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Tag: central world

  • Tagi Breaks International Barriers with First Retail Store in Bangkok’s CentralWorld

    Tagi Breaks International Barriers with First Retail Store in Bangkok’s CentralWorld

    Chinese lifestyle brand Tagi has embarked on its first international venture with the launch of a physical retail outlet at CentralWorld in Bangkok. Positioned on the second tier of the mall’s Eden Zone, this store presents a broad selection of the Shanghai-centric brand’s accessory collection to the Thai consumer market. This includes their signature bulky phone cases and puffer laptop bags, along with an assortment of other lifestyle products.

    Tagi, an acronym for ‘Timely access of gripping imagination’, was established in 2019 in Shanghai. The brand builds everyday accessories that incorporate an element of fun into their design. Tagi’s product lines are recognized for their vivid color contrasts, checkered motifs, and natural shapes, transforming functional items into statement fashion pieces.

    This brand has steadily grown in popularity, especially among Generation Z and young millennial consumers in China. This is largely credited to Tagi’s distinct visual branding and its effective use of social media platforms.

    The opening of the store in Bangkok denotes the beginning of Tagi’s global growth strategy. This strategic move also offers Thai customers direct access to the brand’s collections, thereby eliminating the need for cross-border pre-orders or shipping procedures.

    In addition to this, Tagi opened a temporary pop-up store at Changi Airport earlier this year.

    Questions & Answers

    What is Tagi known for?

    Tagi is known for its playful and colorful designs of everyday accessories, including phone cases and laptop bags. They incorporate bold color blocking, checkered patterns, and organic silhouettes into their designs, transforming functional items into fashion pieces.

    Who is Tagi’s primary consumer base?

    Tagi mainly targets Generation Z and young millennial consumers. Its distinctive visual identity and effective use of social media have helped it gain popularity among these demographics.

    What is the significance of Tagi’s store opening in Bangkok?

    The Bangkok store marks the first step in Tagi’s international expansion, giving Thai shoppers direct access to its collections. This eliminates the need for cross-border pre-orders or shipping, making it easier for customers to get their hands on Tagi products.

  • Central group Thailand expanding property portfolio plan

    Central group Thailand expanding property portfolio plan

    Thailand’s Central Group plans to invest more than THB200 billion (US$6.3 billion) over the next five years on expanding its retail and hotel properties in Thailand and abroad.

    It is especially targeting Vietnam, where it expects its retail business to grow by four times over the period. The group aims for total revenue to reach THB397.3 billion this year, up 14 per cent from last year.

    CEO Tos Chirathivat says the group is studying designs and concepts for two mixed-use commercial projects in Bangkok. A site on Rama IV Road will be developed under a strategic partnership with Dusit Thani and a site in Ploenchit Road will be undertaken in partnership with Hongkong Land. The design process for the projects will take about two years to be fully completed. The mixed-use projects will require investment of about THB25 billion each.

    Tos says Central Group is committed to maintaining its investment at between THB30 billion and THB40 billion every year for the expansion of its retail and hotel properties in Thailand and potential markets abroad, especially in Vietnam and Europe.

    The group will this year invest THB47.5 billion in business expansion both at home and overseas, which is 27.8 per cent more than last year. This excludes the possible acquisition of e-economy businesses.

    Tos says the group is focusing on initiating online platforms so it can transform into a tech company.

    Main focus

    For overseas expansion, however, Vietnam is the group’s main focus. He says Central Group has grown there by an average of 340 per cent over the past five years. It is the largest foreign retailer in the country, with five core business units: 31 malls (Big C), 59 food stores (Big C, Lanchi Mart), 49 fashion stores (Delala, Marks & Spencer, Robins, Supersports), 79 stores for construction materials, home decoration and electrical appliances (including B2S, PowerMall and Nguyen Kim), and three online platforms (B2S.com.vn, NguyenKim.yn, Robins.vn).ins

    “Our penetration in Vietnam is now more than 217 stores with more than 700,000sqm in combined retail space in 37 provinces. By 2022, we expect to have more than 753 stores, and will occupy 2.5 million square metres in 57 provinces in Vietnam,” says Tos.

    The sales contribution from Vietnam would increase significantly from 13 per cent now to about 20 per cent over that period, he says. The company has 17,000-plus employees in Vietnam, serving more than 175,000 customers a day.

    In Thailand, he says the group will officially open its Tops Plaza in Phayao Province this quarter, followed by the relaunch of its CentralWorld in Bangkok in the second quarter. The group will also open the Robinson Lifestyle complex at Amata Chon Buri, Tops Plaza in Sing Buri, Central Phuket 2 and the Triphum theme park in Phuket.

    Other openings include residences and suites in Qatar, as well as Tops Plaza Amphur Phon, Khon Kaen and Pattalung, Zen Pathong in Phuket, Robinson Lifestyle in Chaiyaphum, and I-City Mall, the group’s first overseas mall, in Malaysia.

    An extra 459 stores will be opened in Thailand and Vietnam this year.

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  • Cole Haan Thailand opened Bangkok flagship

    Cole Haan Thailand opened Bangkok flagship

    Continuing its international expansion with its Southeast Asian partner Star360, based in Singapore, footwear brand Cole Haan Thailand has unveiled a flagship at CentralWorld in Bangkok.

    Drawing inspiration from a home, the store comprises a series of rooms that showcase its lifestyle products and allows for more footwear and accessories to be displayed than is available in other other locations in Thailand’s capital.

    Over the past three years the US brand has established itself in more than 40 markets, including the Asia Pacific.

    Its Bangkok opening comes as the brand is ramping up its marketing with its Extraordinary Women, Extraordinary Stories campaign featuring Christy Turlington Burns and Karlie Kloss, photographed by Cass Bird.

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  • Godiva to Open the First Shop in Bangkok

    Godiva to Open the First Shop in Bangkok

    Months after popular ice-cream brand Ben&Jerry opened their first shop in Bangkok, looks like we will be able to continue to binge on new, sweet treats at Godiva.

    Godiva, the Belgian luxury chocolate store, announced it will launch its first shop in Bangkok at Groove, in CentralWorld.

    Selling an assortment of premium chocolates, biscuits and frappé drinks. Let’s hope they stock their famous chocolate-covered strawberries as well. Godiva has long been one of the premium edible souvenirs that Thai people buy for each other when traveling abroad.

    The opening date has not yet been confirmed.

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  • Central Group to buy Zalora’s businesses in Thailand and Vietnam

    Central Group to buy Zalora’s businesses in Thailand and Vietnam

    Central Group is set to buy Zalora’s businesses in Thailand and Vietnam, according to reports.

    Zalora is a fashion-focused e-commerce site.

    Central Group’s assets, which include multiple shopping malls and national department store chains, are worth close to $10 billion and it employs some 70,000 people.

    The deal to buy the country businesses from Zalora will cost Central Group around $10 million each, reported TechCrunch.

    Sources close to Zalora suggest that the company is selling the businesses in an effort to streamline its costs and move towards becoming profitable.

    Even though Zalora was only started four years ago, the company claims 10 million people have downloaded its mobile apps and the company makes 1.4 million transactions per year across 10 countries in Asia-Pacific.

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  • Apple’s iBeacon on trial at Central World

    Apple’s iBeacon on trial at Central World

    Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, executive vice president of marketing, said yesterday that while urbanisation has driven the retail industry in recent years with the growth of shopping malls in the provinces, the new retail landscape is being reshaped by the Millennials and Generation Z shoppers.

    Millennials are people aged about 21-30 and Gen Z are 15-20. Although these two groups represent only 10-20 per cent of shoppers, they are leading the voices in social media and influencing purchases and consumption.

    “Retailers must give importance to these new-generation shoppers, who will be the game-changers of the retail industry and general businesses within five years,” he said.

    To fulfil the needs of these shoppers, CPN, which is aiming to become a leader in the regional retail industry, is creating a seamless experience, focusing on customisation and becoming a social enterprise.

    iBeacon enables tenants to send tailored messages to shoppers who have loaded the CentralWorld app on their smartphones.

    CPN is also talking with a software company to mine Big Data from its The 1Card customer relationship management programme, which holds mountains of data on 8 million-9 million members.

    The Millenniums and Gen Z shoppers have already shaken up the fashion world, which has launched more frequent new collections and “limited editions”.

    To address the tastes of these groups who get bored fast, CPN will have to create more “wows” and “happenings”, launch concept stores and speed up store renovations from every eight to nine years in the past to every four to five years now.

    CPN has increased its digital marketing budget to 10 per cent of its Bt700 million marketing budget from just 3 per cent in the past.

    Marketing staff have to have digital literacy. Store managers must know not only on how to run their physical branches but also how to engage and converse with their shoppers online.

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