Any of you ever have a stall or shop in one of the many malls in Bangkok?

[InterestedSugoya]

Does anyone have experience with managing a booth, stall, shop inside one of the big malls in Bangkok (Platinum, Central, Siam, MBK)? Were you able to rent the space yourself or did your wife, girlfriend, Thai friend rent it for you? Assuming that you would need to have a resident Visa or some sort of business Visa, I guess it's someone else's name had to be on the lease, right?

 

What did you sell? How long did it last? I'm assuming that it wasn't that expensive on a monthly basis since there seem to be tons of spaces spread out across all these malls. Did you source your products from Thailand itself or from somewhere in China? 

 

I'm asking, because I think that it would be an interesting experience as I've never seen a farang-looking individual selling anything in one of those stalls.

 

P.S.- I know that in some of the malls there are certain floors that are only for clothes, others only for electronics, etc., but if you did have a shop, were you more or less allowed to sell whatever you wanted to as long as it wasn't an obvious imitation of other things in the mall (like as long as you weren't trying to sell bootleg Louis V in a mall that also happens to have an official Louis V store)?

[FritsSikkink]

"as I've never seen a farang-looking individual selling anything in one of those stalls."

That is because you are not allowed to do it, job reserved for Thai people. You can only be a manager for a company in which a Thai has 51% or more of the shares. 

To be working as a manager you would need a non immigrant b visa and a work permit, which will need a lot of paperwork from that company. The company would require 4 Thai employees to get 1 work permit for a foreigner.

 

Edited April 19, 2018 by FritsSikkink

[blackcab]

You haven't seen anyone doing it because "Sales" is a profession reserved for Thai people only.

 

I have seen a couple of obviously non-Thai people selling over priced hand creams but I don't think they would last too long.

[InterestedSugoya]

But technically a Westerner can fund a business like this and just get the profits as a secret partner, correct?

[jackdd]

Yes, but just as manager, not as sales person.

[InterestedSugoya]

I kind of wanted to be in the midst of the madness just for the experience sake. I'm assuming that renting one of those booth/stalls for 1 month to 6 months it's not that expensive considering it's Thailand.

 

I guess I would just have to watch from a distance.

 

Thanks all for your replies.

Edited April 19, 2018 by InterestedSugoya

[seancbk]

1 hour ago, InterestedSugoya said:

I kind of wanted to be in the midst of the madness just for the experience sake. I'm assuming that renting one of those booth/stalls for 1 month to 6 months it's not that expensive considering it's Thailand.

 

I guess I would just have to watch from a distance.

 

Thanks all for your replies.

 

You can be there behind the stall.   You just can't take any cash or hand anyone their purchases.

[markeewan]

Obviously as has been stated you cannot do this yourself, but you can get the wife/girlfriend to do it. My wife used to do it for about 5 years at a night market. It took her quite a while to find the right market where she could sell ladies trousers and make decent money. Some markets were in poor areas and so it was difficult to sell at a reasonable price. Once you are in the market trader clique then people will tell you the bad and good markets, otherwise you have to find out yourself by trial and error. 

 

My wife was probably making 25-30,000 baht per month after costs. About once every two weeks she would go to Pratunam market and get additional stock, sometimes she would have to go every week if things sold well or she ran out of a particular size.

 

She used to work from about 3pm to 9pm for 5 days and pay around 200 baht per day for the stall space. Each day she had to go and set up the stall and then dismantle it when finished and pack up. She really enjoyed the work and had some good friends, but in the end it became too difficult.

 

The main reason it became difficult was because the market started to add additional stalls and there was more competition and sales really began to dry up, which was partly due to the economy at the time and secondly being an outdoor market the weather is a big factor, especially in the rainy season. Packing up your stall everytime the rain comes through just becomes too difficult and so she stopped.

 

My wife also used to do the big shopping malls, there is no need to get a lease you can just set up on a day rate. She didn't continue with this, so I suspect that the sales were not enough to warrant the work.

 

To be successful you need to have the right product, right price and be prepared to work more than one market per day. Like any business it needs some research, but there is actually a lot of money being made and there were people I know were making multiple of my wifes income, just because they had a better product with higher margin and that was in high demand.

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[AaronC76]

My wife used to rent space in the Union Mall in Bangkok and it cost her 40,000 per month for a 2.5x2.5 metre "shop" on the ground floor. This does not include the fines she would get if she closed early and/or opened up late/took a day off.

[gaff]

1 hour ago, markeewan said:

Obviously as has been stated you cannot do this yourself, but you can get the wife/girlfriend to do it. My wife used to do it for about 5 years at a night market. It took her quite a while to find the right market where she could sell ladies trousers and make decent money. Some markets were in poor areas and so it was difficult to sell at a reasonable price. Once you are in the market trader clique then people will tell you the bad and good markets, otherwise you have to find out yourself by trial and error. 

 

My wife was probably making 25-30,000 baht per month after costs. About once every two weeks she would go to Pratunam market and get additional stock, sometimes she would have to go every week if things sold well or she ran out of a particular size.

 

She used to work from about 3pm to 9pm for 5 days and pay around 200 baht per day for the stall space. Each day she had to go and set up the stall and then dismantle it when finished and pack up. She really enjoyed the work and had some good friends, but in the end it became too difficult.

 

The main reason it became difficult was because the market started to add additional stalls and there was more competition and sales really began to dry up, which was partly due to the economy at the time and secondly being an outdoor market the weather is a big factor, especially in the rainy season. Packing up your stall everytime the rain comes through just becomes too difficult and so she stopped.

 

My wife also used to do the big shopping malls, there is no need to get a lease you can just set up on a day rate. She didn't continue with this, so I suspect that the sales were not enough to warrant the work.

 

To be successful you need to have the right product, right price and be prepared to work more than one market per day. Like any business it needs some research, but there is actually a lot of money being made and there were people I know were making multiple of my wifes income, just because they had a better product with higher margin and that was in high demand.

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great feedback, thank you.

 

 

Edited April 19, 2018 by gaff

[gaff]

51 minutes ago, AaronC76 said:

My wife used to rent space in the Union Mall in Bangkok and it cost her 40,000 per month for a 2.5x2.5 metre "shop" on the ground floor. This does not include the fines she would get if she closed early and/or opened up late/took a day off.

 

So expensive ! And I guess that Union is not a very expensive mall.

 

 

[NoshowJones]

5 hours ago, InterestedSugoya said:

But technically a Westerner can fund a business like this and just get the profits as a secret partner, correct?

I cannot see what could stop him, as long as he does not do any work, even just bringing in the stock.

[seancbk]

58 minutes ago, gaff said:

1 hour ago, AaronC76 said:

My wife used to rent space in the Union Mall in Bangkok and it cost her 40,000 per month for a 2.5x2.5 metre "shop" on the ground floor. This does not include the fines she would get if she closed early and/or opened up late/took a day off.

 

So expensive ! And I guess that Union is not a very expensive mall.

Union Mall is not a high end mall, but it certainly has most of the standard shops you'll find in any Bangkok mall and it is usually very busy.  

[InterestedSugoya]

I am not in Thailand right now, and I don't plan on getting married anytime soon, but trying to have an entrepreneurial mind, these things do get me excited to discuss.

 

I appreciate all of the replies.

[madusa]

5 hours ago, AaronC76 said:

My wife used to rent space in the Union Mall in Bangkok and it cost her 40,000 per month for a 2.5x2.5 metre "shop" on the ground floor. This does not include the fines she would get if she closed early and/or opened up late/took a day off.

This is the worst kind of deal I have ever read. I pay good money for rent yet i get fine for this and that. Be smart this is a bad deal

[timendres]

I could be wrong, as I do not have direct knowledge, but I was once told that some of the malls will charge you rent, and take a percentage of your sales on top of that.

 

That said, I suspect this is something you would get bored of very quickly. And also remember, if you are not reasonably fluent in Thai, you are going to have a really difficult time with the many Thai customers approaching your shop.

[samsensam]

I'm asking, because I think that it would be an interesting experience as I've never seen a farang-looking individual selling anything in one of those stalls.

 

i've seen quite a few foreigners working in central dept mall stalls selling beauty products, creams, soaps etc. they never seem to dress very well, cheap looking clothes and shoes often not clean - strange given the products being sold and it being a customer facing environment. (assume they're on commission and dont earn enough to dress themselves decently)

 

it also occurred to me that things much be pretty bad back home if they're reduced to working in retail in thailand...

[sead]

Pattaya central are renting out those small stalls. 120,000 for 3 months. 60000 as deposit and 20000 per month for boots. They all have offices were you can go talk and see if they have any stall available. Available space in mall doesnt mean they have any stall left so theres a waiting queue. You can pay but it has to be on Thai name or company.

Edited April 19, 2018 by sead

[gaff]

14 hours ago, InterestedSugoya said:

I am not in Thailand right now, and I don't plan on getting married anytime soon, but trying to have an entrepreneurial mind, these things do get me excited to discuss.

 

I appreciate all of the replies.

 

Thailand is not the right place to have an entrepreneurial mind...

 

 

[GarryP]

On 4/19/2018 at 8:24 AM, blackcab said:

You haven't seen anyone doing it because "Sales" is a profession reserved for Thai people only.

 

I have seen a couple of obviously non-Thai people selling over priced hand creams but I don't think they would last too long.

You need to walk around MBK. It is full of non-Thai people manning booths. Admittedly not westerners, but Indian, Myanmar, Laotian, Cambodian, etc. I often wondered how they got around the law.  

[blackcab]

11 hours ago, timendres said:

I was once told that some of the malls will charge you rent, and take a percentage of your sales on top of that.

 

Kind of. You pay either a minimum rent or a percentage of sales, whichever is higher.

 

Percentages are often in the region of 20 per cent.

[blackcab]

2 minutes ago, GarryP said:

You need to walk around MBK. It is full of non-Thai people manning booths. Admittedly not westerners, but Indian, Myanmar, Laotian, Cambodian, etc. I often wondered how they got around the law.  

 

They ignore it and then pay if they have to. Several will have pink cards which they believe will cover them.

 

Worst ways they get deported then come back again.

[jackdd]

12 minutes ago, GarryP said:

You need to walk around MBK. It is full of non-Thai people manning booths. Admittedly not westerners, but Indian, Myanmar, Laotian, Cambodian, etc. I often wondered how they got around the law.  

Many of the indians in BKK have Thai citizenship

[Peterw42]

12 minutes ago, GarryP said:

You need to walk around MBK. It is full of non-Thai people manning booths. Admittedly not westerners, but Indian, Myanmar, Laotian, Cambodian, etc. I often wondered how they got around the law.  

Interested to know how you could possibly tell the difference between Lao, Cambodian , Thai etc. If they are Thai citizens or not.

[impulse]

Just out of curiosity, has anyone looked into doing the same thing at one of the government approved pop-up markets like they occasionally have at Lumpini Park and other venues?  3 or 4 times a year (including last week during Songkran) they set up markets in the park that seem to focus on local products-mostly food, but arts, crafts, clothing etc.  I'd guess they do the same in other locations.

 

I recall reading once that attendees at some government approved trade shows are exempt from WP requirements- even if they're working the booths.  I'm wondering if that's a way for the OP to give it a try in a small way?  And wondering if those pop-up markets are among those "government approved trade shows".

 

[seancbk]

36 minutes ago, gaff said:

 

Thailand is not the right place to have an entrepreneurial mind...

 

 

 

Why ever not?    It's a huge market if you've got the right product or service.

[richard_smith237]

21 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

Interested to know how you could possibly tell the difference between Lao, Cambodian , Thai etc. If they are Thai citizens or not.

 

The same way we can tell the difference between Spanish, Germans, Polish etc in Europe... Language !

 

Speak to any of the foreign staff and its easy enough to know they are not from Thailand, each nation has a 'specific' accent when speaking Thai. 

 

But of course, it would be impossible to know if they are 'actual Thai Citizens' or not, but it's a fairly obvious assumption that many of the 'foreign' sales staff in MBK (Nepalese, Burmese etc) are not citizens and not work permitted.... There are simply too many of them for the Immigration Police to be overly concerned with, they will be raided from time to time, arrested, if they have a passport or Pink card they will be released for a couple of thousand baht or detained and sent home later to return and continue their work or find a new job - It's just a cycle. 

[GarryP]

33 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

Interested to know how you could possibly tell the difference between Lao, Cambodian , Thai etc. If they are Thai citizens or not.

When they speak Thai, you can tell by their accents. You can also hear them talking to their fellow sales people in neighbouring stalls. Not that hard for the countries you named. I am lost when it comes the Indian sales people as I do not know any of the Indian languages. I go on looks alone.

Edited April 20, 2018 by GarryP