Central has high hopes for new HomeWorks

The complex will for the first time come with Power Buy, the group's home and electronic-appliances retailer, and Tops supermarket and retail outlets.

To celebrate the grand opening of HomeWorks Ratchaphruek this Friday, about 20 per cent of the store's more than 60,000 products, as well as Tops items, will be on special offer with discounts of up to 80 per cent from Friday to Sunday.

"With an investment of Bt900 million, including a 30-year lease, HomeWorks Ratchaphruek Road is our eighth store fulfilling the customer's lifestyle under the concept 'Completion, Convenience, Fresh and Large'," said Suthisarn Chirathivat, president for CRC Power Retail.

The new branch has two levels with a total area of 38,000 square metres, comprising a Tops supermarket and retail shops on the ground floor and HomeWorks and Power Buy on the upper level.

Suthisarn said HomeWorks itself covered 8,600 square metres, featuring more than 60,000 brands of kitchenware, electronic appliances, baths, tiles, lighting, construction tools and bedding.

"It is not just about products, as we also present them in the form of solutions," he said, adding that the new "kitchenware" category was targeted at housewives.

Suthisarn said HomeWorks alone expected to generate at least Bt60 million a month in sales from the Ratchaphruek branch.

In the first half of the year, HomeWorks expects its overall sales growth to come in at 7 to 10 per cent, he added. The new store should drive full-year growth to 20 per cent.

Phattaraporn Phenpraphat, vice president for marketing and public relations at Central Food Retail - the operator of Tops supermarket and retail outlets - expressed confidence that Tops would be able to attract shoppers in the Ratchaphruek area with products and services that match the lifestyles of local residents.

Tops has a potential customer base of nearly 60,000 persons in the catchment area, she said, with about 40 per cent of them office workers, civil servants and start-up families. Mostly aged between 35 and 45 years, about 20 per cent of them have a combined income of more than Bt100,000 per household.

Tops at HomeWorks Ratchaphruek, occupying 1,500 square metres, cost nearly Bt40 million.

Suthisarn expects spending per bill at the new HomeWorks to reach Bt2,500, above the average of Bt1,750 from its existing stores. Spending per bill at existing Tops supermarkets averages Bt550, and comes in at Bt3,000 at Power Buy.

Power Buy covers 1,600 square metres at the new complex. The area is designed to be "minimal modern" and wide open. All products are categorised by zone colours: brown is for audio-visual items and white is for home appliances.

Other retail space covers 9,000 square metres and is available for banks, restaurants, bookstores, hair salons, spas and pet shops. Familiar brands such as The Terrace, MK Suki, Yayosi, Mister Donut, Kasikornbank, Jay Mart and Se-ed have rented space.

"HomeWorks is considering opening two more branches this year with a combined investment of about Bt1 billion," said Suthisarn.