Central to revamp department stores

Central Department Store Group, which operates the properties, says the Bt350 million budget is aimed at “transforming its department stores in order to deliver a unique shopping experience for its customers”.
Yuwadee Chirathivat, chief executive of Central Department Store Group, said the group was continuously looking at ways to “conduct the transformation in many areas of its retail business, including product development, offline and online sales and services, store decoration with more lifestyle elements, and marketing activities, which would be facilitated with customer-centric strategy and digital technology”.
“We would like Central Department Stores to be the places where people spend their daily life, and be part of the society,” she said.
“With our ‘Centrality’ concept, we want to be the venues where individual customers will be gather together not for only shopping, but also learn new things and gain insights into other cultures.”
Yuwadee said that the group had formed strong bonds with Thai society over the past 70 years. “And this support from customers has helped drive Central to become Thailand’s biggest department store chain and one that is steadily expanding domestically and internationally in line with its Centrality strategy,” she said.
 “We aims to establish store branches in the heart of communities where people spend time together.
“Central Department Store Group has seen successful business in the Asean region and has reached out into Europe, where it owns and operating many luxury shopping malls in key cities such as Milan, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Berlin, Munich and Rome.
“Today, Central Department Store is not just a national or regional retailer brand, but it’s the pride of all Thais, a Thai-owned business that has grown into a world-class luxury department store operator, with la Rinascente in Milan having been named the best department store in the world in 2016.” 
Yuwadee said that Central Department Store Group expected Bt130 billion in total sales this year, up more than 10 per cent over last year. About 60 per cent of the group’s revenue would be from the domestic market, with the rest coming generated by its luxury department stores overseas. The sales contribution from overseas stores has increased significantly from 20 per cent and 25 per cent, respectively, in 2012 and 2014, she said.
“In Thailand, we will focus on sustainable growth and gradual expansion of our department store outlets, especially in potential locations across the country,” she said.
“ Under the plan, we would like to open between three to four new Robinson department stores every year. However, the opening of Central department stores will be at slower pace of one to two stores annually,” she said, adding that the number of branded retail outlets operated by Central Department Store Group was expected to increase from 294 stores currently to about 309 stores by the end of this year.
Central Department Store Group operates 10 retail brands in its portfolio, in Thailand and abroad. They are Central Department Store, Central Embassy, Zen, Robinson Department Store, Supersports, la Rinascente, Illum, Kadewe, Oberpollinger, and Alsterhaus.
The group has also introduced the website www. AuxVillesDuMonde.com (AVDM) and a mobile application of the same name to connect its customers to all of the company’s department stores worldwide.
Using these platforms, customers are able to browse for tourist information in the cities where the stores are located as well as being able to book hotel rooms and restaurants, buy goods that are not available in Thailand and collect points on their The 1 Card.
Yuwadee said that as part of the group's omni-channel strategy, it aimed to boost online sales from less than 1 per cent today to between 5 per cent and 10 per cent over the next three to five years.
She said that Central Department Store Group would open a CentralPlaza Nakhon Ratchasima retail complex in November, a renovated CentralPlaza Rama III in December, and a new Central Phuket in March next year.