Crackdown On Tesco Lotus, Carrefour, Big C, 7-11

[cclub75]

That's the way to do it... The poor minister is going to blush.

They know very well how to despise and have a bad behaviour with low classes, but when we're talking big business then they are like small children caught smoking in the restrooms of the school...

(from The Nation)

Late news :London urges caution on retail

The British Embassy's trade and investment official yesterday urged the government to think carefully before proceeding with measures to control retail business expansion, which affects the British company Tesco among others.

While saying that the government must be fair to all parties, he admitted that the complaints on aggressive expansion by giant retailers were not new.

Thai News Agency reported yesterday that a French diplomat in Bangkok said Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Somkid Jatusripitak would discuss investment policy with Carrefour and Casino Group during his visit to France next week.

[marshbags]

I note that they plan an additional 170 stores, where are they going to put them all bearing in mind most larger cities already have them, along with the other companies.

This would put more than a few local businesses out of action after many years of building up a customer base and putting in personal investment along with their money.

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Ah! Excuse me please! The entire province of Sa Kaeo has not even one “big box” store. I am forced to make the very long 2-hour drive anytime I need to shop, wasting, fuel, time and money.

Just maybe Sa Kaeo. was on this list, sorry about the 2 hour drive and i bet it isn,t a smooth ride in places.

Hope you have a big freezer and can buy in bulk to cut the visits down.

Apologies also for my ignorance, what,s your take on the area. + and -

Not being sarcastic by the way, just genuinely interested.

marshbags

P.S.

Thanks for the info plus, i thought it might be the Big C group.

Edited September 16, 2006 by marshbags

[jcgodber]

"Apologies also for my ignorance, what,s your take on the area. + and -

Not being sarcastic by the way, just genuinely interested.

marshbags "

P.S.

--------------------------------------------------------

I drove down to Chanthaburi yesterday to do some shopping while there I went into the Makro. An employee there said that Casino (Big C) wanted to build a store also in Chanthaburi but was shot down by the government. Rumor has it that they will try to build the big C in Sa Kaeo instead as Sa Kaeo has nothing. Also there is now a new Makro under construction here in Sa Kaeo and every day I make a point of checking to see that the workmen are still there working. They seem to be building at a breakneck speed.

No! I took no offence with your post, I am sure that I “spoke” a little harshly, I am just anxious for someone to build something, anything, near me. I think that it will all blow over right after the coming elections.

Jim

[Farma]

Another article in todays Saudi Gazette.

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.php?o...&Itemid=115

Thai Retail Freeze Hits Foreign Investors

Saturday, 16 September 2006

By Nareerat Wiriyapong

Agence France-Presse

<snip>

“The development really indicates that Thai retailers are in need of more protection to survive,” economist Thanavath Phonvichai, of University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce in Bangkok, told AFP.

But he also said the move could have more to do with politics ahead of elections slated for later this year.

“Helping local operators apparently gives (Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s) administration a windfall in terms of more popularity for the coming election,” Thanavath said.

Following months of political turmoil, Thaksin is hoping the new polls will end demands that he step down after snap elections he called in April were invalidated.

The crisis erupted after anger over claims of corruption stemming from his family’s 1.9-billion-dollar sale of telecoms stock sparked mass street protests.

The unprecedented political turmoil has led to a sharp plunge in private investments and consumption, which experts say has cut growth of the retail sector from average 10 percent a year to only five percent in 2006.

[G....]

Crab, they just closed my 7-11. I bought something from there only 4 days ago.

More likely they closed it because theres a Tesco's Express next door and another 7-11 down the road but I really hate shopping at Tescos. Our tesco's isn'tt friendly and I'm sure they are slow on purpose .

[Jai Dee]

UPDATE:

DRAFT TRADE ACT

Retail law wins backing from Cabinet

Bill set for implementation 'within two months'; Interior Ministry to get power to curb retail giants' expansion

The Surayud Cabinet yesterday approved a draft retail business law, which will give power to the Interior Ministry to curb the expansion of the mega-retailers through its city planning and building codes.

The move is part of a set of urgent measures proposed by the Com-merce Ministry in draft legislation to halt the rapid expansion of giant retailers, which have grabbed a strong foothold in cities, districts and small communities - and caused the demise of thousands of "mom and pop" stores.

A local retailer, who asked not to be named, said the draft legislation was likely to be passed by the National Legislative Assembly within the next two months so that Thailand will have a Retail Business Act for the first time by the middle of this year.

Under the proposed draft, the Interior Ministry would assume responsibility of curbing the expansion of giant retailers by exercising its power under the City Planning Code and Building Code.

The Surayud government hopes the Retail Business Act will create a level playing field in the retail and wholesale sectors.

Last month, Cabinet rejected the legislation draft, saying some clauses were ambiguous and also gave enormous power to regulating committees.

Netpreeya Chumchaiyo, assistant to the Government House spokes-man, said yesterday some clauses in the draft had been changed to create more transparency. The new law would balance the regulatory power of national and local commissioners, who will regulate the retail business.

At present, Thailand has only a disparate set of individual regulations governing the retail sector, and the Commerce Ministry has spent years devising a single set of rules for the retail trade.

Foreign investors, particularly from Europe, have expressed fears about the Retail Business Act, and draft amendments to the Foreign Business Act, arguing that the laws would make Thailand less attractive to invest in.

The US took a similar stance last week when it cited Thailand's move to introduce the retail business law as one of its alleged reasons for downgrading Thailand's trade status to "priority watch list".

Once approved, the retail trade laws would restrict the building of vast, modern retail outlets, whether locally owned like smaller shops - or bigger players like Tesco Lotus.

Supermarkets or hypermarts would be subject to rules and regulations. Most other countries have similar retail laws to protect small retail shops. The law will also focus on zoning regulations, and assign specific areas where retail outlets can be located.

Small retailers have been putting up a fierce fight against the retail giants, particularly Tesco Lotus, which has expanded its presence to districts and sub-districts nation-wide.

The retail sector is worth about Bt1.2 trillion a year, out of an economy totalling about Bt7 trillion.

Thanapon Tangkananan, president of Thai Retailers Association, said yesterday that new retail law would "damage the sentiment and confidence" in the Thai economy. And implementing the law at a time of political uncertainty could affect the confidence of foreign investors.

This could also have a domino effect on employment, manufacturing and people's spending, he said.

Previously, the Thai Retailers Association claimed the retail sector would register flat growth this year if the new Act was passed and implemented. It said growth in the retail sector slowed to 4 per cent in the first quarter this year - and was forecast to grow by 2-3 per cent over the whole year.

"The Cabinet has stepped back to allow 'old traders' in many areas to continue to monopolise the market instead of creating more choices for the consumer," he said. Restrictions to control business expansion would also limit competition.

The association said wanted to see the revised draft before commenting on the regulatory power of local and national commissioners.

Source: The Nation - 09 May 2007

[Jai Dee]

Thailand approves 'stopgap' limits on retail chain expansion

Tesco, Carrefour and other international retailers operating in Thailand will face restrictions on further expansion as a result of the cabinet's approval Tuesday of temporary retail limits.

The cabinet of Thailand, which has Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy, behind Indonesia, agreed to adopt a "stopgap" Commerce Ministry proposal to limit retail chain expansion pending final approval of a law that is being redrafted.

The government will "use existing laws such as city planning laws and building construction controls to limit the construction of new retail stores by those retailers," Yongyuth Mayalarp, a government spokesman, told reporters after the cabinet met in Bangkok. "The bill has not yet become law."

Small retailers in Thailand, a nation of 65 million people, have been protesting the expansion of Tesco, Carrefour and two Thai chains, Big C Supercenter and Siam Makro, into regional provinces after growth slowed in Bangkok and neighboring areas.

"The commerce minister has received complaints from several provinces about the impact of branch expansion by large retailers on local family-owned shops," Yongyuth said.

The Retail and Wholesale Business Act is being softened from the original draft proposed last year. The law is meant to ease the pressure placed on local retailers by the expansion of big chains into provincial areas, Siripol Yodmuangcharoen, director general of the Internal Trade Department, said in March.

"The government has the duty to look after all small and large businesses," Siripol said then. "The law is needed to ensure their coexistence even though there will be some objection."

The rapid expansion of chain stores that combine supermarket and department store merchandise has "damaged some cultural values" in Thailand, Pridiyathorn Devakula, then the finance minister, said in December. The law will lead to the coexistence of large and small retailers, he said.

The earlier draft was criticized as "too broad" by the cabinet, which sent it back for Commerce Ministry revisions on March 27, Yongyuth said at the time. The cabinet demanded specific powers for the proposed National Wholesale and Retail Business Supervision Board, limiting its scope to deciding where stores can open.

Source: Bloomberg - 09 May 2007

[Prakanong]

I am actually just about to finish "Trolley War's by Judith Bevan

Interesting book looking at how the supermarkets developd in the UK and it has a lot of details about Tesco.

Britian had restrictions on supermarkets introduced by the Conservative no less when John Gummer was environment minister

Of course cost of land etc is different in the UK as Wal Mart found when they entered the market

[cdnvic]

Yeah, it makes much more sense to crackdown on successful businesses than corruption, drunk driving, or poor electrical safety.

[nick2k]

crackdown on visas

crackdown on company setups

crackdown on land and house ownership

crackdown on foreign shopping malls

so what am I to make of this

after the next crackdown I think i will see the writing on the wall

possibly

foreigner go ----

the next step is...

someday, thais will wake up pissed off that they can't buy property here in their own country, and blame the foreigners for

causing the prices to go so high.

then, they will gather, and they will make a law saying that foreigners cannot own property here anymore, and overnight, all foreigners will lose their investments in property here.

yeah. you understand.

investment?

[PhilHarries]

I kind of support these controls as I've what happens to once thriving town centres when these large retail parks open on the outskirts. OK it's fine for the consumer that competition keeps/drives prices down but what happens when the competition is eliminated? The other downside of these megamarkets is that they use their purchasing power to drive down wholesale prices which affects farmers and food producers.

But I agree that this should not be the current imposed administration's priority but, what the heck, if they are seen as supporting the mom 'n' pops against the mighty farang their approval rating is sure to go up. Xenophobia rules.

One thing my missus could never understand about these stores is the concept of lost leaders. She used to ask "why is x, y and z cheaper in Tesco than Big C but a, b and c are cheaper in Big C?" I tried hard to explain it but she never realyy grasped it and the issue was filed under mai khaw chai.

[dkstoney]

We love thailand because it's so different from the west-why would you want to change it.

We don't want to change it : Thai people want to change it.

Wake up : almost every human on this planet would like to drive a car, buy a mobile phone, eat processed food full of fat and sugar, and... do shopping in big malls.

Exactly, it's foreigners who think that Thailand shouldn't change. They want a stagnant Thailand where people live how they did 50 years ago; barefoot in the dirt and eating rice with their fingers; craggy-skinned old people hunched over from years of toil in the rice fields; buffalo pulling plows. They don't want the reality of social progress and international trade to disturb their stereotype of Thailand and its people.

The Surayud government hopes the Retail Business Act will create a level playing field in the retail and wholesale sectors.

PAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Foreign investors, particularly from Europe, have expressed fears about the Retail Business Act, and draft amendments to the Foreign Business Act, arguing that the laws would make Thailand less attractive to invest in.

You mean, it's not just the US?!?!?! Wow! Reading TV would make you think that all of these new measures are to keep America from taking over Thailand and turning it into a cesspool of sin and corruption for profit.

The US took a similar stance last week when it cited Thailand's move to introduce the retail business law as one of its alleged reasons for downgrading Thailand's trade status to "priority watch list".

Alleged, hmmph! The US is moving against Thailand for many things...not just one thing. The pharmaceutical issue is definitely just the straw that broke the camel's back.

[quiksilva]

This is nothing new to Tescos.

Q. Where do you think the Tesco's Express concept came from in the first place?

A. When the UK issued Planning Policy Guidance (PPG) note 6 which restricted the activities of big box retailers like Tesco's, Asda, Sainsbury et al. Limiting new developments out of town to only when developments in the town centers had been exhausted.

This was implemented because out of town retailing (attractive it may be to consumers) decimated town centers and ran the mom n pop shops out of business.

Sound familiar?

[steves_the_1]

well i have to say that the mom+pop shops in my area are useless waste of time and are hardly ever been open in the 7 years ive been here and when they are they got nothing to sell unless you want out of date stock and those nasty thai fags

roll on tescos keep up the good work

[LaoPo]

It's frightening to learn that a military-appointed -non-democratic- INTERIM-Government implement new laws; whatever the law.

LaoPo

[Plus]

This is off topic, we should discuss the new law on its merits.

There's a lot less opposition to the present governement comparing to the previous "democratically elected" one. You could say that it means that the current government is more in sync with people's will better than the previous one.

[Rinrada]

From The Times May 9, 2007

New clampdown will make it tougher for Tesco in Thailand

Sarah Butler (with thanks)

Tesco may face renewed difficulties in Thailand after the country’s military-installed Government endorsed a new law intended to curb the expansion of foreign retailers.

The new legislation, which needs further approvals before it comes into force, would create a central body, to be called the Retail and Wholesale Supervision Committee, to regulate retail businesses nationwide.

That body would take its lead from provincial governments, which would assess and approve or reject plans for any new supermarkets in their area.

Oranuj Osathananda, the Deputy Commerce Minister, said: “The new law approved today will decentralise authority to provincial regulators and allow greater hearing of public opinion.”

If retailers go against the verdict of provincial authorities or violate the law in any other way, they would face up to three years in jail or fines of three million baht (£46,000).

The Government is also taking tougher measures to enforce city zoning laws in order to slow the expansion of foreign retailers.

Tesco has had a difficult time in Thailand since a military coup late last year, which led to restrictions on expansion plans in one of the chain’s most successful overseas markets.

The company was forced to temporarily halt the expansion of its chain of small convenience stores and only recently reactivated the programme.

The Commerce Ministry has claimed that more than 100,000 small shops have been forced to shut over the past decade due to rapid expansion of large retail chains.

A Tesco spokesman said: “We are still waiting to see the details, but there appears to be no mention of Thai consumers and we would ask the Government to consider how this law will benefit them.

“This is just the first step in the process and we will continue to work with the Government to explain the benefits that modern retail brings to Thai consumers and suppliers.” He said that such issues were bound to occur occasionally for a business that was operating in a number of different markets around the world.

“The important thing is that we have a strong business in Thailand which is popular with our customers,” the spokesman said.

The proposed law will be sent next to the nation’s top legal experts before being submitted once again to the military-appointed parliament for final endorsement.

the cartoon at the end shows 2 Tescos Execs sitting a desk saying ...

"Why dont we just buy Thailand"....

[LaoPo]

This is off topic, we should discuss the new law on its merits.

There's a lot less opposition to the present governement comparing to the previous "democratically elected" one. You could say that it means that the current government is more in sync with people's will better than the previous one.

1. Off topic ?

2. so, you agree with a military appointed, non-elected Government, implementing new laws, as they please?

3. A lot less opposition....? hmmmm...is opposition (to the present military & Government) allowed?

4. How do you know the 'People's will"....?

Sir, it's all about what the elite wants, not the people.

Better think twice before you write such things.

LaoPo

[Prakanong]

This is off topic, we should discuss the new law on its merits.

There's a lot less opposition to the present governement comparing to the previous "democratically elected" one. You could say that it means that the current government is more in sync with people's will better than the previous one.

Without even going into the emergency laws banning opposition that is a pretty slick moral summersault you have done there to defend un-elected military dictatorships anywhere and all time.

Do you advocate a military junta in your own country?

[quiksilva]

Weak economy to hurt retailers more than law

Bangkok Post 10/5/2007

PITSINEE JITPLEECHEEP

The weak economy will hinder the expansion plans of modern-trade retailers more than the new retail law, which aims to control the rapid growth of foreign operators, industry executives say. ''As is normal, retailers will be more cautious about their investments if investment sentiment is poor and consumer confidence is low. But, at present, all modern trade operators are expanding according to their original plans and some are moving at a faster pace with the new retail law as a catalyst,'' said an executive from the Thai Retailers Association (TRA).

The Town Planning Act and the Building Control Act have regulated the expansion of medium and large-sized retail outlets more than smaller outlets, he added. So now large modern retailers are speeding up expansion plans because they fear things could get more difficult in the future.

Each modern retailer has between three and five construction permits in hand at present, the executive added.

According to Kanchanitch Amornves, marketing manager of CenCar Ltd, the operator of Carrefour, the retail business law would not affect the company's expansion plans. It will move forward with plans to open up to five new stores per year in Thailand starting from 2008.

In April, the company opened a new 400-million-baht outlet in Chon Buri with 7,000 square metres of space.

''We don't see any impact of the amendment of the retail draft law to stop us investing in Thailand, because every Carrefour store complies with government regulations 100%. The economy and consumer confidence are our main concerns,'' she said.

Ms Kanchanitch added that aside from the new expansion plan, Carrefour would relaunch its house brands with higher product and packaging quality in the third quarter of this year.

[younghusband]

This is off topic, we should discuss the new law on its merits.

There's a lot less opposition to the present governement comparing to the previous "democratically elected" one. You could say that it means that the current government is more in sync with people's will better than the previous one.

The tension between the expansion of big retailers and smaller corner shop/mom and pop stores is hardly unique to Thailand.There are sensible arguments on either side, though it is difficult to do much more than slow down the progress of the major players given their advantages of convenience and pricing.

As to Plus's second paragraph he is right of course if it is meant that there is far less opposition activity on the streets than in the final months of the Thaksin regime.Whether however the current junta is more nationally popular than the previous government is in fact very doubtful.I sense that there is a widespread disillusion among all classes with politics in Thailand, and there is a numbing realisation that the same old discredited names will probably emerge as leaders when democracy has been restored.The old order will certainly prevail but it's a waiting game for the obvious but unmentionable reasons.Who knows what the political landscape will look like in 5 years time?

My personal wish would be to give the untainted Abhisit his chance, but I never get the impression most Thais warm to him, notwithstanding Mom Chatumongkol's support.Sorry to be off topic.