Foodland, especially Foodland Sukhumvit Soi 5 in Bangkok - why is it so empty?

[mokwit]

3 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

I kept getting OLD fresh produce from their veggies section. Whereas, the fresh veggies at Foodland Soi 5 always were kept well refrigerated

I formed the impression that when veggies reached their sell by date they put them in new bags with a new date. Kale used to come in a branded bag and you would see it in a plain bag a few days after - plain bag kale went yellow very quickly.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 minutes ago, mokwit said:

I formed the impression that when veggies reached their sell by date they put them in new bags with a new date. Kale used to come in a branded bag and you would see it in a plain bag a few days after - plain bag kale went yellow very quickly.

Are you talking about Foodland or Villa?

 

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

16 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

On 2nd thought about Foodland Soi 5: I walk to that place or take my bike, and I can park in front of it. But if people have a car that is definitely more difficult. 

There used to be a free-standing Foodland on Ploenchit that served the lower Sukhumvit area back in the last millennium. It had a carpark and I recall getting weekend groceries there. Long gone now.

[mokwit]

Just now, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Are you talking about Foodland or Villa?

 

Villa. FL veg was/is always fresh. Once it reaches sell by date they remove it.

[KannikaP]

3 hours ago, sqwakvfr said:

Too bad it is not mostly empty. 

Oh, I read the post that it IS NOW mostly empty.

Proof read before hitting SUMBIT.

[mokwit]

4 minutes ago, mokwit said:

Villa. FL veg was/is always fresh. Once it reaches sell by date they remove it.

FL. Get the freshest ones from the bottom of the pile - old on top, new underneath.

Edited April 14, 2023 by mokwit

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

It's weird how grocery store chains here make their location decisions.

 

--Foodland originally had the Soi 5 location, then they added a much larger and nicer new location at Suk Soi 16 a relatively short distance away... but kept Soi 5 and even kinda remodeled it a couple years back.

 

--Villa had an original larger location at the top of Suk Soi 11, and then a smaller and less used location in the basement of the Ploenchit Center... Then they moved the Soi 11 location to a new and smaller location very far into the soi... But then came along and opened a new and larger location not far away on Soi Langsuan, while keeping both Ploenchit and Soi 11.

 

--Lately, Tops has been opening bunches of new store locations in various areas between Asoke and Thong Lor... and make their already confusing marketing even more confusing by adding newer brands/locations like "Tops Fine Food" in addition to the large "Tops Food Halls" and regular "Tops Supermarkets," and now lately even the Costco-like "Tops Club Rama II."

 

[OneMoreFarang]

12 minutes ago, mokwit said:

Villa. FL veg was/is always fresh. Once it reaches sell by date they remove it.

That is something I can confirm, at least from Foodland Soi 5. I see regularly the vegetable and fruit people checking the items and the labels. And I saw them taking old products out for the shelves. 

[rak sa_ngop]

Foodland in Patpong is still going well. Pleasant buying experience, no queuing at the counter and cheaper prices then elsewhere. The TLD restaurant looks pretty busy with many Thais as well as a few Farangs. Hope it stays that way.

[mokwit]

Just now, OneMoreFarang said:

That is something I can confirm, at least from Foodland Soi 5. I see regularly the vegetable and fruit people checking the items and the labels. And I saw them taking old products out for the shelves. 

.......rather than putting it in a new bag with a new date.

[OneMoreFarang]

4 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

It's weird how grocery store chains here make their location decisions.

 

--Foodland originally had the Soi 5 location, then they added a much larger and nicer new location at Suk Soi 16 a relatively short distance away... but kept Soi 5 and even kinda remodeled it a couple years back.

 

--Villa had an original larger location at the top of Suk Soi 11, and then a smaller and less used location in the basement of the Ploenchit Center... Then they moved the Soi 11 location to a new and smaller location very far into the soi... But then came along and opened a new and larger location not far away on Soi Langsuan, while keeping both Ploenchit and Soi 11.

 

--Lately, Tops has been opening bunches of new store locations in various areas between Asoke and Thong Lor... and make their already confusing marketing even more confusing by adding newer brands/locations like "Tops Fine Food" in addition to the large "Tops Food Halls" and regular "Tops Supermarkets," and now lately even the Costco-like "Tops Club Rama II."

 

There are, or at least there used to be, so many people in that area that Foodland Soi 5 was busy and Soi 16 was busy. In general the shops obviously have to look what places are available. The Ambassador complex, in which Villa Market was located a couple of years ago, changes all the time. I would be surprised if there is any shop in there in the same location for more than 5 years. 

[OneMoreFarang]

3 minutes ago, mokwit said:

.......rather than putting it in a new bag with a new date.

I don't know what is happening in the background. But I don't think I ever bough any fruit or vegetable in that shop which was old. And I have to admit I don't look at it in detail before I put it in the shopping basket. 

[mokwit]

Just now, OneMoreFarang said:

I don't know what is happening in the background. But I don't think I ever bough any fruit or vegetable in that shop which was old. And I have to admit I don't look at it in detail before I put it in the shopping basket. 

Didn't mean FL - my experience there has always been positive. I meant the other one.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

13 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

There are, or at least there used to be, so many people in that area that Foodland Soi 5 was busy and Soi 16 was busy. In general the shops obviously have to look what places are available. The Ambassador complex, in which Villa Market was located a couple of years ago, changes all the time. I would be surprised if there is any shop in there in the same location for more than 5 years. 

ya, Villa's original Soi 11 location lost their lease...and/or...were unwilling to pay the higher rate at expiration being demanded by their landlord, pre-COVID, if I recall.... As things turned out, the landlord there might have been better off to have kept Villa in their portfolio at the very convenient top of the soi, BTS-close location. At least you pretty much can be assured that Villa the company isn't likely to go out of business in most scenarios.

 

Back then, the original Villa Soi 11 market was my default, go-to shopping location.... Alas, no longer. Their relocation to a more remote location along with the emergence of online shopping due to COVID changed all that.

 

 

Edited April 14, 2023 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[3NUMBAS]

ask stickman he will      know for sure

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I've also always found it a bit interesting how the different supermarket chains have somewhat different home country affiliations via their products...

 

Villa, to me, has always had the best selection of US-centric imported brands.

 

Tops has long had an emphasis on UK brands via their affiliation with Waitrose...

 

And Carrefour used to have the same for France with their house brands, and that has continued somewhat with their Big C successors and their present stocking of a few things from the Casino brand.

 

 

[digbeth]

27 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Are you maybe just a little racist?

I also see the Arabs and (presumable) Africans in that Soi and in Foodland. And I had never trouble with any of them. There are rumors that the African's sell drugs. Maybe they do. But nobody ever asked me to buy any. At least for me the nationality and the skin color of the customers don't matter as long as behave. And IMHO drunk farangs are a lot more likely to misbehave.  

The whole area is okay if you want to enjoy middle eastern foods, 

but reallistically, unless you live there why should you choose to shop there when newer and better place are around? 

Is it being racist if you don't want to share space with people from less civic-minded culture that are loud, disrespecting towards women and demean service workers in general, and that beer bellied mongers and arabs share in common? 

 

Abd hotels in the area are quite run down and geared to caters to the bussed in and the arabs, The odd chinese independent travellers or young western backpackers that book rooms due to price aren't likely to return or recommend the area to their compatriot

 

Other posters also mentioned the Africans that congregate on what used to be the Amari hotels, they're not dealing here but being loud is driving away decent people too, 

[jayboy]

3 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

also like Central because they have the local monopoly on UK brand Waitrose products in Thailand, which fill the need for a lot of western things I like

But tragically Waitrose sugar free tonic water is no longer available there - at least not for the last few months.

[josephbloggs]

3 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

A friend of mine uses a foreign lawyer in Bangkok, who is one of the top attorneys around. He said his office cannot find enough hours in the day to meet with expats who are leaving, with their Thai spouse or family, and dealing with trusts and wills for their remaining Thai families, properties, etc. 

He said he has never seen anything like it, in the 30 years he has been in practice here. 

Woe is Thailand. Where is the hope for the future? The dinosaur creeps are moving this nation backwards at a breakneck pace. Truly regressive reptilian leadership. Let us hope that changes next month, and Cha Cha is unceremoniously ousted from office, and replaced by more capable hands, who actually care about the people.

Why are ex-pats leaving?

 

1. Overall, a declining quality of life.

2. An oppressive government that was not sincere about letting go of power. Ever.

3. High prices on most import goods, luxury goods, and wine. A horrendously crappy selection of beer.

4. Rampant xenophobic on the part of the goons and immigration.

5. A nation in reverse. No hope for a better future here.

6. Extreme timidity and destruction of the economy, many lives and businesses. Please, don't blame Covid. That is only one element.

7. Little in the way of good education available for kids.

8. The sanitization of Thai society, the elimination of anything that resembles character, and the tired, insincere, increasingly fake purity campaigns.

9. The continued environmental destruction and worsening air quality, coupled with no intent of effort to fix anything.

10. The worsening dependence on China. Will Thailand eventually be a communist colony?

Shall I go on?

What these simpletons fail to mention, is that any ranking is really all about the money. Anyone who is wealthy or even affluent, would have little interest in retiring here. So, it is mostly about affordability. And I agree with that. It is reasonable here. Most of us live well, on a relatively modest income or pension. I plan to stay. But, a good part of this decision is financial, and ties to my Thai wife and family. If I were wealthy, my time here might be limited to a few months per year. 

There are at least a dozen good reasons why someone without our financial limitations would NOT pick Thailand. Do they need to be repeated? We all know what they are. And these are part of the reasons why there is a mass exodus of expats leaving Thailand over the past few years. No question the number of expats here is dropping.

These lying creeps would do anything for PR. The reality is, they want tourists, but they are not willing to make ANY sacrifices to get them. And tourists don't want them anymore. Not really. The numbers will remain low for quite some time. And most tourists are Malaysian, Indian and Chinese. Not the "quality tourists" they keep droning on and on and on about. Quality tourists have little interest in coming here, for a dozen good reasons, some of which are listed above. And they don't want expats. Immigration proves that daily.

Do you have this dinosaur / reptiles / country going backwards rant stored somewhere and you just copy and paste it in every thread? Surely you don't write it out in full each time? It amazes me how you introduce the same comments into nearly every thread I see you in, no matter how irrelevant.

But congratulations for getting it in to one about Foodland on Soi 5 being a bit <deleted> these days - even for you that's impressive. Foodland has been on the decline for years and years. Bad management, no investment, and Villa, Tops and Macro have streaked ahead with nicer shops, better selections, and good online / delivery options. But yeah, dinosaurs.

Edited April 14, 2023 by josephbloggs

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 minutes ago, jayboy said:

But tragically Waitrose sugar free tonic water is no longer available there - at least not for the last few months.

I used to live off on Tops-stocked 2 liter Waiitrose sparking water bottles... But with COVID, Tops (even their Food Hall locations)  became very inconsistent in being able to keep in stock that product and a lot of other imported items as well...

 

So in the end, I gave up on them and bought my own home carbonation system for making sparking water... Tops probably lost about 1000b per week in Waitrose sales from me on that deal....

 

 

[josephbloggs]

40 minutes ago, Etaoin Shrdlu said:

There used to be a free-standing Foodland on Ploenchit that served the lower Sukhumvit area back in the last millennium. It had a carpark and I recall getting weekend groceries there. Long gone now.

There still is a freestanding FL with a carpark on Ploenchit but close to Ekkamai. I went in there recently as I had forgotten something in my Villa Thonglor shop and thought I would try there as I went past rather than going all the way back to Thonglor. My God it is was dreadful. Tiny narrow aisles, stuff stacked everywhere, and a pathetic selection of goods. Pretty sure FL will be dead as business in the not too distant future, they look like they have given up.

[bkk6060]

The markets in the major malls are packed.  Long lines to check out even T21 at the bottom jammed.

Tourists want to go to these markets as the brightness, abundance, freshness and quality are superior in my opinion to the other well known Falang markets.  Walking into the Foodland on Soi 5 is a downer.  Has a dungeon unkempt feel and the ceiling so low in some spots I have to duck my head.

The cost may be more in these other markets, but not that much more for an overall much more enjoyable shopping experience. 

Edited April 14, 2023 by bkk6060

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

One thing I like in particular about the service staff at Tops Central Chidlom Food Hall is, if they're out of some item, you can actually persuade them via their main customer service counter, especially via the on-duty manager, to check their on-site warehouse and even their computer system of stock in other stores. And if they find the item elsewhere, they'll have it transferred to their store for you to buy there, sometimes even on the same day  while you wait...

 

I can't say I've ever encountered that kind of service from Foodland or Villa.

 

Now if I could just get the Tops Food Hall folks (I've failed miserably thus far) to actually pay attention on their own to when they run out of something, and if they do run out, to on their own think maybe it might be a good idea to obtain some available stock sitting around unpurchased at other locations. That part, they just can't seem to manage to do.

 

 

 

Edited April 14, 2023 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

6 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

There still is a freestanding FL with a carpark on Ploenchit but close to Ekkamai. I went in there recently as I had forgotten something in my Villa Thonglor shop and thought I would try there as I went past rather than going all the way back to Thonglor. My God it is was dreadful. Tiny narrow aisles, stuff stacked everywhere, and a pathetic selection of goods. Pretty sure FL will be dead as business in the not too distant future, they look like they have given up.

Do you mean Petchburi? 

 

Ploenchit isn't anywhere near Ekkamai.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

7 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

There still is a freestanding FL with a carpark on Ploenchit but close to Ekkamai.

Huh?  How can a location be "on Ploenchit" and "close to Ekkamai"...when they're two different parallel streets some miles apart from each other?

 

[josephbloggs]

10 minutes ago, Etaoin Shrdlu said:

Do you mean Petchburi? 

 

Ploenchit isn't anywhere near Ekkamai.

D'oh! Brain wasn't working. Bad mistake. Yes, I meant Petchaburi. For some reason I read the Ploenchit post as Petchaburi. God, hope I'm not going senile already.

Edited April 14, 2023 by josephbloggs

[josephbloggs]

5 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Huh?  How can a location be "on Ploenchit" and "close to Ekkamai"...when they're two different parallel streets some miles apart from each other?

 

I've lived in this area for 28 years, just one of those brain moments. My mistake, I read it as Petchaburi for some reason.

The rest of the comments hold true though - awful place.

[digbeth]

Last time I went to Foodland in Ploenchit was probably 1990-91 they moved to Soi 5 around then, you're gonna need a time machine to visit them at the location

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

2 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

D'oh! Brain wasn't working. Bad mistake.

When I do similar, I just blame it on Old Timer's Disease.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 minute ago, josephbloggs said:

I've lived in this area for 28 years, just one of those brain moments. My mistake, I read it as Petchaburi for some reason.

The rest of the comments hold true though - awful place.

Being tall, I have to duck to avoid hitting my head every time I venture into Foodland Soi 5,,,, And if I need to bend down to look at some item on the lower/bottom level of a shelf, I'm taking up the entire narrow width of their aisles.

 

Villa Soi 33 is almost as bad or as bad when it comes to narrow aisles... But at least I don't have to worry as much about hitting my head on the ceiling there.