Floods hit luxury malls, but others hold on

KWANCHAI RUNGFAPAISARN,

SOMLUCK SRIMALEE

THE NATION

As the massive flood has hit many areas of Bangkok, it has seriously dampened the enthusiasm of local shoppers, with the number of daily visits to many malls down by as much as 20 per cent.

Satima Tanabe, deputy general manager of Gaysorn Shopping Centre, said the number of local visitors to the luxurious mall had dropped significantly - by between 15 and 20 per cent - because of the flooding. She said buyers' moods were down and daily news reports were doing little to lift their spirits.

"We have seen the stress level of Bangkokians rising in the past two weeks as the flooding hits industrial estates in Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani, and it's having a negative impact on the luxury retail sector, in particular," she said.

Satima said major Gaysorn clients were business entrepreneurs and factory owners living in the outskirts of Bangkok who have been seriously affected by flooding.

She said these people would be spending much of their time concentrating on business restoration and continuity when the flood is over.

Satima said the flooding had not had an impact on foreign tourists, especially short-haul travellers from mainland China, Hong Kong and Singapore. Major hotels in the Ratchaprasong area, with more than 4,000 guest rooms in total, still report occupancy between 65 and 70 per cent.

"However, we expect the flood will have an impact on long-haul tourists if it is lasts for a long time and Western travellers cancel their trips to Thailand over the Christmas and New Year period," she said.

Dr Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, executive vice president for marketing of Central Pattana (CPN), said: "At the moment our shopping malls are not affected by the flood situation. Regarding the flood's impact on business, it is still not possible to make a conclusion at the moment. We need to observe the situation further.

"Flood news could be having a psychological effect on consumers' spending moods. However, the traffic at our shopping malls remains the same as people still come to buy essentials." The number of tourists at CentralWorld and other tourist-oriented sites has also remained normal during the floods.

"We have only seen traffic drop by about 20 per cent at the malls that are near the flood-affected areas like CentralPlaza Rattanathibet and CentralPlaza Chaengwattana because of the inconvenience of commuting in those areas," Nattakit said.

In addition, CPN last Thursday opened its 17th shopping complex, CentralPlaza Phitsanulok, the biggest shopping complex in lower northern Thailand, which spans 100,000 square metres of gross floor area with more than 200 shops. The new mall received a warm welcome from Phitsanulok people and nearby provinces. Traffic on opening day exceeded 80,000 people, higher than expected. CentralPlaza Phitsanulok anticipates average daily traffic at about 50,000.

More than 900 retail tenants at the Future Park shopping complex suffered combined sales losses of Bt300 million per day after it announced a temporary shutdown last Wednesday after flooding hit many surrounding areas in Rangsit. The mall normally attracts about 155,000 shoppers a day with Bt1,500 in average spending (per bill per head).

An official at Future Park said the number of visitors also dropped by about 30 per cent on October 8 when flooding hit the Pathum Thani area.

-- The Nation 2011-10-25

matters a little, when there is no water, milk, noodles, rice and the other basic foods on the shelves - most of bangkok and as far south as pattaya and hua hin

Um, one struggles to understand how this is news. No one should be caring about luxury goods at the moment. Cleaning products would be more important; food, clean water, essentials for living.

I am sure that there will be a pleathera of floating markets with people profiteering of emptying the shelves of the supermarket over the past few weeks. It has happened in Ayuttaya, it will happen here.

It always brings the question whether the consumption is truly hit, or perhaps just postponed. In general, people buy the same amount of goods, on average, over a given time period, no matter these short term disruptions.

Think that the main reason Thailand wont see recession is because in the first quarter 2012, both consumption and investment (both private and public) is gonna go up, assuming that the water will be gone by then.

Edited October 25, 201114 yr by jamora

80% still going i think thats a result .

Edited October 25, 201114 yr by kartman

Hey Yingluck, no crowds at the malls!

Most of the Thaksin family is overseas at the moment isnt it? That would explain the drop in luxury good sales. PM Yingluck is also being distracted at the moment but she should return to Siam Paragon any time soon. A new range of LV handbags for 200,000 each should bring them out.

Um, one struggles to understand how this is news.

maybe it's the PR firms doing some damage control prior to the quarterly investor meetings?

or

maybe it's a way for commercial interests to beg the government for well-deserved financial assistance?

Yeah...that is pretty useless article about pretty useless news. Oh...you know what else is pretty useless? Your ongoing comments about the Thaksin family!

Edited October 25, 201114 yr by DocN

Guess now the flood's important.... given the red madness last year and now this current crisis, seems like the only thing that matters in national politics is those d*** hotels and malls.

Dr Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, executive vice president for marketing of Central Pattana (CPN), said: "At the moment our shopping malls are not affected by the flood situation.

Tesco is shutting down, and so will some others....so what kind of stupid BS is this article???

Why is this a big surprice? The parking areas in all luxury malls has been changed to long-term parking only. No parking possibilities left for the daily customers!

slow news day ?

It is hard for me to feel sorry for Gaysom, to be honest. I find it odd that they are down 15-20% but Central World across the street is doing just fine.

But,

"However, we expect the flood will have an impact on long-haul tourists if it is lasts for a long time and Western travellers cancel their trips to Thailand over the Christmas and New Year period," she said.

This *could* be a serious problem for tourism, and that hurts many more people than Gaysom. When people make vacation plans, they aren't rational about it. Pictures of flooding have a delayed affect on tourists. After the floods in the south in March, Koh Tao was dead for April and May even though the weather was great and there were no recovery/onfrastructure issues.

seriously dampened the enthusiasm of local shoppers What are these inconsiderate people thinking of? Don't they realise that the owners of these stores are doing it hard. Get out there and shop, shop, shop until you can shop no more. P.S don't forget to tip well.

slow news day ?

It is hard for me to feel sorry for Gaysom, to be honest. I find it odd that they are down 15-20% but Central World across the street is doing just fine.

But,

"However, we expect the flood will have an impact on long-haul tourists if it is lasts for a long time and Western travellers cancel their trips to Thailand over the Christmas and New Year period," she said.

This *could* be a serious problem for tourism, and that hurts many more people than Gaysom. When people make vacation plans, they aren't rational about it. Pictures of flooding have a delayed affect on tourists. After the floods in the south in March, Koh Tao was dead for April and May even though the weather was great and there were no recovery/onfrastructure issues.

Agreed, with the flooding problem still with us in November, dry-up finished January, factories maybe in operation January/February, I also find it difficult to feel sorry for 'luxury malls'.

Already tourists start to rethink or even cancel their trips to Thailand, mostly those who wanted to travel around and spent money upcountry. Beach area should still be OK this time.

matters a little, when there is no water, milk, noodles, rice and the other basic foods on the shelves - most of bangkok and as far south as pattaya and hua hin

You can't eat expensive boots. .

Edited October 25, 201114 yr by sirchai

Hey Yingluck, no crowds at the malls!

Time for a SALE! 20% off..

Hey Yingluck, no crowds at the malls!

Time for a SALE! 20% off..

This is Thailand when sales are slow they normally increase the prices to cover losses. for example: We normally sell 2 of these every week, but lately we are only selling one, Double the prices and there you go income back on track, books balanced.

Um, one struggles to understand how this is news. No one should be caring about luxury goods at the moment. Cleaning products would be more important; food, clean water, essentials for living.

I am sure that there will be a pleathera of floating markets with people profiteering of emptying the shelves of the supermarket over the past few weeks. It has happened in Ayuttaya, it will happen here.

Of course it is news when the journalists are over-represented among the luxury shoppers of said malls. Same as a poll on what journalists in Bangkok voted during the last election would reveal why the press image is so completely out of touch.