MR DIY opens 500th store in Thailand, eyes 1,000 in 4 years
Thailand has reported the fastest growth in terms of number of stores among 10 countries where it operates, MR DIY’s (Thailand) chief executive officer, Andy Chin, said.
Home improvement retailers MR DIY celebrated the grand opening of their 500th branch in Thailand at Lotus’s Bangkapi branch in Bangkok on Thursday.
Chin said that the number of stores in Thailand has grown by 40 per cent year on year, as the company had opened 120 stores last year.
He said that there are 500 stores in Thailand, accounting for 25 per cent of 2,000 total stores. He added that the Thai market is significant as the country’s population is twice that of Malaysia.
Chin said the company has set a target to open 150 branches in 2022 and has already opened 90 stores this year. He expected to create around 2,000 job opportunities from 150 new branches.
He expected that there would be 50 million customers through all stores in Thailand this year.
He speculated the growth rate would be the same for the next 2-3 years. He also expected to reach 1,000 stores in Thailand within four years.
Chin also discussed the store’s business tactics. He mentioned that all stores are directly owned by the company, not franchisees, to maintain consistent products and services.
He said that the company‘s three key points are store distribution strategy, product variety, and low price.
He revealed that the store’s customers spend only around 220 to 250 baht on average but they come frequently. They might come to buy one thing but end up buying several products.
Chin said that the company also faced economic challenges but the company is in a better position to overcome them than others. He said the company has a large presence with 2,000 stores and suppliers prefer to deal with larger retailers.
Moreover, its business model is attractive to customers as the company offers low-priced products of good quality.
Chin revealed that the store is using data management and technology to deal with inventory problems at 500 stores in Thailand.
MR DIY started as a consumer hardware store in Kuala Lumpur in July 2005. It expanded into Thailand in 2016. It is offering 18,000 products in 10 categories through 500 stores in Thailand.
MR DIY is celebrating its grand opening activities from July 21 to 24 at Lotus’s Bangkapi and offers nationwide promotion until July 31. Visit its website https://www.mrdiy.com/th/ for more information.
