Retail giant Central Pattana (CPN) will open three mixed-use developments over the next 15 months as it looks to expand its footprint in Thailand. The mall player announced Ayutthaya, Sri Racha and Chanthaburi as the locations for its new projects.
While known for its iconic Bangkok malls, such as Central Embassy and Central World, it is the centers outside of the Thai capital that are proving to be more lucrative. According to CPN’s Executive Vice-President of Marketing, Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, Ayutthaya was selected because residents there are younger with high purchasing power who shop more frequently.
“There are gaps in the retail market waiting to be filled in these three cities. Every Central Pattana project is a milestone that enhances the prosperity and potential of those cities or provinces,” Chanavat Uahwatanasakul, CPN Chief Development Officer, was quoted as saying by the Bangkok Post.
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Central Ayutthaya is slated to open in September and will have a 180-room hotel along with 400 residential units in addition to the mall. Central Si Racha will open in October of this year while Central Chanthaburi is scheduled to welcome shoppers in the second quarter of 2022. The latter two projects will also have residential and hotel components.
According to CPN, the retail firm will invest THB 13.9 billion (USD 445.8 million) on the three developments. Central is set to have 36 malls in Thailand after all three projects open. Naturally, the company launching malls before the economy has recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic has raised a few eyebrows, but CPN is confident in its decision.
“We continue to invest because a crisis always plants a seed of investment opportunity. CPN invests for the long term and expects the retail market will recover next year, following mass vaccination this year. Foreign tourists are likely to return to Thailand in the fourth quarter,” Wallaya Chirathivat, CPN Deputy Chief Executive, said.
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Interesting Analysis
Central Pattana’s thinking here is very sound. Malls outside of Bangkok, and especially in places where there is little competition, are doing well. People have money to spend here, and the infrastructure isn’t really in place for e-commerce to be viable just yet. Even if it was, malls are still novelties in in the provinces which make them viable long term.
