Anyone notice their favs disappearing from Villa Markets?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Tops and Central Market now almost always have dried pintos in both their house brand called My Choice and the Waitrose brand. They also have Casa Fiesta refried pintos. Always have them for the last five years or so.

In Bangkok anyway. Maybe not upcountry......

Yes, now that you mention it, I've also sometimes seen the My Choice brand bags of pintos at Central Markets and Tops in Bkk and elsewhere.

It seems to me, though, that they are smaller bags and more expensive than the bagged versions at Villa and Foodland.

Here's what the Villa and Foodland 16 oz. bags look like, 56b at Foodland and about 60b at Villa.

[Runamile]

Thai inventory control is appalling; and that will be at every point in the supply chain.

I assume that everybody is like me, when the thing, finally, comes in, if it comes in.

If I'm there on lucky day, I simply empty the shelf into my basket, so the shop is immediately back to square one. All of the farangs I know do exactly the same - and I'm not just talking about "farang" goods. It's anything we like, which is the victim of Thai inventory control - which means any and everything. I assume Thais do the same.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

You are wrong, this is mainly due to the coup. The main reason it that before the coup, food importing companies could get certain lower volume items or items which were difficult to obtain import licenses for trough customs by knowing the right people or paying them under the table. Indeed, since the coup there has been a clean up at customs. Reason of long shortages can range from production issue with the manufacturers, importers who are waiting to consolidate containers or the process of applying for import licenses ( which can take several months) which has to be redone by the importer because the the stricter applications of the importing process by customs since the coup. And believe me that's the only right answer here as I am in this business in Thailand for over 10 years

Interesting perspective. As I said in my OP, it did seem to me that the sudden down hill slide in the local availability of various U.S. imported products did seem to begin in the aftermath of the coup. Maybe a coincidence or not, I have no way of knowing.

But I do have a question. I understand that the markets use food import suppliers to obtain their imported stocks. But let's say they want to start stocking some new product from the U.S. that their importer has available. Does the importer have to get an item by item-specific license from somebody in the Thai government for each different product? Or, the importer as a company has to get only an importer's license for their business, and then they can bring in whatever they want?

In other words, does someone in the Thai government have to specifically approve product by product if Villa Markets want to stock Rosarita brand frijoles or Q-Tips or Tillamook cheese???

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Thai inventory control is appalling; and that will be at every point in the supply chain.

I assume that everybody is like me, when the thing, finally, comes in, if it comes in.

If I'm there on lucky day, I simply empty the shelf into my basket, so the shop is immediately back to square one. All of the farangs I know do exactly the same - and I'm not just talking about "farang" goods. It's anything we like, which is the victim of Thai inventory control - which means any and everything. I assume Thais do the same.

I've taken to doing that, unfortunately.

Now, any time I see anything imported that's on my informal essentials list, I'll usually buy enough to last me at home for a month or two (for things that keep) -- figuring that hopefully the markets ought to have some new stock in sometime at least by then.

But in the recent months, 3-6 months or more have passed and the various disappeared items haven't come back... at all!

[alanrchase]

Thai inventory control is appalling; and that will be at every point in the supply chain.

I assume that everybody is like me, when the thing, finally, comes in, if it comes in.

If I'm there on lucky day, I simply empty the shelf into my basket, so the shop is immediately back to square one. All of the farangs I know do exactly the same - and I'm not just talking about "farang" goods. It's anything we like, which is the victim of Thai inventory control - which means any and everything. I assume Thais do the same.

Totally possible. Would think that a store such as Tesco is computer driven as far as stock keeping is concerned. Still needs a human to monitor things I suppose.

With imported goods I assume all stores are at the mercy of customs control.

[Ghostnigel]

Off topic, but my friend just came back from England and brought me 2X160 boxes of PG Tips teabags (fresh, not like the stale crap you get here). 320 teabags....I'm in heaven, only a fraction of the price too. I will now be the happiest chappy on TVF, maybe....

Marks and Spencers do boxes of 160 for 295thb... You get 4 foil tubes of 40 round bags in the red range. gold range is a few baht more but still very good tea.

Thanks for that Tolsti, but no M&S in Korat, ive seen it in Festival in Patts, but a bit far to go for a cup of rosie...555 they are building a Terminal 21 (or is it 22) in Korat, and another Central Plaza, got 2 or 3 of them already.....got enough now to last me 'til the weekend....haha (320 bags) cheers mate.

[Ghostnigel]

Off topic, but my friend just came back from England and brought me 2X160 boxes of PG Tips teabags (fresh, not like the stale crap you get here). 320 teabags....I'm in heaven, only a fraction of the price too. I will now be the happiest chappy on TVF, maybe....

Marks and Spencers do boxes of 160 for 295thb... You get 4 foil tubes of 40 round bags in the red range. gold range is a few baht more but still very good tea.

I saw quite a bit of PG Tips boxes in Villas in BKK these week, though not sure how fresh or not they may be.

I had some from there a while back, maybe i was just unlucky, but they tasted like they had been out in the sun for 3 weeks...ughh

[SimonCC]

You are wrong, this is mainly due to the coup. The main reason it that before the coup, food importing companies could get certain lower volume items or items which were difficult to obtain import licenses for trough customs by knowing the right people or paying them under the table. Indeed, since the coup there has been a clean up at customs. Reason of long shortages can range from production issue with the manufacturers, importers who are waiting to consolidate containers or the process of applying for import licenses ( which can take several months) which has to be redone by the importer because the the stricter applications of the importing process by customs since the coup. And believe me that's the only right answer here as I am in this business in Thailand for over 10 years

Interesting perspective. As I said in my OP, it did seem to me that the sudden down hill slide in the local availability of various U.S. imported products did seem to begin in the aftermath of the coup. Maybe a coincidence or not, I have no way of knowing.

But I do have a question. I understand that the markets use food import suppliers to obtain their imported stocks. But let's say they want to start stocking some new product from the U.S. that their importer has available. Does the importer have to get an item by item-specific license from somebody in the Thai government for each different product? Or, the importer as a company has to get only an importer's license for their business, and then they can bring in whatever they want?

In other words, does someone in the Thai government have to specifically approve product by product if Villa Markets want to stock Rosarita brand frijoles or Q-Tips or Tillamook cheese???

They have to apply for an import license for every single reference. Even for the same product with a different size. That is the reason some very low volume food products are not available in TH because it is not worth the hassle applying for them by the importer.

[SimonCC]

They have to apply for an import license for every single reference. Even for the same product with a different size. That is the reason some very low volume food products are not available in TH because it is not worth the hassle applying for them by the importer.

[alanrchase]

Do like the quest for decent PG Tips tea bags. Seems to be a necessity. Am a Brit myself and the quest happens everywhere. Chins up and good luck.

[Stan42]

Yes I've noticed this too, both at Villa and Foodland. As far as I've read however this is not a problem on their part, their suppliers overseas are having problems.

[buwiro]

I was at Villa Market this afternoon and notice they were still out of several American brands that I usually buy. I thought because last week was Songkran so no big deal. After doing some investigating and reading I believe the reason might be the recent tension between Thailand and the U.S.

They do get their supplies from Bangkok,( the warehouse) and I'm sure they still have some items still in stock. It will be interesting in the near future if products that are imported slowly disappear. Reading the other posts it appears to be mostly U.S. Imports.

[alanrchase]

I was at Villa Market this afternoon and notice they were still out of several American brands that I usually buy. I thought because last week was Songkran so no big deal. After doing some investigating and reading I believe the reason might be the recent tension between Thailand and the U.S.

They do get their supplies from Bangkok,( the warehouse) and I'm sure they still have some items still in stock. It will be interesting in the near future if products that are imported slowly disappear. Reading the other posts it appears to be mostly U.S. Imports.

So you think due to "tension" between the two countries certain food exports will be affected. No sanctions food wise as far as I know. Previous poster mentioned a labour dispute at US ports. Most likely problem.

[buwiro]

That is definitely a possibility to check out as well.

I did purchase a local brand of Dill Pickles today because I too was buying Claussen and Vlasic. They were actually very good. Very crunchy and dill sprigs with chunks of garlic. They are in the refrigerated section. The brand is Happy Cow. Quite yummy.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Yes I've noticed this too, both at Villa and Foodland. As far as I've read however this is not a problem on their part, their suppliers overseas are having problems.

Well, in the first place, it's OUR problem here because the things we are accustomed to buying are no longer available in some cases.

But more broadly, I guess the main question would be whether the current situation is due to logistics problems in the U.S., like the ports labor dispute posted on above, or on changes in the Thai Customs Dept. clogging up the supply chain.

The ports labor dispute has been settled, so if that was the cause, presumably the shortages will pass. But if it's a new regime in Thai Customs, that's likely to be a longer term problem.

Ultimately, someone somewhere is responsible for the change in product availability.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

That is definitely a possibility to check out as well.

I did purchase a local brand of Dill Pickles today because I too was buying Claussen and Vlasic. They were actually very good. Very crunchy and dill sprigs with chunks of garlic. They are in the refrigerated section. The brand is Happy Cow. Quite yummy.

Don't recognize that name or brand... Where did you find them?

[LALes]

Johnsonville Brats, Grey Poupon Mustard, Kettle Potato Chips...to name a few.

And its not just Villa. Central/Tops, Foodland, Gourmet and Friendship in Pattaya, too.

I immediately thought it was all about the coup and the chill in relations with the US.

West Coast dock strike has been over for a while. We would have seen some products by now.

Never seen anything like this before in my 8 years here

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

They have to apply for an import license for every single reference. Even for the same product with a different size. That is the reason some very low volume food products are not available in TH because it is not worth the hassle applying for them by the importer.

Thanks....

Ohhhhh boyyyyyy!!!!!

[facthailand]

Frijoles refritos and pickles and waffles are easy to make at home. No need to wait for them to be restocked. Cheaper than imported ones, too.

Frijoles and refried beans are made from pinto beans. Many years of living in Thailand I have yet to see on single pinto bean other than when Villa Market stocked the canned variety. So if you know of a place one can purchase dried pinto beans in bulk or even small packages please share.

Homemade refritos are awesome. Our local Villa (Paradise Park) always seems to stock dried pinto beans. Dust off that slow cooker or substitute local red kidney beans.

Edited April 21, 2015 by facthailand

[facthailand]

Come on! I am jonesing for Cheez-Its so heavy!

[buwiro]

I bought the Happy Cow Dill Pickles at the Villa Market @ Boat Ave. in Laguna, Phuket

[ChiangmaiRob]

Noticed that Tesco are running out of Brook baked beans. Was visiting immigration today so thought I would get a few cans at the nearby Tesco, one can left so now all Tesco for a 50 kick radius are out of stock.

Brook ... who the heck are they? When it comes to beans, it just has to be Heinz!

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I will say, because I'm an American, more of the imported products I buy and use are American brands, so those are the brands that I've particularly noticed as being MIA these past months.

One of the reasons I started this thread was I was curious whether the MIA problem was just for American products, or whether it extended to other countries' imports as well (beyond the normal Thai supply chain problems). Thus far, here, we haven't heard a lot from folks talking about non-U.S. products having gone MIA.

If that's correct, that would tend to argue more in favor of the ports labor dispute being the cause, as that would probably impact U.S. exported products, but probably wouldn't much impact exports from other countries to Thailand, except perhaps from Canada.

If the cause were just Thai Customs, presumably, that would have a negative impact on all imports, not predominantly those from the U.S. FWIW, I still see Italian and Swiss and other countries imports here and haven't noticed any big losses from my limited view.

But also, a lot of the U.S. MIA products I've mentioned here have been products that were stocked in Villa Markets, but not so much in the various other outlets, AFAIK. So perhaps it also could be a problem with the import supply company that Villa is using.

[alanrchase]

Noticed that Tesco are running out of Brook baked beans. Was visiting immigration today so thought I would get a few cans at the nearby Tesco, one can left so now all Tesco for a 50 kick radius are out of stock.

Brook ... who the heck are they? When it comes to beans, it just has to be Heinz!

Slightly out in the sticks. "Villa " heard of it, no idea where one is. Foodland same. Where I am Tesco is as Western as it gets. Brook as good as Heinz.

[louse1953]

This has nothing to do with the coup, this has been going for the 30 years I have lived here. Too many products to list. Its not only at stores that are mainly aimed a foreign market but places like Makro as well. I have talked to managers at Makro, its the buyers decisions in Bangkok. They just want to try something new, so they discontinue products with a really good sales history, and put something new on the shelves. They do this with no discussion with the store managers who then have many many customers complaing to them everyday that products they relied on Makro to supply are gone. In the case of restaurants we need suppliers to be there everyday for us or it has a huge impact on our business.

In my latest case, it had nothing to do with Thailand. Three products from Heinz that I use in receipes were discontinued by Heinz for the Thai market as I was told by the importer. These products had been available here for 20 years and were good sellers. Why discontinue them who the hell knows?

Thai stores have a tendancy to reorder when they are out of stock. Even though they all have computers with software in them for inventory management, they still seem to want to do this Thai style. Compounding the problem, the company that is importing the product from abroad wants to work the same way. That explains the products that are missing for several months at a time. Sometimes it logistics, waiting to fill a container so the shipping cost can be managed.

Many reasons, It does baffle me they will discontinue a product that was selling really good.

I have been in Oz for 3 weeks and have bought a few items that are not available in Thailand.They have 1 item available,the one on display.They have to order in and i have to wait a week.These are hardware items.Supermarkets are wellstocked even plenty of Thai items.The big change to me is 4 different types of coconut water,$5/litre.Never seen it in Thailand even though it is made there.

[TheWizardofRnR]

I did find items on Soi 33/1 The Original Villa that I have not found in the Pattaya store !

I also wrote a letter to them suggesting to add a Sugar Free Products section , which they use to carry a few more Sugar Free products then you can find now. It seems all stores are not the same , I was in my Wheelchair which in Phuket and Pattaya is pretty accessible in most aisles , but in Villa 33/1 which I had been a customer at since 1988,

its really still a case of I hope nobody's in the next aisles I'm in. I also found the Lady on 33/1 knew her cheese but most others staff tried harder then Phuket or Pattaya staff have no idea. Actually , some Non- Thai Ladies were very helpful , helping me find some items , you could tell they were regular shoppers there !

They really need to import Splenda in the big bags like friends bring me , 2 of those ladies said that too , in our brief chat ! Diabetes isn't just for us Non- Thai people anymore. Doctors in hospitals have told me its very prevalent amongst the Thai populace these days ! There are many companies that they carry their products in Sugared contents , that also make Sugar Free Variations , so its not like they have to search very far Plus , Oreo's if they make them mhere could offer a SF version , unless they fear the

SUGAR Monopolies !

[bbabythai]

Yes, I have noticed that they do not stock the arrowmills 'gluten free steel cut oats' anymore. I asked manager about this many times but of course they do not know. TIT

[mike324]

I will say, because I'm an American, more of the imported products I buy and use are American brands, so those are the brands that I've particularly noticed as being MIA these past months.

One of the reasons I started this thread was I was curious whether the MIA problem was just for American products, or whether it extended to other countries' imports as well (beyond the normal Thai supply chain problems). Thus far, here, we haven't heard a lot from folks talking about non-U.S. products having gone MIA.

If that's correct, that would tend to argue more in favor of the ports labor dispute being the cause, as that would probably impact U.S. exported products, but probably wouldn't much impact exports from other countries to Thailand, except perhaps from Canada.

If the cause were just Thai Customs, presumably, that would have a negative impact on all imports, not predominantly those from the U.S. FWIW, I still see Italian and Swiss and other countries imports here and haven't noticed any big losses from my limited view.

But also, a lot of the U.S. MIA products I've mentioned here have been products that were stocked in Villa Markets, but not so much in the various other outlets, AFAIK. So perhaps it also could be a problem with the import supply company that Villa is using.

Like prevoius poster said, it could very well be the strike at the ports in West Coast, the backlog is stretched 3-4 months. Some of my customers have shipment stuck there, most have rerouted to East Coast and some even paying expensive air shipments for sending products from Thailand to the US.

I would imagine Villa distributor were sending shipments from West Coast as it is cheaper and closer and they ran into this issue. But it has been over 3 months since the strike started. They could have easily reroute shipments. So the delay is puzzling or just plain bad management on the Villas side.

[biplanebluey]

Well mate dont know what half that stuff you refer to is,and as for importing cheese from California-------That had me curled up on the floor.Ever heard of New Zsaland. Anyway all joking apart most Farang (me included) when they come here to stay find that their diet does change and you start to enjoy all sorts of stuff that you used to turn your nose up at the beginning..As they say "try it you'll like it"--------- Dougal the Kiwi

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I would imagine Villa distributor were sending shipments from West Coast as it is cheaper and closer and they ran into this issue. But it has been over 3 months since the strike started. They could have easily reroute shipments. So the delay is puzzling or just plain bad management on the Villas side.

Or... Villa just chose not to pay the extra expense, figuring higher costs wouldn't go over well with their customers... And instead, just decided to let their stocks run out, and substitute other things....

fYI, according to the prior news article post... the ports strike/labor dispute already was settled about two month ago.... it's not still ongoing.