competition heats up among malls

Competition between shopping malls for the upcoming gift-basket season is expected to be more intense than normal as leading players have launched proactive campaigns, including bigger discounts, to attract shoppers.

Major supermarkets, including Tops Supermarket - part of Central Retail Corp - and The Mall Group's Home Fresh Mart, have launched attractive promotions to boost sales. The moves aim to counter economic and political difficulties, which have impacted people's income and purchasing power.

"We are still committed to our target of growing our basket sales by 12 per cent for this coming gift season. We don't think consumers will delay spending for hampers for important persons at this special time," said Chiranun Poopat, senior vice president of buying, merchandising and marketing of Central Food Retail.

"During the current uncertainties, we want to stimulate the hamper market and the shopping decisions of consumers through more attractive promotions," she said.

She said total demand for baskets is expected to grow 10 per cent to Bt1.1 billion this year. Central Food Retail has about 40 per cent of the market.

Chiranun said during the downturn, consumers had adjusted their buying behaviour for Christmas and New Year hampers, looking for value for money and attractive promotions. "Health" baskets are most preferred.

Pira A Pirom, senior chief merchandising officer at The Mall Group's Home Fresh Mart and Gourmet Supermarket, said the company had monitored the buying behaviour of consumers and found that organic goods had become popular items for giving to loved ones during the festive season. The demand for organic hampers has increased dramatically month by month this year.

"We [The Mall] have approached our New Year' gift baskets under the 'green' concept, offering imported organic products and using packaging that can be reused and recycled. The company also teamed up with a private hospital to arrange special gift baskets those are suitable with people who have blood pressure and diabetes problems. Also, the company has offered customers price discounts of between 5 per cent and 15 per cent for any purchase of Bt1,000 to Bt300,000. We also offer shoppers a special premium for every Bt3,500 purchased," said Pira.

The group offers a wide selection of gift baskets with prices ranging from Bt1,500 to Bt20,000.

"The economic downturn has impacted consumer sentiment about spending money on ordinary products but not grocery items, particularly those purchased during the festive season. Customers have been cautious about their spending for a long time, and now is a time for them to spend on shopping again," Pira said.

He added that The Mall Group expected sales of its New Year's gift baskets in December to grow 10 per cent from last year's level to Bt100 million.

Tops Supermarket yesterday announced the launch of more attractive promotion for its hampers, offering a bigger discount of up to 25 per cent, compared to a 20-per-cent maximum discount last year.

Nick Reitmeier, vice president of international food and wine, said Central Food Retail's gift baskets could be distinguished by their variety, premium selection of quality products and stylish ornamentation that meet all customer requirements and are suited for all lifestyles.