New wholesale food arm to serve as Central Retail’s engine of growth

CRC CEO Yol Phokasub said at a press conference on Thursday that Go Wholesale is a wholesale business that targets business operators, hotels, restaurants, and small retailers across the country.

Go Wholesale is run by Central Food Wholesale under the CRC umbrella.

"Go Wholesale would not only be a new choice for business operators and suppliers, but it would also mark a significant movement in Thailand's wholesale industry," he said.

CRC made the decision to launch Go Wholesale after recognising the potential of Thailand's food wholesale industry, where entrepreneurs and business customers are looking for more options for sourcing food ingredients and products, Yol said.

"Go Wholesale would serve as CRC's new growth engine, positioning its food business as a comprehensive solution to meet the needs of all customer segments. Through new and unrivalled experiences for business operators, the unit would be one of the key drivers for CRC's food business and would serve as a platform of trust for stakeholders," Yol said.

He explained that CRC would leverage its synergy with Central Group, which includes 110 department stores across provinces in Thailand and Vietnam, 6,750 restaurants and 93 hotels.

Meanwhile, Go Wholesale would benefit from the Central Group loyalty platform, which has access to over 28 million customers, as well as a high-calibre management team with over 20 years of experience in the wholesale industry, Yol said.

"We have complete confidence in Go Wholesale's ability to propel CRC to new heights," he said.

Central Food Wholesale’s group CEO Suchada Ithijarukul said the first Go Wholesale store would open on October 27 in the Srinakarin area of Bangkok.

Under the current plan, the group will open four Go Wholesale stores this year — the first in Bangkok, the second in Chiang Mai in November, and the next two in Pattaya and Chonburi in December.

She aimed to open 40-50 Go Wholesale stores nationwide by 2028, with a 20-billion-baht investment. She expected Go Wholesale to generate 60-70 billion baht in revenue over the next five years.

Insisting that Go Wholesale was not founded to compete with other wholesale modern trade companies, she pointed out that Go Wholesale's uniqueness lay in its ability to provide customised solutions that entrepreneurs in the food industry are looking for.

"Our business philosophy is the same as that of the Central Group — we will never do business that competes with or dethrones our entrepreneur customers," she said.

She explained that Go Wholesale would not only provide sourcing services for all quality food material, but also offer other diverse dimensions, such as skill development, knowledge sharing, the ability for small businesses to work more efficiently to create sustainable inclusive growth, and waste management.

“Go Wholesale’s short-term goal is building brand love and be a top choice of targeted customer segments, which would especially enable sustainable growth for small businesses. We also plan to expand branches nationwide by 2028," she noted.

Central Food Wholesale CEO Thailand Ricardo Boarotto pointed out that the first Go Wholesale branch covers a space of over 7,000 square metres, with the store layout designed to serve the needs of HoReCa customers, restaurants, and retailers.

Along with new and diverse services, Go Wholesale would support its customers' businesses with new experiences and over 20,000 products, particularly through its fresh food offerings, which would include fresh seafood, premium meats, and product customisation services, Boarotto said.

Go Wholesale also offers a variety of payment options, a seamless customer experience, and member benefits such as Central Group's The 1 Card loyalty platform, he said, adding that the entire business for Go Wholesale is membership-based.

Boarotto revealed that the adviser services in Go Wholesale would collaborate with Central Group partners to assist entrepreneurs' customers in resolving any pain points.

"Although Go Wholesale is new, we are fully committed to driving long-term growth in line with the company's mission of being ‘Central to Life’,” Yol said. “We prioritise assisting suppliers, producers, SMEs [small- and medium-sized enterprises], and farmers, as well as provide new product distribution channels," he added.

Yol is confident that Go Wholesale will serve as a springboard for the CRC to expand further and complete its business ecosystem. He expected the new business to contribute around 25% of CRC's total revenue.

Meanwhile, Go Wholesale will be another new business model for CRC to expand into new markets such as Vietnam.

According to the company's annual report, Central Retail generated revenue of 236.245 billion baht in 2022, a net profit of 7.605 billion baht, with market capitalisation of 278.934 billion baht as of December 30, 2022.