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

[PingRoundTheWorld]

4 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Normally I avoid TOPS, at least the one below Robinson in Sukhumvit Soi 17. My reason is their attitude to hygiene.

It's disguesting there. Literally bugs on the shelves.

 

As for Foodland - the location sucks - who wants to go grocery shopping in a red light area? just walking there would require crossing paths with ladyboys, African drug dealers, hookers, beggars, etc. But yes I think the main thing is a lot of expats in the area left during Covid and never came back. Tourism in Bangkok never really recovered since.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

8 minutes ago, digbeth said:

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

 

So Bangkok history lesson...

 

I first came to Bangkok almost 20 years ago, and as best as I recall, the current Foodland Soi 5 location was open then, as was the prior Villa Market location at the top of Soi 11.

 

So, prior to that, there was a freestanding Foodland somewhere along Ploenchit Road instead???

 

 

[josephbloggs]

4 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

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.

 

I guess that is why you're Tall Guy John.

Yeah, Villa 33 is very tight and I don't really like shopping there, but they'll never give that location up as they make a lot of money from it and they own that whole plot of land all the way back to where Blockbuster used to be plus one side of 33/1, so it guess it will be "The Original" for a long time to come - until one day they sell the lot and a condo goes up.

I used to quite like the Fuji behind there but haven't been in for years - wonder what it is like now?

(God this is a depressingly middle aged conversation)

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 minute ago, PingRoundTheWorld said:

It's disguesting there. Literally bugs on the shelves.

I've noticed that in the past with the Tops Robinson's location as well at times... But truth to be told, at various other supermarket locations around BKK as well from time to time...

 

What used to be very bad was when Bangkok flooded amid heavy rains, the entire basement of the Robinson's complex where the Tops market is located also would get flooded with muck, and that probably didn't help matters any.

 

All the rest, well, that's part of what you deal with living in Bangkok.

 

[josephbloggs]

2 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

So Bangkok history lesson...

 

I first came to Bangkok almost 20 years ago, and as best as I recall, the current Foodland Soi 5 location was open then, as was the prior Villa Market location at the top of Soi 11.

 

So, prior to that, there was a freestanding Foodland somewhere along Ploenchit Road instead???

 

 

I came 28 years ago and Foodland Soi 5 existed. But Villa only had 33/1, nowhere else. They started expanding in the late 90s I think. I also remember reading an interview with the owner from around that time that they never ever borrowed money for a new location, it was always financed by their existing cashflow. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 minute ago, josephbloggs said:

I guess that is why you're Tall Guy John.

 

Indeed!  Funny about that... ????

 

Quote

I used to quite like the Fuji behind there but haven't been in for years - wonder what it is like now?

Pop in there periodically, when I'm lookiing for something in particular of Japanese cuisine... Kinda like that place...and they have some nice fresh food selections you won't find elsewhere, along with what struck me as some pretty good beef selections. I haven't noticed any change in the place, thru the years.

 

 

[digbeth]

6 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

So Bangkok history lesson...

 

I first came to Bangkok almost 20 years ago, and as best as I recall, the current Foodland Soi 5 location was open then, as was the prior Villa Market location at the top of Soi 11.

 

So, prior to that, there was a freestanding Foodland somewhere along Ploenchit Road instead???

 

 

It was in a sort of a mall, where Homepro or some posh hotel is now, just under the Ploenchit Station

It's usually full of embassy staff, I don't think there's any Thai Supermarket back then, only Foodland and Villa, plus many other Thai operation that died off since then, some like T.Super near Soi 51 is such surviving sample, I think also Central started as similar outfit but moved onto Department Stores

The Thais seem to make a big deal about being an air-conditioned market 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

22 minutes ago, digbeth said:

It was in a sort of a mall, where Homepro or some posh hotel is now, just under the Ploenchit Station

 

Wave Place at Ploenchit?  But it only opened in 1996...

 

 

There's also the opposite corner where there's a more recently developed (2012) hotel and retail high-rise called the Park Ventures Ecoplex  (nice name... ???? ) where the Okura Prestige Hotel is located...  But I don't recall what was there, before it was built.

 

 

Edited April 14, 2023 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[proton]

They stopped pricing everything up, stopped the pleasant western music and started a lot of buy one get one free crap that the mrs can never resist. Sure I saw her eyeing up the dog food on offer, and we have not got a dog. She says it's saving money, it never is. Use Tops more now and Big C

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

41 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Wave Place at Ploenchit?  But it only opened in 1996...

 

 

There's also the opposite corner where there's a more recently developed (2012) hotel and retail high-rise called the Park Ventures Ecoplex  (nice name... ???? ) where the Okura Prestige Hotel is located...  But I don't recall what was there, before it was built.

 

 

Yes, close to where Wave Place is now or perhaps it was where Noble Ploenchit or Rosewood Hotel is. It's been a long time.

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, bkk6060 said:

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. 

That is an interesting comment, at least from my point of view.

My shopping in Foodland takes maybe 5 or 10 minutes. It's clean and it is bright enough to see. And most of the time I don't have to wait at the cashier. Would I pay more only because the aisles are wider, or the ceiling is higher? No. 

And motorcycle parking right in front of the door is a big advantage from Foodland Soi 5.

 

But I guess you are not alone and that might explain why fewer people go to Foodland. It definitely does not feel like a 5-star hotel. 

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, PingRoundTheWorld said:

It's disguesting there. Literally bugs on the shelves.

 

As for Foodland - the location sucks - who wants to go grocery shopping in a red light area? just walking there would require crossing paths with ladyboys, African drug dealers, hookers, beggars, etc. But yes I think the main thing is a lot of expats in the area left during Covid and never came back. Tourism in Bangkok never really recovered since.

About Foodland: I go there most of the time in daylight. No problem. And within 1km radius around Soi 5 there is a lot more than just what you describe. 

Edited April 14, 2023 by OneMoreFarang

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

So Bangkok history lesson...

 

I first came to Bangkok almost 20 years ago, and as best as I recall, the current Foodland Soi 5 location was open then, as was the prior Villa Market location at the top of Soi 11.

 

So, prior to that, there was a freestanding Foodland somewhere along Ploenchit Road instead???

 

 

I visited Foodland Soi 5 the first time in 1995. And I don't think it was new at that time. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

11 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

But I guess you are not alone and that might explain why fewer people go to Foodland. It definitely does not feel like a 5-star hotel. 

The standalone markets like Foodland Soi 5 and Villa Soi 11 and 33 are all air conditioned, more or less.

 

But the one thing that's different about them, vs the mall based supermarket locations, is the standalone places do tend to be easier and quicker to get into and out of vs. the supermarkets contained within big mall structures.

 

At both Central Chidlom and especially  CentralWorld, there's a fair amount of time-consuming walking and going up and down levels to get into and out of the supermarkets there... None of that at the standalones....

 

But, that advantage doesn't do any good for the standalones, especially regarding Foodland, if they don't actually stock the things I want/need to buy...

Edited April 14, 2023 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[OneMoreFarang]

Wow! 6 hours later we have 111 replies in this post. I would have never expected that one. 

Thanks! 

[digbeth]

1 hour ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Wave Place at Ploenchit?  But it only opened in 1996...

 

 

There's also the opposite corner where there's a more recently developed (2012) hotel and retail high-rise called the Park Ventures Ecoplex  (nice name... ???? ) where the Okura Prestige Hotel is located...  But I don't recall what was there, before it was built.

 

 

Ok, not as far as the corner of Wireless road, definitely was on the plot that was empty for a long time, Must be either the Rosewood hotel or where Noble Condo is now

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Wow! 6 hours later we have 111 replies in this post. I would have never expected that one. 

Thanks! 

Farang gotta eat... and not just noodles and pad krapow from the street vendors!

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 minutes ago, digbeth said:

Ok, not as far as the corner of Wireless road, definitely was on the plot that was empty for a long time, Must be either the Rosewood hotel or where Noble Condo is now

 

 

yep, that looks like the trademark kind of Foodland frontage!  That definitely was before my time....there....

 

[digbeth]

11 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Wow! 6 hours later we have 111 replies in this post. I would have never expected that one. 

Thanks! 

Where else can you go for groceries and ogle at the meat on the way back

[expat_4_life]

Many things have changed in the Nana area likely contributing to the decline of the Soi 5 Foodland. It didn't all happen at once but is a cumulative shift in the clientele for that markets location.

 

In the immediate vicinity many of the small businesses are long gone. There used to be a more diverse/vibrant local/Thai feel to the area, bars restaurants, more small-medium hotels and guest houses. That whole area from Soi 3 to Soi 13 has transformed from what it once was and so has the demographics of the neighborhood. There are far fewer people that are more medium/long term visitors to the area. Over the decades Soi 5, 7 11 have all had stints as construction zones, long list of casualties. Foodland may be next.

Couple that with the rapid explosion of all the major malls and competition for supermarkets - doesn't look great for the Soi 5 location.

I used to shop Soi 5 weekly even though I live down towards ThongLo. At the time I had a favorite spot on Soi 7, originally the Wave then the New Wave. I liked the area, there was that open food court right next to the bar and you could take the "tunnel" over to Soi 5 and eat at Took Lae Dee with the benefit of getting your shopping done.

Alas, my days of visiting Foodland on Soi 5 are in the past.
 



 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Interesting tidbit of history... Was the old Ploenchit Foodland the very first one? Seems so, according to Wikipedia...

 

"In the year 1972, the grocery store business is very new in Thailand the only groceries store that was available at that time is “Daily Lane”. Thus, Mr. Somsak Teraphatakul and his partners decided to first open the grocery store named “Pleonchit Supermarket” it is the first 24 hours opening of a supermarket in Asia. After 6 months, Mr. Somsak and his partner have made a decision to open the second branches of the supermarket named “Patpong Supermarket” which is located on Patpong road."

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foodland_(Thailand)

 

Via Google Translate:

 

"Until the year 1972, Somsak decided to make a supermarket in Thailand. He and 7 other investors decided to invest 3 million baht to open the first supermarket under the name 'Ploenchit Supermarket' located in the Ploenchit Arcade with an area of approximately 400 square meters."

 

"In the early days, Took Lae Dee had a coffee shop corner whose main purpose was for husbands to sit and wait for their wives while shopping for groceries."

 

 

https://workpointtoday.com/the-story-of-foodland/

 

 

Edited April 14, 2023 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

18 minutes ago, digbeth said:

Ok, not as far as the corner of Wireless road, definitely was on the plot that was empty for a long time, Must be either the Rosewood hotel or where Noble Condo is now

 

 

Yes, that's it!

[digbeth]

4 minutes ago, expat_4_life said:

Many things have changed in the Nana area likely contributing to the decline of the Soi 5 Foodland. It didn't all happen at once but is a cumulative shift in the clientele for that markets location.

 

In the immediate vicinity many of the small businesses are long gone. There used to be a more diverse/vibrant local/Thai feel to the area, bars restaurants, more small-medium hotels and guest houses. That whole area from Soi 3 to Soi 13 has transformed from what it once was and so has the demographics of the neighborhood. There are far fewer people that are more medium/long term visitors to the area. Over the decades Soi 5, 7 11 have all had stints as construction zones, long list of casualties. Foodland may be next.

Couple that with the rapid explosion of all the major malls and competition for supermarkets - doesn't look great for the Soi 5 location.

I used to shop Soi 5 weekly even though I live down towards ThongLo. At the time I had a favorite spot on Soi 7, originally the Wave then the New Wave. I liked the area, there was that open food court right next to the bar and you could take the "tunnel" over to Soi 5 and eat at Took Lae Dee with the benefit of getting your shopping done.

Alas, my days of visiting Foodland on Soi 5 are in the past.
 

You hit the nail on the head,

 

The half-assed gentrification really robbed the area of its charms, 

First the clubs in Soi 11 got turned into Condos, The price of land keeps going up, Hotels like the Hyatt and Sheraton just open next door to Ruamchit Hotel, but the street walker still ply their trade... these new hotels guest to walk out of their hotel and be greeted by quite a curious sight every night 

[digbeth]

6 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Interesting tidbit of history... Was the old Ploenchit Foodland the very first one? Seems so, according to Wikipedia...

 

"In the year 1972, the grocery store business is very new in Thailand the only groceries store that was available at that time is “Daily Lane”. Thus, Mr. Somsak Teraphatakul and his partners decided to first open the grocery store named “Pleonchit Supermarket” it is the first 24 hours opening of a supermarket in Asia. After 6 months, Mr. Somsak and his partner have made a decision to open the second branches of the supermarket named “Patpong Supermarket” which is located on Patpong road."

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foodland_(Thailand)

 

Via Google Translate:

 

"Until the year 1972, Somsak decided to make a supermarket in Thailand. He and 7 other investors decided to invest 3 million baht to open the first supermarket under the name 'Ploenchit Supermarket' located in the Ploenchit Arcade with an area of approximately 400 square meters."

 

https://workpointtoday.com/the-story-of-foodland/

 

 

Patpong is still there to this day

 

Villa on 33 is from the same era also, they keep expanding next door hence the uneven floor

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Ploenchit Arcade:

 

 

Source link:

[JensenZ]

7 hours ago, isaanistical said:

Agree about Fooodland's downward spiral, and it's a shame. Can't be specific about soi 5 because I always used to avoid it as it was often full of people who would not buy pork, shall we say.

 

But elsewhere, Took Lae Dee simplified their menus during the panic and have not reverted. No fish 'n' chips, for example, while even the Thai food selection has halved.

And food prices jumped around 6-8 months ago, since when I have stopped using Foodland altogether. Their deli sections were good - and very good value, but prices of [locally-produced, don't forget] hams, etc just doubled overnight. They stopped selling bread too.

 

So all the reasons for using FL just evaporated. I joined Makro, which is not a like-for-like, but it fills some of the holes.

Relating to Pattaya Foodland stores: Upper Pattaya Klang and Terminal 21. The stores are still nice places to shop and you can find good bargains. Their fruit and vegetables are top quality, but VERY expensive. Took Lae Dee used to be a decent, inexpensive place to eat, but now the prices are ridiculous, for very small serves.

[OneMoreFarang]

2 minutes ago, JensenZ said:

Took Lae Dee used to be a decent, inexpensive place to eat, but now the prices are ridiculous, for very small serves.

Yes, I agree on that one.

[soi3eddie]

10 hours ago, stoner said:

well maybe foodland is sucking and villa is taking that business? 

Villa Ari that I use is also much, much quieter than previously. Seems to be quite a few farangs in the area. Most of them are teacher types. No foodland near here. Small Tops pretty rubbish unfortunately. 

[mstevens]

10 hours ago, StayinThailand2much said:

Spot on. 'Western' supermarkets in recent years have either moved away from imported products, or sell them at ridiculous prices. IMHO they have scared away many of their former customers. While a large part of the product range is not different from a 7-Eleven convenience store anymore, at the same time these products are sold at higher prices, so that they don't appeal to local customers. At the same time, cutting down on products favoured by expats or tourists, they have lost appeal among them too. Add the ridiculous prices of 100s of baht for one unit of some  imported products, and it is easy to see why even expats shop less at such stores these days.

Imported products in supermarkets have always been expensive in Thailand. One thing to factor in is that inflation around the world is raging and the impressions of the average consumer is that they are running way hotter than the supposedly "official" inflation rate. Here in New Zealand, salmon is up 50% in price over the past couple of years. Why? It's all local. I don't get it! Same with fresh chicken. Tomatoes have more than doubled in price. Many vegetables and fruits are up 50 - 60%. Onions have also doubled in price and then some. I could go on. When these and other products are exported, they are going to cost a whole lot more in the destination markets like Thailand so don't blame it entirely on Foodland and the like. They're paying much more for many of these imported products.

[still kicking]

7 minutes ago, mstevens said:

Imported products in supermarkets have always been expensive in Thailand. One thing to factor in is that inflation around the world is raging and the impressions of the average consumer is that they are running way hotter than the supposedly "official" inflation rate. Here in New Zealand, salmon is up 50% in price over the past couple of years. Why? It's all local. I don't get it! Same with fresh chicken. Tomatoes have more than doubled in price. Many vegetables and fruits are up 50 - 60%. Onions have also doubled in price and then some. I could go on. When these and other products are exported, they are going to cost a whole lot more in the destination markets like Thailand so don't blame it entirely on Foodland and the like. They're paying much more for many of these imported products.

Same in Australia, can't afford to buy seafood