Carrefour has major expansion plans
Luc Dayot, right, managing director of Carrefour Thailand, and other executives at the launch of the new-look Rama IV branch in Bangkok.
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Carrefour, the French retail chain, is looking for local joint venture partners as part of a Bt3-billion expansion plan to increase its number of hypermarkets in the Kingdom.
Luc Dayot, managing director of Carrefour Thailand, said: "We are open to any local retailers that are interested in expanding their hypermarket stores in the Kingdom. "We might spend more than Bt3 billion if we find the right business opportunities." Carrefour yesterday launched its new-look hypermarket on Rama IV Road in Bangkok. About Bt800 million was spent on a fivefold increase to the size of the shopping mall area from its previous 2,500 square metres. The new outlet has a more cosmopolitan design, which is intended to reflect the store's diverse mix of local and foreign customers. "We have applied the best practices from Carrefour stores all over the world, including layouts and displays from Argentina and Indonesia, and the 'white' concept from South Korea to increase brightness," said Fabrice Le Boulenger, the store's manager. He said the new branch is expected to climb up the company's nationwide revenue rank from No 9 last year to No 3 this year and No 1 next year. "We could increase sales by 18 per cent to Bt1.6 billion this year," said Boulenger. Dayot said that Carrefour Thailand was looking to open smaller hypermarket stores with retail spaces of between 4,000 sqm and 6,000 sqm, particularly upcountry. The smaller format would comply with local retail zoning regulations in the provinces, which prohibit the opening of any large-scale complexes. "We plan to open three or four smaller complexes this year in Chon Buri, Phuket and Chiang Mai," said Dayot, adding the smaller outlets would take about six months to build, compared to between eight and 12 months for a conventional outlet. "The new smaller stores will serve communities which have fewer than 50,000 households. Our hypermarkets serve communities of not less than 150,000," said Dayot. He said the investment required for a smaller outlet is about Bt300 million compared to Bt1 billion for a hypermarket.
Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn The Nation
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