Naruemol Amornratvitaya, deputy managing director of the 20-year-old mall, said the shopping centre was open as usual. The mall and owners of many fashion outlets there need to change their marketing plans to cope with the sluggish atmosphere.

"The recent bomb blasts have affected our business because our main customers are tourists from Singapore and Malaysia. The recent bombs were more severe than previous ones and this might cause fewer tourists to travel into the country," she said.

The violence, which has gradually spread through the southern provinces, has eroded the economy and the region has been in recession for two years. The fallout from the latest blasts in Hat Yai, on September 16, has hit tourism and trading businesses substantially.

Some bombs went off in two areas beside the wall of Odean Shopping Mall, which is the most popular mall in Hat Yai among locals and tourists alike.

Naruemol is a veteran local retailer. She is also a helped pushed Odean to the same status as its competitors. Previously, the mall was just a superstore.

She said Odean Shopping Mall is a joint venture between a group of business people in the South. The mall generates sales of about Bt100 million a year, but it now faces an uncertain future.

Naruemol said that she had experienced adverse circumstances in the past, such as the financial crisis of 1997, floods in 2000, and the bomb blasts at Hat Yat International Airport last year.

"Nothing has been as severe as the recent bombs in Hat Yai," she said.

Before the blasts she saw signs of recovery at the mall, with a 20-per-cent growth in sales in the first quarter, compared to a 30-per-cent drop last year. "There is tendency for the mall's sales to increase," she said.

From now on, Naruemol said Odean Shopping Mall would have to aggressively launch marketing promotions and campaigns to drum up sales and attract customers.

At the beginning and end of each month, she said, the mall would offer customers the chance to buy products at a discount of 50 per cent. In addition, the mall will reduce the number of luxury items it carries, while increasing the number of regular products that have an obvious target group, such as apparel for workers.

Naruemol said the owners were preparing to renovate Odean Shopping Mall both inside and out. It will convert its sixth floor to a stock-trading room and increase the activity zone for children.

"Concerns about security measures are also under discussion. We have to restore customer confidence," she said. "The greater the product quality, the more people will decide to buy. This will be another strategy to bring back existing customers."

Paisal Ratana

The Nation