Jim Thompson, a global lifestyle brand from Thailand, has opened a stunning lifestyle store in Bangkok. For the first time, the store showcases the brand’s stylish blend of on-trend fashion for men and women, homewares, and contemporary Thai cuisine in a single mall location.
The 550sqm duplex in the newly opened One Bangkok shopping centre, near the Thai capital’s embassy and expat hub of Silom-Sathorn, is home to the new store that telegraphs the fast-rising company’s global aspirations as a lifestyle brand, entering a new era of refinery and haute couture – without the price tag.
Founded by James H.W. Thompson in 1951 as The Thai Silk Company, Jim Thompson was a visionary and the driving force behind the current-day emergence of Thailand’s silk industry. For decades, his apparel was popular with tourists. Elephant motifs – the quintessential Thai icon – featured prominently on shirts, ties and other apparel.
While the brand has been trying to expand beyond that somewhat tourist-driven design element, elephants still have their place in the range, whether as tiny motifs in a silk tie or subtly embroidered into polo shirts or t-shirts.
“Some tourists still like the elephants because it is distinctly Thai. So we still keep the elephant, but we have made it more sophisticated, like this,” Panjarat Limpinon, chief commercial officer at Jim Thompson, told Inside Retail.
Jim Thompson is now entering a new era, epitomised by its new brand positioning slogan, ‘Beyond Silk,’ that symbolises an evolution beyond its world-renowned Thai silk heritage to embrace a more comprehensive lifestyle approach that covers all business units – fashion, home furnishings, and hospitality – and its embrace of linen and cotton fabrics, and silk blends.
“This new store aligns with Jim Thompson’s mission to offer our customers an immersive shopping experience that combines a wide range of products, dining options, and cultural experiences,” said Frank Cancelloni, Group CEO at Jim Thompson.
“This opening marks another milestone in our transformation journey to become Asia’s first global lifestyle brand.”
Limpinon told Inside Retail during an exclusive tour that the One Bangkok lifestyle store is the first location in a shopping mall to combine food, fashion and homewares. The three were also linked in the upgraded Jim Thompson Heritage Quarter, where the Jim Thompson House is located, which officially opened last year. The Quarter features a retail store, cafe, bar, restaurant, and event space alongside Thompson’s home on the banks of the Khlong Saen Saep (canal).
“We are offering the immersive Jim Thompson experience of retail and dining culture.”
At the Jim Thompson Lifestyle Store at One Bangkok, that experience starts downstairs with a towering entranceway and dazzling displays of men’s and womenswear, including scarves.
The designs of Jim Thompson’s famous silk scarves are so intricate and striking that customers often buy them to be framed and mounted on walls as art. The One Bangkok store features framed scarves to inspire visitors.
Upstairs, accessed by a stylish glass lift or stairs, the homewares include cushions, throws, dining tableware, and a limited-edition range of outdoor chairs created in partnership with Thai furniture brand Kitt.Ta.Khon.
Next to that is a mini-exhibition with a vintage silk loom at its heart, highlighting the brand’s rich heritage. Interactive tablet screens show the process of producing silk at Jim Thompson’s farm several hours outside the capital and share the story – and the mystery – of Jim Thompson, the man.
“You can see the story from the beginning of our brand history to today,” explains Jirames Suriwongsewarakul, senior manager of retail operations for Jim Thompson.
“While the Heritage Quarter site focuses on the story of the man, the One Bangkok display focuses more on how Jim Thompson built a company around using Thai silk to make fine garments and furnishings.”
There is also a display showing some high-profile projects worldwide in which architects and designers have specified Jim Thompson fabrics and furnishings for upmarket hotels, resorts, restaurants, and luxury retail spaces.
A colour wall created from multiple spools of coloured silk arranged like a rainbow serves as a backdrop for selfies and Instagram photos.
Food is a growing focus for Jim Thompson, which considers hospitality a key brand element.
“When we decided to become a global lifestyle brand, we wanted to combine everything: food, art, culture and the retail experience, all in the same place,” explains Limpinon. “That started in the Jim Thompson Heritage House, and now we will roll out this idea to other locations.”
In preparation for the evolution, Jim Thompson closed down restaurants it operated in Singapore and Japan around the Covid era as it worked to reform the brand in Thailand and create a new offer that could then be rolled out in selected Thai locations before being exported to other markets in the future.
Jim’s Terrace, the One Bangkok restaurant and bar, serves crafted beverages and delicious Thai foods to be enjoyed with panoramic views over One Bangkok’s green landscape and The Wireless House One Bangkok – Thailand’s first telegraph station built in 1914, revived with a modern contemporary exhibition.
In design terms, Jim Thompson has been careful to retain what it considers its iconic style. The colours, elements such as the cushion covers, the wooden floors (upstairs) and the framed hero portrait of the brand’s late founder all lend a familiarity to any customer who has experienced the company’s multi-storey Bangkok flagship store or the newer showcase within the heritage compound.
In time, products will be created exclusively for the store, along with collaborations with other One Bangkok tenants and partners that are already in planning.