Brick and mortar retail is dead

[NoshowJones]

1 hour ago, jesimps said:

 

The only problem with Lazada is that they always call when I'm having my afternoon nap ????

 

Maybe I'm missing something here, but lazada's delivery charges are not cheap, they use a few different companies. 

[greenmonkey]

Here in Nonthaburi I have been to my local restaurants a few times now (one's that were doing a roaring trade before and during covid) and they have been fairly empty. Not sure if it was just bad timing on my part or if this is a sign of things getting bad economically.

[billd766]

1 hour ago, ChrisKC said:

An interesting topic in which it becomes more evident that supply exceeds demand for just about anything in Thailand - yes including the women!.

 

Those from England and other countries, I guess, will remember the little hardware shop just down the road that seemed to have everything. Sometimes, one wouldn't have much hope they had something unusual but somehow, the two men and often a woman that had owned the shop for 40 years could come up with it! Packed away in a cupboard or on a high shelf that only the people who knew their stuff could offer.

 

Well, while I often go to the superstores  (those mentioned above) where there seems to be more staff than stuff, or Customers. don't have the precise thing I am  looking for or who want to sell me a pack of 100 screws for the job I want to do that needs only 4!

 

The good news is that round the corner from me is a store just like those of the "old days". The Owners have been there for donkeys years; they have a lot  of the bits and pieces I need and when it comes to the 4-screw job, I can buy a dozen. Yes, the place is packed out with "stuff" and they know where it all is - customers have no chance of finding it without their help. It is a pleasant experience!

 

The trend is to sell everything by the large Corporates leaving little room for the small business. This is why I try to buy a few things from Independent Traders in my locality or places like  Lazada where there are small businesses aplenty.

 

 

Fortunately here in the big village in rural Kamphaeng Phet we have 3 hardware shops like that 2 are allied to the 2 cement works and the other also sells tractor parts, I use 2 on a regular basis as they will sell me exactly the number of nuts, bolts, washers etc that I want and they know where to find it. I buy most of my hardware, truck and motorcycle batteries, torches, led lights, spares for my weed whackers, blue water pipes etc from them.

We have one bottle shop, one 7/11, a selection of motorbike repair shops, one medium size, 2 daily markets, 3 weekly markets, various food cars that go out to the smaller moo bans in the early mornings.

 

One good thing is that they all take cash, some take credit/debit cards, some use swipe cards etc.

 

I only go up to Kamphaeng Phet once a month for a bulk shop at Makro/ BigC to get western stuff which I can't find locally.

[billd766]

5 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

Maybe I'm missing something here, but lazada's delivery charges are not cheap, they use a few different companies. 

Actually Lazada does ot sell anything. What they are is an online market place for thousands of places to advertise. If you buy something it is the place you buy it from that sets the price and they choose their own delivery methods/companies. You don't even pay Lazada as they get a small commission on every transaction and the payment you make goes directly to the shop/company you are buying from.

[newnative]

37 minutes ago, KIngsofisaan said:

Just because you think the business is doing ok?

 

Come on man, you have zero idea of the start up costs, inventory and how far in debt this store cost to open.

 

 

Sorry you misread my post.  I meant the day we visited there were customers around.

[KIngsofisaan]

Just now, newnative said:

Sorry you misread my post.  I meant the day we visited there were customers around.

Didn't misread it.

 

There might be customers around, however, do you know or have any idea how many customers a day and how much on average they need to spend for the store to break even?

 

Or course not.

 

So your comment YOU THINK they are doing ok because there are customers has zero merit.

[newnative]

3 minutes ago, KIngsofisaan said:

Didn't misread it.

 

There might be customers around, however, do you know or have any idea how many customers a day and how much on average they need to spend for the store to break even?

 

Or course not.

 

So your comment YOU THINK they are doing ok because there are customers has zero merit.

   I guess we'll see how it shakes out.  When the new Home Pro opened on Sukumvit, I thought the old one at Big C Extra, just down the street might close.  But, so far still open.  And, now this third home improvement store from the same company.   Maybe they know something.  Possibly like Grande Centre Point opening a huge, new hotel right across the street from their other huge hotel at T21.   

[The Hammer2021]

13 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Think you need to look at the cost of goods that do not have overheads before making a decision on governments negative effect of towns and city shops.

 

That and also Thais ridiculous propensity to keep building the same shops next to each other and killing all trade. Have a 129 baht BBQ near us, then a 100 bht one pops up next to it, then a 3rd and 4th. Now they barely have customers to make any money. Same with coffee shops.

 

Also as a collector of stuff I spend my money online, simply as the shops do not exist locally - or I cannot find then !

"Thais ridiculous propensity to keep building the same shops next to each"

Here we go again. LOL Some posters seem to have a tourettes lack of control over their ability  to make any comment about Thailand  with adding an insulting adjectives to describe Thais. 

Yesterday I went to a place called a market - every vendor  was selling fruits and vegetables LOL They were all  selling the  same thing.  I wanted to  a carburettor! But all they had was  fruit  and veg

[peterfranks]

4 minutes ago, The Hammer2021 said:

"Thais ridiculous propensity to keep building the same shops next to each"

Here we go again. LOL Some posters seem to have a tourettes lack of control over their ability  to make any comment about Thailand  with adding an insulting adjectives to describe Thais. 

Yesterday I went to a place called a market - every vendor  was selling fruits and vegetables LOL They were all  selling the  same thing.  I wanted to  a carburettor! But all they had was  fruit  and veg

I have asked you this before, are you Thai or only a foreigner who considers himself Thaier than a Thai.

 

Answer on a postcard

[peterfranks]

18 minutes ago, newnative said:

   I guess we'll see how it shakes out.  When the new Home Pro opened on Sukumvit, I thought the old one at Big C Extra, just down the street might close.  But, so far still open.  And, now this third home improvement store from the same company.   Maybe they know something.  Possibly like Grande Centre Point opening a huge, new hotel right across the street from their other huge hotel at T21.   

I think the reason why the one upstairs hasn't closed yet is because their lease is not finished yet.

 

Have you noticed how many common articles are removed from the assortment in the one upstairs, but are available in the Sukhumvit branch?

 

So I think they are just running the place down until lease ends.

 

Mega Home, started 8 years ago, not sure if it is owned by the same group as Homepro.

[The Hammer2021]

2 minutes ago, peterfranks said:

I have asked you this before, are you Thai or only a foreigner who considers himself Thaier than a Thai.

 

Answer on a postcard

I am English and we  don't like racists- does that  satisfy  you? Can't you  see a patern of negative, irrational  negative comments by about a dozen  people who seem to be suffering  from depression or genuinely  hate  Thais and Thailand.  Ask them their nationality and what makes their country so great? Where are from? What's  your  education? What's yours  travel experience? Whats your life experience? How many women ya had? How many fights? How many countries have you worked in?

My attitude to hypocrisy  and mediocrity is not because I'm English. All my friends of multiple  nationalities  think the same way.

[peterfranks]

10 minutes ago, The Hammer2021 said:

I am English and we  don't like racists- does that  satisfy  you?

To start with, Thai is not a race, and even if it was, stating the obvious has nothing to do with racism.

 

Now please get off your high horse, as it gets boring, and I'm not the only one who is of that opinion.

[Lorry]

17 minutes ago, The Hammer2021 said:

I am English

Surprised.

You often sound very reasonable. 

[The Hammer2021]

34 minutes ago, The Hammer2021 said:

"Thais ridiculous propensity to keep building the same shops next to each"

Here we go again. LOL Some posters seem to have a tourettes lack of control over their ability  to make any comment about Thailand  with adding an insulting adjectives to describe Thais. 

Yesterday I went to a place called a market - every vendor  was selling fruits and vegetables LOL They were all  selling the  same thing.  I wanted to  a carburettor! But all they had was  fruit  and veg

Some people don't get the idea of a market place where similar items are grouped together foe sail! Even in their  own countries  of origin such places exit!  Button  Street in Hanoi! Curry mile in Manchester!

 

 

[Mac Mickmanus]

1 hour ago, greenmonkey said:

Here in Nonthaburi I have been to my local restaurants a few times now (one's that were doing a roaring trade before and during covid) and they have been fairly empty. Not sure if it was just bad timing on my part or if this is a sign of things getting bad economically.

Were the restaurants full up before you arrived ?

[peterfranks]

3 minutes ago, The Hammer2021 said:

Button  Street in Hanoi! Curry mile in Manchester!

You are aware that both examples you gave are of Asian ethnicity, and nothing to do with Western practices?

Edited August 25, 2022 by peterfranks

[Mac Mickmanus]

3 hours ago, ChrisKC said:

Customers. don't have the precise thing I am  looking for or who want to sell me a pack of 100 screws for the job I want to do that needs only 4!

Think yourself lucky, I have been out trying to get one screw and I couldn't even get that 

[newnative]

50 minutes ago, peterfranks said:

I think the reason why the one upstairs hasn't closed yet is because their lease is not finished yet.

 

Have you noticed how many common articles are removed from the assortment in the one upstairs, but are available in the Sukhumvit branch?

 

So I think they are just running the place down until lease ends.

 

Mega Home, started 8 years ago, not sure if it is owned by the same group as Homepro.

Both Home Pro and Mega Home seem to be owned by Home Product Center Public Co., Ltd.

[peterfranks]

2 minutes ago, newnative said:

Both Home Pro and Mega Home seem to be owned by Home Product Center Public Co., Ltd.

I said I'm not sure, but I think you avoid my real point, they opened their first store in 2014, and I think they have now 6 stores.

 

Nobody has a crystal ball, so they don't know something we don't know, they are just gambling.

 

Do you want I make a summary of companies who gambled big in the past 10 years and failed?

[Adumbration]

I have been here a very long time.  Today I went on a road trip through Khao Lak.  I used to live there years ago.  The entire town now has the mildew covered tumble down appearance of a lost city in the jungle.  Big ocean side resorts are shuttered and now the paint and roof maintenance is so far gone there would be massive expenditure to brings things up to scratch to attract tourists.  Probably a good 70% of everything is closed up, shuttered, or for sale.

 

It dawned on me today that resort style tourism in Thailand is NEVER coming back.  The beaches are too dirty and destroyed, the Thais just can't get their heads around English or customer service, and none of the scams or attacks on foreigners have been addressed or eradicated.

 

There is a tiny bit of monger fizz around core whoring areas like Rawai in Phuket. I was there last week. There is always a demand for easy sex.  But as a family holiday destination Thailand has had its day in the sun and tourist numbers will never recover to the previous all time highs.

 

Thailand has been moving backwards for a good while.  Now that core tourism infrastructure is crumbling the pace of the decline is accelerating.

 

The future is bleak for Somchai and Nok.

Edited August 25, 2022 by Adumbration

[Lorry]

49 minutes ago, peterfranks said:

You are aware that both examples you gave are of Asian ethnicity, and nothing to do with Western practices?

There are markets in "Western practices", whatever that may mean (Australia is in the East, or in the West?).

In the  US I have been to something they called "farmers market". All foodstuff. 

In Germany I have been to the Viktualienmarkt in Munich, all fruits and vegetables.

In Italy, there are many mercati. They even have fish markets, all they sell is fish,  would you believe it! No place for Hammer's carburator.

[The Hammer2021]

If one assumes people are shopping  for price  issues only or don't  want to leave their  house but shopping  on line joyless and single item. Proper shopping is social, spontaneous and can involve  a drink or coffee  or lunch or a walkabout. Thai malls are brilliant compared to  Britain, Saudi and Europe. So I don't think  they will ever die out. They are too much fun here

[peterfranks]

5 minutes ago, Lorry said:

There are markets in "Western practices", whatever that may mean (Australia is in the East, or in the West?).

I noticed already that you are patting hammer on the back, maybe you are one and the same?

 

Never mind do you realise that a market is something different from a street with all similar shops.

 

Did you notice that Hanoi is in Asia, and that curry shops are run by Asian people?

[Lorry]

9 minutes ago, Adumbration said:

I have been here a very long time.  Today I went on a road trip through Khao Lak.  I used to live there years ago.  The entire town now has the mildew covered tumble down appearance of a lost city in the jungle.  Massive resorts are shuttered and now the paint and roof maintenance is so far gone there would be massive expenditure to brings things up to scratch to attract tourists.  Probably a good 70% of everything is closed up, shuttered or for sale.

 

It dawned on my today that resort style tourism in Thailand is NEVER coming back.  The beaches are too dirty and destroyed, the Thai just can't get their heads around English or customer service and none of the scams or attacks on foreigners have been eradicated.

 

There is a little bit of monger fizz around core whoring areas like Rawai.  There is always a demand for easy sex.  But as a family holiday destination Thailand has had its day in the sun and tourist number will never recover to previously all time highs.

Bernhard Trink said: the tourists always come. 

 

They came back after Sars, after every putsch, after the Bangkok floods,  after the financial crises of 1997 and 2008, they always come. 

 

They happily pay every price. Farang find a room for 2000 cheap.  

You charge them 400 for a waterless waterfall called "national park" - they pay.

There is a thread about the LTR visa - many people find it a good deal. 

 

There is no limit for the price foreigners are willing to pay to come to Thailand.  Thais know that. 

 

You kill them,  like in Koh Tao. Their brothers and sisters will still come. 

 

[newnative]

47 minutes ago, peterfranks said:

I said I'm not sure, but I think you avoid my real point, they opened their first store in 2014, and I think they have now 6 stores.

 

Nobody has a crystal ball, so they don't know something we don't know, they are just gambling.

 

Do you want I make a summary of companies who gambled big in the past 10 years and failed?

I think it's 15 stores now with the Pattaya branch.

[Lorry]

12 minutes ago, peterfranks said:

a market is something different from a street with all similar shops.

In many towns in Western Europe, you find an area where their supermarkets are clustered together. A parking lot surrounded by 5 supermarkets all selling similar stuff.

 

In the strips outside US towns, there is McDonalds followed by a Burger King followed  by a Wendys, a Harveys,  whatever. 

 

Western European cities have whole streets where there is one restaurant after the other,  often serving similar food.

 

BTW I am not Hammer, we aren't even from the same continent. 

[BangkokReady]

10 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Nothing is being done to address prior problems, or elevate the tourism experience here. Much improvement and reform is needed. And sacrifices need to be made. I do not hear ANY discussion about what sacrifices Thailand is willing to make, to get the tourists, and that multi trillion baht cash cow back.

They killed the golden goose and now they're just standing over the corpse wondering why the golden eggs have stopped appearing.

 

10 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

A very dynamic leader like Thanathorn would at least give the nation a chance at having a future. The current creeps do not. Japanese companies are relocating. Despite the.constant lies, foreign investment is way down. Tourism is all but finished. 

Thailand got way too used to the extra tourist money; allowing skimming off the top and keeping people happy through subsidisation.  Once covid hit, they really needed to realise what is happening and change their tactics.  Seemingly overnight, the money they skimmed was suddenly most of the money and the subsidies dried up.

 

If tourism got back to pre-covid levels overnight, then maybe things would be OK.  But that isn't happening.

[BangkokReady]

27 minutes ago, Lorry said:

after... after... after... after...

When is it going to be after covid though?

 

27 minutes ago, Lorry said:

they always come

When are they due back?

[Lorry]

23 minutes ago, BangkokReady said:

When is it going to be after covid though?

 

When are they due back?

Pete is coming Nov 4, together with Ian and 2 other friends.

Ulla is coming Nov 3, with her bf.

K. is not yet sure,  October or January.

Chris maybe in December. But that's not sure. 

Klas was here in May with his wife.

Oli's parents were here last month.

Jog is here right now, in Krabi.

 

These are just friends of mine.

 

My former company is tourism-related. Their numbers for July 2022 for Europeans are 20% lower than 2019.

Chinese and Taiwanese are still missing, Hong Kongers are starting to come.

[RichardColeman]

11 hours ago, The Hammer2021 said:

I am English and we  don't like racists- does that  satisfy  you? Can't you  see a patern of negative, irrational  negative comments by about a dozen  people who seem to be suffering  from depression or genuinely  hate  Thais and Thailand.

So you are calling me a racist for pointing out that thais continue to build businesses next to each other to the detriment of all the businesses ? Sure like to see the logic behind that most ridiculous statement. I would not have a Thai wife, 2 half thai children and an adopted thai daughter if I was this callous racist you deem to think I am one of. By the way I too am English and proud of it - but I also see the reality of stupidly building the same shops next to each other - which you obviously do not !