanyvong, honestbee Country General Manager, Thailand has experience in building up successful companies to create billion-dollar businesses and working with cutting edge e-commerce. He believes that honestbee GOODSHIP is a natural progression for honestbee and will really take flight in Thailand.

    “E-commerce in Thailand is going through an incredible boom period, and at the heart of that success is logistics, both for businesses which need products delivered to certain branches or retail outlets and for consumers who order online. With its own boutique-style e-commerce platform, honestbee has relevant experience of business and consumer delivery demands in order to create the right quality of customizable services and branding customers can trust.”

    The Thai e-commerce market is not only growing but consumer experience online is growing as is the digital ecosystem, Internet penetration and social commerce channels which contributes to the majority of all deliveries.

    Currently honestbee GOODSHIP’s fleet consists of 80% delivery motorbikes or ‘Rider-Bees’ and 20% delivery trucks. There are also services rolling out soon that would help marry the online and offline world.

    Some of the current honestbee GOODSHIP clients include Nu Skin, SE-ED Books, aCommerce, Aramex, Siam Outlet, City-Link and OfficeMate.

     

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  • NY Portuguese Short Film Festival’17 in Thailand” to be held on Sep 16-17

    NY Portuguese Short Film Festival’17 in Thailand” to be held on Sep 16-17

    The Camões Portuguese Cultural Centre in Bangkok and the Embassy of Portugal in Thailand, in partnership with Arte Institute in New York and Siam Piwat present the “NY Portuguese Short Film Festival ’17” in Thailand for the second year between September 16-17, at Royal Paragon Hall, the 5th floor, Siam Paragon

    The NY Portuguese Short Film Festival (NYPSFF) was the first Portuguese film festival in NYC and the US. The Festival shows the work of the new generation of young Portuguese directors. By annually organizing the Festival in several countries, the Arte Institute intends to expand and gather new audiences for the contemporary Portuguese cinema worldwide.

    This year, the Festival showcases 11 shorts films by Portugal’s most promising filmmakers. The short films were selected and submitted to a distinguished jury composed of American, Portuguese and Brazilian film experts, as Rúben Alves (Director), Márcio Miranda Perez (São Paulo International Short Festival) and Don Cato (Director).

    In this regard, the Camões Portuguese Cultural Centre and the Embassy of Portugal in Thailand in partnership with Arte Institute in New York and Siam Piwat organize the “NY Portuguese Short Film Festival’17” in Thailand aiming to support and disseminate the works of Portuguese short film directors to international audiences. 11 short films with English subtitles will be showcased between September 16-17, at Royal Paragon Hall, the 5th floor, Siam Paragon.

    His Excellency Francisco Vaz Patto, Ambassador of Portugal to Thailand will preside over the opening ceremony on Saturday, September 16, 2017 at 6.00 p.m. onwards.

    Don’t miss it!! The return of the NY Portuguese Short Film Festival to Thailand presents a unique blend of culture and new perspectives on the mind and spirit, transmitting the life of the Portuguese through short films, which this year’s highlights the short film Carga, by Luís Campos, the awarded film at this year’s festival in New York.

    The “NY Portuguese Short Film Festival’17” in Thailand is divided into two series of 54 minutes each.

    First series include CARGA, by director Luís Campos, THE WOOD CRAVER OR THE WORLD’S MOST IMPROVED WORKSHOP, by director João Vasco, THE FEAR INSTALLATIO, by director Ricardo Leite, YOU, by director Hugo Pinto and ONCE UPON A THREAD, guest short film by director Patrícia Figueiredo.

    The second series showcases A ROOM IN LISBON, by director Francisco Carvalho, ALVANÉU, by director André C. Santos, MANUEL, by director Bruno Carnide, THE AMAZING ORDINARY MAN, by director Paulo Portugal, RIBBON TOOTH, by director Sara Gouveia and A LONG DAY, guest short film, by director Sérgio Graciano.

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  • Platinum Group sees gold in Chinese tourism

    Platinum Group sees gold in Chinese tourism

    Mall company The Platinum Group is banking on Chinese tourism to support a retail shopping centre it plans to open next year.

    With a wholesale fashion mall in Bangkok that attracts about 15 million people annually, the group is investing about THB6 billion (US$180 million) in the project, says president Chanchai Phansopha.

    “We want to transform the company from an operator of a wholesale fashion mall into a commercial property developer,” he says. The Bangkok project is part of a wider, THB11-billion investment plan that will also add hotel and office space over five years.

    Thailand last year had nearly 9 million Chinese visitors who spent an above-average $176 a head daily.

    Chanchai says he foresees double-digit growth in sales and profit, with the new mall, The Market, expected to boost revenue at least 30 per cent in 2019.

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  • Central Pattana forms JV with Tesco

    Central Pattana forms JV with Tesco

    Retail property developer Central Pattana (CPN) has set up a JV with British retail giant Tesco to co-develop property in the Thai market.

    The  Central Group subsidiary has told the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) that the new company, Synergistic Property Development, will support business expansion. It has registered capital of THB100,000 (US$3000) with ordinary share capital of 1000 shares at a par value of THB100 each.

    CPN holds a 50 per cent stake in the JV company while the other 50 per cent belongs to Ek-Chai Distribution System, which runs Tesco Lotus hypermarkets in Thailand.

    Details of the business model to be developed under the new company are under study, says CPN executive VP for marketing Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana.

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  • ShopBack Thailand launches Cashback Day

    ShopBack Thailand launches Cashback Day

    ShopBack Thailand, the cashback platform that rewards consumers for shopping online, has declared next Saturday as the nation’s first Cashback Day.

    Five days of savings kick off today with sneak-preview deals between 9pm and midnight. Until Friday, shoppers are offered up to 49 per cent cashback from such platforms as Aliexpress, Apple Store, Expedia, Lazada, Sephora and Uber. Then all day Saturday shoppers can receive up to 99 per cent cashback on purchases, plus discounts and promotional codes from travel, food, lifestyle and entertainment businesses.

    “To thank our customers for the overwhelming response we’ve received since ShopBack’s launch in Thailand in July, this inaugural Cashback Day will bring them more savings than usual” says ShopBack co-founder/country head Kawin Prachanukul.

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  • Aland introduces K-pop style to Bangkok

    Aland introduces K-pop style to Bangkok

    Korean fashion retailer Aland, known by millennials in its homeland for its styles influenced by K-pop, has opened a store in Bangkok.

    It has a network of shops across Seoul and also in Hong Kong. Like these, its new Siam Center outpost offers young and emerging Korean fashion and lifestyle brands.

    Run as a franchise by Thai retail and development company Siam Piwat, which owns Siam Center as well as other malls in the capital. The store’s interior design palette is dominated by stainless steel, creating a minimalist environment geared toward millennial shoppers.

    The store carries 80 Korean brands in different categories including fashion, beauty, accessories and lifestyle. It will also partner regularly with artists to launch collaborative collections, such as the 3.3 Field Trip x MMMG co-designed eco bags and pouches by Soo-yeol Bae.

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  • Thailand’s Jim Thompson plans global expansion

    Thailand’s Jim Thompson plans global expansion

    A Jim Thompson flagship store will open in Bangkok’s Siam Paragon tomorrow as a preliminary step in a five-year global expansion plan.

    Similar flagship stores have been announced for Hong Kong and Singapore, and other major international retail destinations.

    The luxury brand’s first flagship, it is next to Bombyx, one of Jim Thompson’s five restaurants, and integrates touchscreens to give customers access to the catalogue as well as animated representations of its designs.

    These adaptations reflect the brand’s commitment to going digital (just two years ago it did not have a website or sell products online). It plans to launch it first online store soon in Thailand, to be followed by online stores abroad following the establishment of physical retail locations.

    Jim Thompson’s expansion plans have been presented to the board of the owner, The Thai Silk Co, by its first chief executive Gerald Mazzalovo, who has been seeking new locations and partners taking charge two years ago. He was formerly chief executive of fashion labels Bally, Clergerie and Loewe, and group president of Salvatore Ferragamo.

    The Thai Silk Co already exhibits its Jim Thompson, No.9, Fox Linton and Studio B home-furnishing products in five countries but for now offers its clothing and personal goods only in Bangkok, Malaysia and Singapore.

    Mazzalovo says Bangkok is an obvious choice for the first flagship store, given that the brand’s history and identity are so closely connected to the Thai capital. Within the next five years the company will set up similar flagship locations in London, Paris, New York, Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai – in that order, says Mazzalovo.

    His idea is that expansion to Europe first will help it build its reputation as a global brand before
    moving into the Chinese market.

    He says China is one of the most profitable opportunities for the brand, but the market there is much more likely to welcome the brand when it has established a name in Europe, rather than only in Southeast Asia.

    Global ambition

    Mazzalovo believes the company has all the makings of an international fashion house.
    “We have the ambition of going global because we have a lot of the prerequisites needed, including more than 70 years of heritage, know-how and historical anecdotes,” he says.

    The company’s values of authenticity and mystery are still anchored in its founder Jim Thompson, a Princeton and University of Pennsylvania graduate who arrived in Thailand in 1946 after working in Southeast Asia for a US wartime intelligence agency. He disappeared mysteriously in Malaysia in 1967.

    Meanwhile, the company opened a fabric showroom this year in Bangkok and will open a high-end contemporary restaurant in the next few months.

    Mazzalovo says the firm is highly profitable despite competing against brands like Chanel, Ferragamo, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Prada. He considers the company to be closest to Hermes in terms of product and brand management.

    In this first year with the company he recruited 15 designers and assistants from Korea, Italy, France, Finland and Thailand. The company employs 3000 people and has nearly 40 boutiques around Thailand.

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  • TOT wants telcos to be made to rent its pipes

    TOT wants telcos to be made to rent its pipes

    Thai state-owned operator TOT is calling on the government to use its legislative powers to force telecoms and broadcasting companies to move their overhead cables in Bangkok into TOT’s underground pipes.

    The operator has argued that the move will accelerate the government’s target of removing all overhead power and telephone cables in three provinces to 2019, compared to the 2021 currently scheduled.

    The move to remove overhead cables in Bangkok, Samut Prakan and Nonthaburi is being managed by five state agencies – the Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA), TOT, National Broadcast and Telecommunication Commission, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and the Royal Thai Police.

    Under the plan, MEA will be responsible for replacing all overhead power lines with underground lines, while TOT will be responsible for providing an underground duct system and grouping all existing telecoms and broadcast cables into these ducts.

    But TOT has argued that it lacks the authority to compel operators to relocate their cables, and that only the government can make an order.

    TOT wants the operator to be legally forced to rent the company’s pipes in the Bangkok. The company currently charges telecoms companies a monthly fee of 18,000 baht ($543) per km to access this underground infrastructure.

    TOT currently owns around 2,000km of the 5,000km worth of underground pipes in the Bangkok metropolitan area, and is set to inherit a further 1,500km next month after True Corporation’s existing fixed line phone build-operate-transfer concession with the state-owned company expires.

    The report states that TOT is ready to expand its pipe capacity to cover all 5,000km if it is assigned the installation of underground cables as part of the project.

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  • Thai retailers arrested for counterfeit footwear

    Thai retailers arrested for counterfeit footwear

    Thai authorities have arrested two men and seized 160,000 pairs of counterfeit footwear from six retail outlets.

    The footwear has a market value of about THB20 million (US$601,000), says Department of Special Investigation (DSI) deputy-chief Suriya Singhakamol.

    The DSI obtained warrants from the Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court to search four locations in Samphanthawong and one in Rat Burana in Bangkok, plus another in Nakhon Pathom province.

    Suriya says 160,000 pairs of sneakers and other footwear were found falsely labelled as Adidas, Converse and Nike, as well as other brands.

    Two Chinese shop owners, Hongbin Lin and Lin Sow, have been charged with possession of products falsely labelled with registered trademarks, and with smuggling those products into Thailand in breach of trademark and customs laws.

    The men had set up companies to import counterfeit products, and traded them around the clock, says Suriya.

    The DSI has been talking with retail space owners over the past month, asking for their co-operation in not renting space to traders selling counterfeit products.

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  • TrueMoney adds support for Apple digital purchases

    TrueMoney adds support for Apple digital purchases

    Thailand’s True Corp has introduced the ability to pay for purchases over Apple’s digital platforms using its TrueMoney digital payment service.

    All TrueMoney customers are now able to purchase items through the App Store, Apple Music or iTunes directly from their TrueMoney accounts, the company announced.

    Customers with new or existing Apple IDs will be able to select TrueMoney is a payment method in their account settings for the three digital stores from their Apple devices or PCs in the case of iTunes.

    The payment option will allow for one-tap purchasing from Apple devices including iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches and Apple TVs.

    Last week, Vietnam’s Vinaphone became the last of the nation’s major mobile operators to introduce carrier billing for Google Play over the Fortumo payments platform.

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