What’s in a name? Tesco Lotus in Thailand rebrands to “Lotus’s” (no, really)

[webfact]

What’s in a name? Tesco Lotus in Thailand rebrands to “Lotus’s” (no, really)

 

Image: Sermwit Petchmanee

 

Your local branch of Tesco Lotus will soon look a little different.

 

On Monday, the Charoen Pokphand Group announced it was dropping the Tesco Lotus brand name.  

 

The change ends a 23 year association with the famous British supermarket chain in Thailand. 

 

From now on, Tesco Lotus will be known as “Lotus’s” and have a completely new logo.

 

The new name and branding, which was unveiled at the opening of a new store in Ek-Mai Ramintra in Bangkok, helps to keep the association with the old brand while at the same time heralding a new era for the brand in Thailand

 

The promises promises a “smart shopping experience” for consumers in Thailand.

 

Apparently the lowercase ‘s’ at the end of “Lotus’s” stands for “smart”:

 

Simple 

Motivate

Agile

Responsible

Transformative and Sustainability

 

Image: Positioning Mag

 

Last year, the CP Group, which is one of the country’s largest conglomerates acquired Tesco’s operations in Thailand and Malaysia for $10.6 billion.

 

The deal had come under the scrutiny of regulators amid claims the deal would result in an unfair monopoly and a lack of competition across the sector. 

 

However, the firm was given the green light to complete the deal in November 2020. 

 

CP Group operates many of the convenience stores and supermarket brands in Thailand  and has more than 14,000 retail stores throughout the country.

 

According to Positioning Mag, the group’s portfolio in the sector includes 12,089 7-Eleven outlets, 136 branches of Makro, 400 CP Fresh Mart stores and over 2,000 Lotus stores. 

 

Image: Positioning Mag

 

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[Susco]

So that will be Lotat't then for the natives?

[huangnon]

Quote

The deal had come under the scrutiny of regulators amid claims the deal would result in an unfair monopoly and a lack of competition across the sector. 

However, the firm was given the green light to complete the deal in November 2020. 

 

Quelle surprise

[KannikaP]

Do they ever consult a proper English speaker when thinking up these logos? Answer....NO!

[Bkk Brian]

C.P. monopolizing Thailand one leap at a time. Even have a healthy stake in the Chinese covid vaccine business with its first shipments to Thailand due now.

[Justgrazing]

14 minutes ago, webfact said:

From now on, Tesco Lotus will be known as “Lotus’s"

 

but will it blossom after ..

[spiekerjozef]

Much easier.

[RotBenz8888]

14 minutes ago, webfact said:

The promises promises a “smart shopping experience” for consumers in Thailand.

 

Alot of promises. 

[spiekerjozef]

2 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

C.P. monopolizing Thailand

Chinese Partner = C.P.

[spiekerjozef]

Who paid for all their penguin outfits?

 

[Patong2021]

Maybe one day, Thailand will have a market that allows competition.

[gunderhill]

24 minutes ago, webfact said:

Apparently the lowercase ‘s’ at the end of “Lotus’s” stands for “smart”:

I  can think of a better four  letter "s"  word along with the word  total  monopoly.

[canopus1969]

Can also stand for STUPID

[gunderhill]

8 minutes ago, RotBenz8888 said:

Alot of promises. 

I prefer the "L's"  Lie land.

[gunderhill]

5 minutes ago, spiekerjozef said:

Who paid for all their penguin outfits?

 

note  the total adherence to yellow  also

[Thailand]

I' gues's the'y wil'l b'e sellin'g egg's, meat's,  vegetable's etc's! 

 

Se'e ho'w smar't I' a'm! 

[JeffersLos]

So did they do what Chang did to Carlsberg, what EST did to Pepsi, and cut-off the Western part of the company once they had taught the Thais how to operate? 

[Captain Monday]

Much better. A grand decision.

[BuriramBill]

I suggest 'Big CP'

[KannikaP]

39 minutes ago, spiekerjozef said:

Much easier.

Than what?

[John Drake]

Like the color scheme. Ought to look nice with a pink flamingo or a lawn jockey.

[KannikaP]

21 minutes ago, Captain Monday said:

Much better. A grand decision.

A grand decision to put a totally incorrectly spelt logo, and then have to tell everyone that the last S means smart. Not very smart in my opinion. 

[tifino]

 Lotus Is or Lotus Was??  

 

anyway now that it is no longer a UK label, they have thought they'd achieved a way around copyrights? (but saves on steel/plastic&paints not starting anew from scratch)

[Bluespunk]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Apparently the lowercase ‘s’ at the end of “Lotus’s” stands for “smart”:

So why not call it Lotus Smart?

[PGSan]

21 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

a totally incorrectly spelt logo

In what sense can a logo be incorrect??  It is what it is. 

[KannikaP]

Will my Google Maps be able to direct me correctly now?    LOL

[KannikaP]

3 minutes ago, PGSan said:

In what sense can a logo be incorrect??  It is what it is. 

So why not call it LO*TU*S@ BS?    It was the incorrect English I was referring to. Would it be OK if they changed the city to PATAYYA'S ?

[stevenl]

I'm sure part of the deal was the obligation to change the name away from Tesco.

 

But it really looks like there are better options than the one chosen.

[worgeordie]

They are just reclaiming what they used to own, but had to sell

off to reduce debt after the 1978 bubble burst, they now have 

control over all aspects of food production and distribution in

Thailand.

regards Worgeordie

[KannikaP]

3 minutes ago, stevenl said:

I'm sure part of the deal was the obligation to change the name away from Tesco.

 

But it really looks like there are better options than the one chosen.

LOTUS would have been fine. Or Smart LOTUS. Not the silly one they have gone for. Luckily most Thais will not know what it says anyway, they could have put a picture of a frog or buffalo or Hello Kitty for them instead.