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Published on March 14, 2008

Hypermarket giant Tesco Lotus yesterday announced it was launching community malls using a compact retail format in a bid to expand market share.

Mall & Media director Veena Arunyakasem said Tesco Lotus had developed three major types of community malls - The O@sis, The Park, and The Garden - each catering to a different market segment.

It defined such segments as A, B and C&D class, as measured by spending power and lifestyles.

Central Retail (CRC) recently said it was also developing community malls at potential sites in Bangkok. It plans to bring its department store and Tops Supermarket to serve community shoppers.

Veena said Tesco Lotus had already developed a number of lifestyle and community malls in Thailand, as well as in South Korea, China and Hungary.

In Thailand, Tesco Lotus is developing large-scale malls, which includes an 8,000-square-metre hypermarket as its anchor and main magnet. Occupying 6,000-20,000 square metres, such malls will serve areas consisting of 200,000 households.

Its lifestyle mall is intended to be one-stop shopping destinations for customers.

Apart from the large malls, the firm will also build smaller ones in communities with 30,000-50,000 households.

"The malls will be aimed at encouraging consumers to shop within their neighbourhoods rather than travel to the city centre," she said.

The community malls are set to bring Tesco-brand supermarket outlets like Tesco Lotus Talad and Tesco Lotus Express to operate as retail magnets.

The plan for such malls will also depend on zoning regulations set by local authorities.

Tesco Lotus Talad will require an average retail space of about 1,000 square metres, while Tesco Lotus Express requires about 300 square metres.

Veena said the company last month opened its first community mall: The O@sis in the Nichada Thani residential community on Samakkhi Road in Nonthaburi.

She said the second community mall, called The Park will open soon in Soi Pravit Lae Pern, off of Sukhumvit Soi 101/1.

Tesco Lotus will gauge the feedback from its new outlets after an initial six-month period.

Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn

The Nation