100,000 retailers in Thailand face closure due to COVID-19 restrictions

[metisdead]

Some off topic posts and replies about shutdowns in Sweden and the UK have been removed.

[pedro01]

6 hours ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

Thats odd, as usually thais are very punctual, as was mine for dinner at taco bell.....let her upgrade her crunchwrap to supreme!  Her name was Gordita

PMSL. Brilliant!

[ed strong]

This is basically just destroying the middle and working class in that all these businesses and property are going to be brought up by the people whom already hold alot of wealth, thus the imblance will be even greater than it is now in Thailand.

The vast majority of the money will be coming from China and they will be allowed to, just as they will use this 'investment' in order to have more exceptions like using Chinese labour etc. for eithe rebuilds or new builds. Although these new investors will be given some sort of Thai sounding name and all the Thais will think oh well at least some us are doing ok, when actually they are being royally screwed over.

 

 

 

[A1Str8]

I don't know how people didn't see what was coming and prepare, that it is going to be long term.

Right from the beginning, there were countless articles all over the internet, discussing the findings of sophisticated computer modellings and the uncanny accuracy of said algorithms. 

It was clearly found by these, that most probably it will stay with us long term, at least a couple of years and be seasonal after. This is exactly what's happening. 

 

"The writing on the wall"

 

[Scrotobike]

2 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Online gambling seems to be the way to go... that makes a hefty profit.

I was thinking of the larger retail players in monopolistic situations already - less competition them maybe the prices will no longer be suppressed.

[JensenZ]

3 hours ago, kingstonkid said:

This seems to be a world wide problem.  I know that does not make things easier but then again with everyone worried about the  virus you have to wonder how many are out shopping or would be going out to dinner.

 

many businesses will close because it is the easiest and most cost effective thing to do but I am sure that once this is under control that a lot of these businesses will return either under new owners or such.

 

 

"Seems" to be a world wide problem? Where in the world is tourism normal? It doesn't seem to be, it is a world wide problem.  

 

 

[superal]

4 hours ago, pkspeaker said:

Sweeden got much more covid-19 in the first wave when Thailand had very little.. 15k since 2 years ago isn't that much and is more or less in line with what other similar countries (regionally & demographically) experienced.. no reason to think shutdowns accomplish anything, people mostly infect people they are close to and they continue to be in proximity to those people anyways.. and the shutdowns cause more death by umemployment, suicide, increased drug use, etc.  i'll never understand the lockdown mentality.

Shutdowns/lockdowns are not a pleasant experience for sure but if a furlough scheme is supporting all then at least it is survivable and will dilute the virus spread as was carried out in the UK . A furlough operation would be difficult to administer in Thailand because of the amount of unregistered / self employed workers . The powers that be have decided to reject the western way of social living for the masses and instead it is the survival of the fittest and no social safety net .  So we have a predicament where there were business owners holding their own until now and having sunk their savings into delaying their business closures , are now dependent on either friends or family for food and money for utility bills etc . It is a dire situation that is worsening day by day and could lead to civil unrest . The future looks grim for many Thai folks .

[Thingamabob]

6 hours ago, pkspeaker said:

Sweeden got much more covid-19 in the first wave when Thailand had very little.. 15k since 2 years ago isn't that much and is more or less in line with what other similar countries (regionally & demographically) experienced.. no reason to think shutdowns accomplish anything, people mostly infect people they are close to and they continue to be in proximity to those people anyways.. and the shutdowns cause more death by umemployment, suicide, increased drug use, etc.  i'll never understand the lockdown mentality.

I entirely agree. Lockdowns are a disaster for many businesses and their employees, and for those with long term illnesses needing treatment such as cancer patients.

[billd766]

5 hours ago, kingstonkid said:

This seems to be a world wide problem.  I know that does not make things easier but then again with everyone worried about the  virus you have to wonder how many are out shopping or would be going out to dinner.

 

many businesses will close because it is the easiest and most cost effective thing to do but I am sure that once this is under control that a lot of these businesses will return either under new owners or such.

 

 

IMO a lot will depend on how many people will get/have jobs and money. It will be a long hard slog to get back the market share that those businesses used to have.

[Blumpie]

1 hour ago, billd766 said:

IMO a lot will depend on how many people will get/have jobs and money. It will be a long hard slog to get back the market share that those businesses used to have.

It will be a long hard slog to even get them open.  

Large retailers like Isetan and the like - when and if some go, getting them back and up and running will be a tremendous challenge for sure.  Not to mention getting the base customers back - generally 39 million tourists which is nothing short of a pipe dream for the next five years and that's the biggest dream there is.  There will be times when there isn't enough supply for demand if this picks up which will be frustrating.  Higher prices.  Tourists may go elsewhere.  Higher hotel prices because hotels would be out of existence.

 

Make no mistake, this entire high season coming up will be a similar ghost town as last year.  There will be no tourism for 2021/2022 high season year.  Unless you count that silly sandbox which you may as well not even  include.

[Thunglom]

it seems pretty unclear what the government intends to do to resurrect any sectors of the Thai economy damaged by Covid.

[fredscats]

19 hours ago, 1FinickyOne said:

Yes, a bit blue at my house too... 

 

Just waiting to vax and hoping this is over soon, sad for the biz owners but a new younger group will hopefully take their place w/great innovations... or not...

 

maybe this is the end..

...or maybe it is? Not just business but every aspect of life.  Everything needs money pumping into it,no prospect of that..period.  It will be loans on top of loans that will kick start any economy,but Thailands is grim,they rely on third parties ,other countries,holiday makers,farangs for support,all they exist on now is churned money,nothing new coming in,and it will not come in for many a year

 

Massive building projects still under way,money they ain't got (loans),for non existant customers,mainly foreign  Not a comfortable ride for farang stuck here,to see Rome burn,I take no comfort being comfortabily off,perhaps the ones few years ago accusing rental farangs not having a pot to p.iss in,their worth is now nil,fact is its voided,minus nil

[fredscats]

17 hours ago, steven100 said:

where in my post did I say I thought this would go on for 18months ?    WHERE in my post did I even mention the PM ?

...yes but you may have thought it !    There are mind readers abound

[redwood1]

I would say the most serious problem we are all facing is my condos swimming pool is closed, and I can't drink beer on the beach.....

 

But seriously.....

When they force business to close and offer zero financial support....It does not take Einstein to figure out what will happen....

The unpleasant conclusion drawn from this is, what's happening is just as it's meant to happen... 

[metisdead]

Some off topic trolling posts have been removed.

[herfiehandbag]

23 hours ago, Scrotobike said:

I wonder if there will be winners (monopolistic types) if these poor people have to close their businesses?

 

Yes of course, those who have the deep pockets, reserves, influence and patience to weather the storm.

 

It's the less publicised side to the new normal.

 

 

[Mr Meeseeks]

20 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

I'm pretty sure if Thailand is not open within the next 6 months unrestricted then they'll either be out of business or struggling and limping on for another 4-5 years. Opening up without restrictions will bring a surge or tourists to what they have now, but nowhere near what they need to survive without more cut backs.

Mass tourism is over for the foreseeable. 

 

Even more so if there's a global recession/depression. 

[NoshowJones]

23 hours ago, steven100 said:

where in my post did I say I thought this would go on for 18months ?    WHERE in my post did I even mention the PM ?

Maybe you only mention the unelected PM when you are sloshed Steven.   When sober your posts are quite decent.????

[NoshowJones]

22 hours ago, rtco said:

You don't have to mention the PM in any of your posts ... we all know you are his biggest fan

Can't you see he is kidding everyone on. Nobody who normally writes sensible posts would be a fan of the "there won't be a coup" unelected PM.

[AnotherFarang8]

If there was agenda to destroy middle class and to cause people to own nothing, go into debt slavery, its implementation would look exactly like current lockdowns. But nah, for sure all that is happening is just coincidental.

[kingstonkid]

21 hours ago, JensenZ said:

"Seems" to be a world wide problem? Where in the world is tourism normal? It doesn't seem to be, it is a world wide problem.  

 

 

Don't tell that to all the people going to mexico or to spain/Portugal. 555

[brucegoniners]

22 hours ago, pkspeaker said:

The first time I assume your talking about March-April 2020-there was no large outbreak in this country anyways, the only reason they did it was because the USA was experiencing high cases and essentially shut down air-traffic to the world, Thailand followed suit because it was a 'global pandemic' so they went ahead and shuitdown for a month for no reason.  This time it's not working.. everything shutdown for more than a month and cases keep going up- that's the proof that it's not working and you have not provided any 'proof' that it is, based on other countries the current case and death rate follows the same bell shaped pattern.. and if shutting down is saving lives as I mentioned you have to consider the lives lost due to the misery that the shutdowns cause.

 

People will always refuse to cooperate with it because the deaths from it are only a few hundred/day, mostly older people and people with preconditions, there's a 'vacine' available, alot of other things kill a few hundred people a day, etc.  You may not agree with that logic but the average Thai person who rides around on an old motorbike in heavy traffic does..  but the main reason is most Thailand people in this country can not afford to just 'do nothing'  ..  most Thai people spend all the money the make and they don't make that much.. and don't tell the the 'government' can just hand out relief checks-they can't-if they could there would not be poverty in this country in the first place.. shutting down this country hurts more people than it helps.. 

I was gone for 3 months between going to the USA for vaccines and quarantine. This is what I am witnessing, pretty much business as usual.

 

The government has already screwed up big time not having a strict stay at home order like last spring. This has not been done. It's one thing to "shut everything down" (which isn't happening now) and it's a complete other thing to have a stay at home order like last spring. People have no choice but to obey it because of the checkpoints. If you can't prove you're out for a reason you can get arrested and fined. And that's what this country needs right now.

 

Yes, shutdowns do work. It worked last year and it will work again.

 

Granted there will be residual damage in lives lost and ruined. However if this isn't put into place soon this thing will get a lot worse and they'll be forced to do it anyway. In fact a Wuhan style lockdown is on the table in some circles and nobody wants that.

[kingstonkid]

On 8/8/2021 at 4:36 PM, ed strong said:

This is basically just destroying the middle and working class in that all these businesses and property are going to be brought up by the people whom already hold alot of wealth, thus the imblance will be even greater than it is now in Thailand.

The vast majority of the money will be coming from China and they will be allowed to, just as they will use this 'investment' in order to have more exceptions like using Chinese labour etc. for eithe rebuilds or new builds. Although these new investors will be given some sort of Thai sounding name and all the Thais will think oh well at least some us are doing ok, when actually they are being royally screwed over.

 

 

 

Businesses will fold and doors will be closed. signs may change but once the green light is given most of these businesses will reopen.  Possibly under new management but they will open.

I am sure most of the people that have shops in MBK have closed their business and gone out of business.  How long do you think it will be before they open again.

Yes there will be some that can  not make it but they will be replaced by people that saved their money and can get going quick and cheap.

[Pinoydave]

43 minutes ago, kingstonkid said:

 

Yes there will be some that can  not make it but they will be replaced by people that saved their money and can get going quick and cheap.

But businessmen rely on confidence………… and in Thailand that is being destroyed.

 

you can not thrive if your government, local council, landlord etc are all working against you

[Blumpie]

1 hour ago, Pinoydave said:

But businessmen rely on confidence………… and in Thailand that is being destroyed.

 

you can not thrive if your government, local council, landlord etc are all working against you

Large business does.  

The problem here is people.  By the time this is all over they will, most likely, have found something else to do.  This isn't a light switch that gets turned on.  You need the fuel before the engine can run.  There is no fuel.  

This isn't going away anytime soon.  You will see tourism recovering five years from now - these people will all be gone.  China really doesn't care if it's citizens travel or not.  You can't even get a passport renewal there.  

I'm throwing up the hurtles here, people jump over them.  Keep that in mind.  

[kingstonkid]

22 hours ago, Pinoydave said:

But businessmen rely on confidence………… and in Thailand that is being destroyed.

 

you can not thrive if your government, local council, landlord etc are all working against you

The one group that you mention that I disagree with is the landlords.  

Most landlords have mortgages.  I have yet to hear of a bank saying that they are going to wave the mortgage payments for people.  Yes they can not foreclose but if you look at things from a financial point of view people are going to have to pay penalties for late payment or the banks are going to require longer payment plans. 

 

I may be wrong and I hope I am but i see a huge jump in foreclosures and houses on the market at lower than market prices once this thing starts to wind down and the government removes the foreclosure freeze. 

 

As to businesses that rent their facility again that is why it is best just to go out of business.  You have nothing that you have to pay.  You can store stock or instead of paying rent and everything just live with what you have.  

Then when the market starts to get better you can look and see if there are better places at better prices for your business.

 

The person with the money and plan is going to come out of this in the best condition and I am not talking about rich people.

 

[zzaa09]

On 8/8/2021 at 3:28 AM, JensenZ said:

"Seems" to be a world wide problem? Where in the world is tourism normal? It doesn't seem to be, it is a world wide problem.  

 

 

Yet, we sure don't approach this whole mess with a collective mindset. 

Imagine the possibilities if cooperative practices [for the commons] were in place. 

 

As a "developed" species - we suck. 

[rabang]

On 8/8/2021 at 9:21 AM, JensenZ said:

On a per capital basis, that's 0.14% of population in Sweden and 0.009% in Thailand. So far, MUCH worse in Sweden.

It is not over yet. How about the long term effects of a prolonged crisis that Thailand seems to be experiencing for at least, I would estimate the next year or so, while Sweden is returning to normalcy with fewer scars to the society in general? It seems incredibly naive how people only count the deaths from the virus when these occur mostly to very old people while ignoring the big picture. With delta spreading so easily it is simply impossible to just shut out the virus completely. I don't get who sold the idea of CCP to the leaders of different countries. When research is done years from now I think results will show how the light lockdown countries achieved overall the best results.

[metisdead]

Some off topic posts and replies about Sweden and the price of french fries in New York have been removed.