Central in Bt12-bn expansion plan

CEO Tos Chirathivat said under the expansion, the group would invest Bt6.6 billion in eight new department stores. Two will be opened on Chaeng Wattana and Rama IX roads in Bangkok, while the other six will be located upcountry, in Pattaya, Chon Buri, Khon Kaen, Ubon Ratchathani, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.

He said the group would also spend another Bt2.5 billion to open three HomeWorks centres. The first HomeWorks mega-store will open in Phuket in October. Occupying 25,000 square metres of retail space, it will be Thailand's largest home-improvement centre.

The other two will open in Bangkok on Ratchaphruek and Srinakarin roads in next year's second and third quarters, respectively.

Tos said CRC was also spending Bt500 million to renovate its Tops Supermarkets. Thirteen have been already renovated, and 15 more will be renovated by the end of the year.

Tos said CRC's board recently approved a Bt20-billion budget for retail expansion in China in the next two or three years, including the company's first Central Department Store in China, a 23,000-square-metre venue to open next year in Hangzhou. It will require an initial investment of Bt500 million.

He said the group would also spend Bt10 billion on its new shopping complex to be located on a prime 9-rai plot of land on the corner of Wireless and Ploenchit roads formerly occupied by the British Embassy. The group is in the process of designing the mega-retail complex, which will offer 160,000 square metres of retail space.

Tos said the group closed Central Department Store Wang Burapha to change it into China World, a wholesale centre for fashion products and accessories. It will be launched in December.

"We'll spend another Bt1 billion to overhaul our information-technology system for merchandising management. That move will increase productivity in our working operations," said Tos.

He said with the expansion, CRC would open its newest 50,000-square-metre Central Department Store on Chaeng Wattana Road in November. Located in northern Bangkok, it will be the first department store in the area.

He said the company would also open a 35,000-square-metre Central Department Store in Pattaya next January. The city has a strong base of tourists and expats.

Pattaya attracts about 6 million tourists a year, mainly from

Russia and other Eastern Europe countries, plus China and South Korea.

CRC will open a 22,000-square-metre Robinson Department Store in Chon Buri town next July. Another two Robinson Department Stores will be opened in Khon Kaen and Ubon Ratchathani by the end of next year.

Tos said CRC would enter into a new phase of retail expansion in 2010, in order to focus on retail stores in medium-sized provinces.