After CP Group purchased Tesco’s Asia business, including Tesco stores in Thailand, for USD10.6 billion last year, it was simply a matter of when the hypermarket chain would be renamed. Nearly a year later, we finally have an answer, although it was hardly worth the wait.
The conglomerate rolled out Lotus’s, the new brand for the Tesco Lotus hypermarket centers along with the Lotus’s Go Fresh brand which will replace Tesco Lotus Express mini-marts. Only a few stores have been rebranded in Bangkok with all other stores in Thailand expected to convert over the coming months.
Of course, some marketing doofus was around to try to explain why a company with more money than most people can imagine made such a cheap attempt at a rebrand.
“CP name change to Lotus’s is because Tesco store has been largely called “Lotus” for a long time. With the store’s new pastel tone, it is likely to help attract new young modern lifestyle consumers,” Khun Chalit Limpanavech, an advisor to the Marketing Association of Thailand, told the Bangkok Post.
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What is Lotus’s?
By all accounts, Lotus’s will simply be Tesco Lotus with some new colors and a bunch of marketing speak that translates into very little change. A spokesman trotted out some usually cliches about innovation and what not, but none of these were gamechagers.
As for the Lotus’s name, that extra “S” at the end stands for smart. However, the apostrophe implies that it is possessing something. Something like Lowe’s Hardware or Denny’s Restaurant. While they go by Lowe’s or Denny’s, there is a reason for the apostrophe. Lotus’s is just dumbass marketing speak. It’s not Lotus’s smart or Lotus’s store.
Oh wait, the apostrophe isn’t an apostrophe at all. It is supposed to be a drop pin that signifies that Lotus’s is a one-store destination for customers, according to the same company spokesman. So, the real name is actually Lotus + pin drop symbol + Smart.
Interesting Analysis
“The name doesn’t make sense. And it looks like a place the Easter Bunny would shop at.”
Those are the words of my wife who happens to be Thai. It is also very astute analysis. Look, CP Group has been wildly successful for decades now, but the rebrand of Tesco Lotus is a massive fail. How is it possible for them to spend more than USD10 billion on these assets and then hand over the naming and logo process to some interns?
