Why do you think Costco, Apple and WalMart chose to not have a presence in Thailand

[KittenKong]

"Why do you think Costco, Apple and WalMart chose to not have a presence in Thailand?"

It's simple: they dont want to own 49% of a company and have a 51% Thai partner. I wouldn't want to either.

[DoctorG]

26 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

"Why do you think Costco, Apple and WalMart chose to not have a presence in Thailand?"

It's simple: they dont want to own 49% of a company and have a 51% Thai partner. I wouldn't want to either.

Doesn't the Amity Agreement fix this?

 

[dotpoom]

11 hours ago, NanLaew said:

Apple is also not in Fresno, TX or Barnstaple in Devon.

 

...but their products are too.

 

Oh... the horror of it all.

Great topic to ponder on for the rest of the day....week....year....maybe lifetime?

[Jeffrey346]

There are NO Apple owned stores in Thailand today. They are all dealers. 

Apple has announced they will be opening an Apple owned store in BKK in the very near future..

[anono222]

You can buy a single apple, or bulk if you like at Makro, so I certainly see no need for Costco given the up front membership.  WalMart is a different topic indeed.  I do miss WalMart, and Olive Garden for that matter.

[sammieuk1]

Absolutely no competition here Big C Tesco Makro all the same high price selling the same stuff  need Liddle Aldi Asda Morrisons Sainsburys to shake the cartel of high prices up and something different to buy cheaper. And there lies the probable  answer the door is shut as money is being made.

[FritsSikkink]

12 hours ago, Here It Is said:

Where?

https://locate.apple.com/th/en/sales/?pt=all&lat=13.7589373&lon=100.5343235&address=10400

[mrmicbkktxl]

13 hours ago, faraday said:

There are Apple stores in Thailand.

 

Yeah and try to get your phone repaired they will ship it to Singapore,because quality issues with Thai repair service

[wandasloan]

12 hours ago, tifino said:

 

well, Costco (Aust) costs au$55 membership just to walk in their doors...

 

 

who local thai is going to fork out over equivalent in LOS, the thb1300 - just to see the other side of a door?

 

Every one of the Makro members. That's like asking "what local Thai" is going to pay 3,500 baht for beef, but Villa keeps expanding just the same.

 

 

[LALes]

12 hours ago, Mooner said:

Apple is here. Costco and Wallmat are not but Makro is.

Not sure anybody is missing out by them not being here

no way in the world you could equate Macro with Costco.  Macro sells mostly cheap junk and Costco is almost at gourmet level.

[AjarnMartin]

Apple have already announced that they are opening an Apple Store in Bangkok. They have not yet divulged the site or when, but have advertised for a plethora of technical and admin staff so it could be imminent.

 

There are currently only Apple franchises, Com7, etc which are a total waste of space and their cards are well and truly marked.

[1FinickyOne]

13 hours ago, Here It Is said:

Please share your experience.

My experience w/Apple store has been good and repair shop the same. They have helped my learning niece with her ipad several times, knowledgeably and willingly... 

[serpent32]

14 hours ago, Here It Is said:

Where?

Here

[serpent32]

I don’t know about Costco and Walmart but there are multiple Apple Stores in Thailand and at least one actual Apple Store.  The first Apple Store I’ve ever been to was the one in Shibuya in Tokyo.  I bought my first iPhone in Japan then found that Apple Stores in the States and all over the world all look exactly the same.  There is an actual Apple Store in Bangkok plus all the other smaller Apple retailers.  

[ujayujay]

Don't really miss them!

[billmichael]

16 hours ago, mfd101 said:

Any number of possibilities but it's not hard to think of a few: Too hard to get started (corruption). Too hard to get staff (education & attitude). Too hard to train staff (education & attitude). Too hard to import trained staff & management (government & attitude). Poor infrastructure (transport, digital ...).

 

But come back in 20 years & they (or their successors) will be here.

Please tell me more about this.  I work for a company with a global presence and I have a Thailand pen-pal who I know well enough now that I thought he would be a good fit at my company's Bangkok headquarters.  Despite encouraging him to apply, this man only wants to operate his business as a street vendor selling Japanese crepes.  It boggles my mind because my company could offer a lot in terms of decent wages and benefits plus a "real future".  Is this the "education and attitude" issue you speak of...???  I really want to know so please advise and Thank You So Much for your thoughts.

[Berkshire]

This is a map of where Walmart is in the world.  Is the OP also going to ask why Walmart is not in Australia, most ASEAN countries, most of Europe, Russia, etc.?

 

[mfd101]

1 hour ago, billmichael said:

Please tell me more about this.  I work for a company with a global presence and I have a Thailand pen-pal who I know well enough now that I thought he would be a good fit at my company's Bangkok headquarters.  Despite encouraging him to apply, this man only wants to operate his business as a street vendor selling Japanese crepes.  It boggles my mind because my company could offer a lot in terms of decent wages and benefits plus a "real future".  Is this the "education and attitude" issue you speak of...???  I really want to know so please advise and Thank You So Much for your thoughts.

Well, you've obviously got your own example there, to start with.

 

We assume that people will behave as they do (or, I suspect, used to) in The West: recruited, trained, performing, promoted, performing, rewarded etc. And no doubt there are some like that here but I suspect they are hard to find. My observation is of young people with no such interest & certainly no loyalty to the organisation that recruits them & trains them.

 

One young female acquaintance in BKK several years ago (early 30s) changed jobs as often as she changed her mobile number ("for good luck") - about once every 2 months. And I have other similar examples. In my own family a BIL with a steady job as manager of a garage has just (literally) walked away from it to return to the farm/village with his wife & kids & (now) no visible means of support - didn't even say farewell & thanks to his rich boss who has looked after him for many years & to whom he owes (as to many others) some considerable funds ... Building a large Western-style house in the provinces over the last 18 months was an education (for me): Little pride in their work, 40% OK is OK, constant demands for more money to do the job, just disappear when the going gets tough - and that wasn't just the workers, that was the bosses.

 

As my partner says: "Thai people want to be rich but they don't want to work for it."

 

My examples are anecdotal but there would be many 'Western' businessmen with similar experiences: Never pay your staff in advance because they just disappear - always keep the wages in arrears; different concepts of 'service'  & of time. And on & on.

[elgenon]

Amazon is not on your list. Are they here?

[elgenon]

I bought my iPhone at iStudio and the staff was good. A little difficulty w English but answered all my questions including why difficulty in moving things to new phone. They ended up moving everything but they had to do extra steps to get it done for me.

[KittenKong]

5 hours ago, DoctorG said:

Doesn't the Amity Agreement fix this?

 

I'm not at all sure how that works or what it applies to.

 

Cant say I know of many 100% US-owned companies here though.

[mikiea]

18 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Terrible customer service from Apple shops.

 

Please no Wal-Mart, we don't don't want fatties on motorized carts here.

huh ?   "we don't want "    who is we ? you speak for who ? and why in gods name would anybody  care anything about what "YOU" want .......? you attach far to much importance to yourself .

[Tagaa]

17 hours ago, Here It Is said:

Let's get this straight once and for all.  Apple is most definitely not here, their products are.

 

The last time I was in Central Festival in Pattaya there was an Apple store. I don't recall which floor, but it was closer to the Beach Road side.

 

It's been a few years since I was there. It may be gone now. Who knows?

 

 

[nsimmons]

Walmart - In my opinion Tesco Lotus (British) simply got in first, like K - Mart and Target took the market before Walmart in Australia

 

Costco - they have Macro which operates the same way

 

Apple - I would say they felt re-sellers that are called and look like Apple stores in the biggest shopping centers were all they needed for sales ...Jungceylon and Central Festival

While Alpha Computers and Phuket My Mac takes good care of servicing

 

Amazon.com - they have Lazada, same as Amazon but for Thailand, but better, coz 6 ways to pay including COD!

I love Lazada, they deliver so fast and their site is a joy to use.

 

Cheers,

 

NS

[BuddyDean]

Costco is all about the Pacific Rim, based in Washington.  They have opened in Japan, Taiwan, and Korea...Thailand could logically be on the short list.  They do procure a lot of seafood, nuts, and pineapples here, as well as other components of their frozen tropical fruit items.  Walmart sees too much competition as there are few places, where they would have mini monopolies like the do in flyover USA.  Beef and poultry restrictions are numerous, and the taxation on imported produce is BS. They know better than to broker Chinese goods to Thais.  Look for Costco.

[joeyg]

19 hours ago, Here It Is said:

Where?

There are 2 in Pattaya both in Central Mall beach road.  There are 2 in BKK I know of.  I'm sure there's a list on the web.

[joeyg]

18 hours ago, Here It Is said:

Please share your experience.

I had good warranty service both in BKK and Pattaya.  The stores in general were not up to par as the ones in SoCal but still good service and inventory.  Just remembered one more on Pattaya Tai in the Tuc Com electronics mall.

[joeyg]

17 minutes ago, nsimmons said:

Walmart - In my opinion Tesco Lotus (British) simply got in first, like K - Mart and Target took the market before Walmart in Australia

 

Costco - they have Macro which operates the same way

 

Apple - I would say they felt re-sellers that are called and look like Apple stores in the biggest shopping centers were all they needed for sales ...Jungceylon and Central Festival

While Alpha Computers and Phuket My Mac takes good care of servicing

 

Amazon.com - they have Lazada, same as Amazon but for Thailand, but better, coz 6 ways to pay including COD!

I love Lazada, they deliver so fast and their site is a joy to use.

 

Cheers,

 

NS

Good summation...

 

[nsimmons]

Sorry link to Lazada should be Lazada.co.th

 

Special Discounts at Lazada Specials

 

Enjoy!

 

[Here It Is]

2 hours ago, joeyg said:

There are 2 in Pattaya both in Central Mall beach road.  There are 2 in BKK I know of.  I'm sure there's a list on the web.

I think you'll find they're resellers, i.e. not official Apple stores, joeyg.  

 

The only official Apple store in LOS, at present, is their online presence.