Bangkok malls hit their stride

[webfact]

Bangkok malls hit their stride
KANG SOON CHEN
ASIA NEWS NETWORK


Supaluck Umpujh

BANGKOK: -- AMONG the small circle of mall developers in Bangkok, the default motto has been "the more, the better". In a city already teeming with over 120 malls, International property consultant CB Richard Ellis says one million square metres of retail space is expected to be completed here this year. Bangkok ranks eighth among the top retail target markets in Asia-Pacific, according to its report.

As the malls take up vast swaths of land in prime areas, Bangkok risks losing its poignant charms to be just another city with high-rise buildings. Residents have taken up the cause with the Makassan Hope group petitioning the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to refrain from selling huge plots of state land in the central district to developers.

There has also been much buzz about the popular street food court on Sukhumvit Soi 38, which will soon make way for condominium blocks.

Despite that sentiment, Supaluck Umpujh, one of three retail queens who oversaw the development of EmQuartier, says residents have much to gain from modern shopping malls built on the one-stop lifestyle centre model.

Malls featuring cinemas, restaurants, stores and mini parks provide relief for urban dwellers living in crowded conditions in high-rises, she says.

"Many people live in condos and they need a place to go out and enjoy social life. You can come to the mall to hang out, get a haircut, send your kid to a learning centre and watch a movie.

"We are not just building a mall, we are building up a district, that's our aim," says the vice chairwoman of The Mall Group.

EmQuartier is part of the master plan for Em District, which encompasses a 650,000m2 retail zone with three shopping complexes.

Since its recent launch, the mall has come up with various marketing gimmicks including Pharrell Williams's flash mob dance by its Gourmet Market staff and the latest #iFeel Instagram campaign.

"A building can be elegant but cold inside. I want people to come to the mall feeling happy like it is their second home," she says.

It is inevitable that more malls will be built, as the older malls with outdated designs and inadequate facilities no longer appeal to shoppers, she says.

Not just for Thais

As more malls are opening up, it is a wonder Thais have enough spending power as household debt keeps mounting.

However, Thailand's reputation as a popular tourist destination provides a strong customer base.

"Previously, tourists came to Thailand for sightseeing but did not spend much money shopping. The government has introduced campaigns such as the Amazing Thailand Grand Sale to promote the country as a shopping destination," she says.

The prices of luxury goods here may not be very competitive due to the high tax rate, but Bangkok offers cheaper accommodation than other cities like Hong Kong and Singapore.

"Bangkok can be the Dubai of the East with the number of world-class malls that we have," she says.

The Chinese tourist boom and the launch of the Asean Economic Community later this year could further spur the growth of the retail industry in Thailand.

"Right now, the percentage of Chinese tourists who visit Thailand is still relatively small. Looking at the one billion population in China, there is huge potential to be tapped if more Chinese tourists visit Thailand," she says.

Rise of the high-end culture

As the developer of Emporium, the first upscale mall in Bangkok, which opened its doors during the height of the 1997 economic crisis, Supaluck has weathered her share of the ups-and-downs in the retail market.

She is unperturbed when figures released by the Bank of Thailand show that retail sales fell from February to April compared to the same months last year.

"It's part of life, this is a cycle. Currently, there is a global economic slowdown, many countries have their own problems. Even if the baht drops, we can expect to draw in more tourists, as you can see that the falling euro attracts more tourists to Europe.

"During the '97 crisis, Thais travelled less to shop overseas and the lower baht attracted many tourists to Thailand. That was why we were able to do very well with Emporium," she says.

The high-end consumer culture too looks to be gaining strength, judging from the rush of international luxury brands to set up flagship stores in Thailand. Jeweller Tiffany & Co and premium confectioner Pierre Herme opened their first outlets in EmQuartier recently.

"Thai society is status conscious and we are still a developing country. Everyone wants to dress well and look good," says Supaluck, who first brought in Chanel and Hermes to Thailand.

While she is driven by the pioneer streak in her to introduce new brands to the local retail scene, she says international brands do not need much convincing, given the strong track record of Siam Paragon and Emporium under her helm.

"The brands also put much trust and confidence in Thailand as a tourist attraction. They are watching where the Chinese are going and see where is 'the destination'."

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Bangkok-malls-hit-their-stride-30264773.html


-- The Nation 2015-07-20

[PatOngo]

Quote - "As more malls are opening up, it is a wonder Thais have enough spending power as household debt keeps mounting".

Mai Phen Rai....spend, spend, spend....happy, happy, happy.

[Wilsonandson]

Each mall uses more electricity than a large town of 500,000 people each day. Hardly helping the environment. The countries philosophy is a self sufficiency economy, let's hope the malls install solar panels or find other renewable energy resources to power their buildings.

[clockman]

One Bangkok mall, consumes more electricity. Than the whole of Mae Hong Son province! And Bangkok is sinking 3 inches a year! Good luck to them.

[ramrod711]

Is this news? Maybe a paid advertisement, at any rate the message is clear, forget your debt, get down to your local mall and spend.

[bendejo]

Why is there a picture of a woman in a bathrobe to go with this story?

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

120 malls!!! Must be a very special Thai trait to copy a business that looks like its profitable (and at the end nobody makes money because of the oversupply) .

[NongKhaiKid]

120 malls!!! Must be a very special Thai trait to copy a business that looks like its profitable (and at the end nobody makes money because of the oversupply) .

Ranks with putting prices up when your business is failing. It doesn't attract more custom or keep the ones you've got.

[Prbkk]

120 malls!!! Must be a very special Thai trait to copy a business that looks like its profitable (and at the end nobody makes money because of the oversupply) .

Ranks with putting prices up when your business is failing. It doesn't attract more custom or keep the ones you've got.

There is NOTHING available in a Bangkok mall that can't be had 25-50% cheaper in other places or online. This is all hype ...

[jonclark]

Visit most Bangkok Malls and other than restaurants, food halls and Big C , Lotus most actual shops are doing very little trade.

[ChrisY1]

Chinese tourists will come here en masse and shop in these malls......purchasing items that are nearly all manufactured in China and of course going to be a lot more expensive than back home.....yep...they're going to be a real boon for these mall owners!

[timmyp]

There are some malls near me that are almost completely empty. I can't imagine how the few shops in there turn a profit, but I guess they must? Fronts for illegal earnings? I have no idea, but it's a mystery to me how malls like that remain open, and why they are building more.

[thaigold]

China tourism is pulling Thailand's chestnuts out of the fire. King Power and soi Rangnam are teeming with Chinese - they're everywhere. ... and something the Thais might consider - the Chinese I talk to speak good, unadulterated English. No accents.
Thais by contrast can barely force out a "Can I help you?" without mangling the language.
Now ... as Goerge Bush was wont to say, "Go shopping."

[Katipo]

So much bullshi*t in one article. Pretending it's about anything but greed. Open spaces and green areas will return a lot more happiness to the people than any mall ever could.

[Friendly Stranger]

With all the economic issues around the globe, malls that cater to high end shopping is the answer when there are a plethora of malls already established? Asian crisis#2 or worse?

Yes, build more debt. Greece will not be the last..

[Friendly Stranger]

Interesting observation, as I read some more comments by others. They're building more, while some industries are closing brick and mortar businesses, as they're unable to keep up with the times with such high overheads and the less than 30 crowd are buying many of their items.

Building state of the art malls, but the sewage system, safety standards and electricity infrastructure does not meet international standards. Yes, priorities are taken into account.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Why is there a picture of a woman in a bathrobe to go with this story?

It's a DESIGNER bath robe, didn't you know???

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

So much bullshi*t in one article. Pretending it's about anything but greed. Open spaces and green areas will return a lot more happiness to the people than any mall ever could.

Was reading an article recently on some new park spaces that are supposed to be opening soon in BKK, and the article was interviewing the groundskeeper at one of them.

He was complaining that the local noodle stand vendors kept pouring their hot oil/water/soup etc onto the ground around his trees, and that was killing the trees in the new park...

So much for Thais and park space. If there's no money to be made from it, it's just irrelevant.

[Kannikapor88]

These BKK malls reminds me of Promenada in CM ... Totally without any charme, overpriced, ugly, American "Restaurant"-chains like McD - KFC - Auntie Annie and other sh1t food ...

Who would go in a BKK mall and buy Hermes or Gucci is beyond me ... They could risk getting a copy

[fred Kubasa]

Many positives listed but then :

More pollution

" congestion

Less parking

Plus the fact, denials aside, that the lower paid Thais are already broke

and the middle class is existing on credit cards, leased autos and residence

mortgages creating a glut of NPLs, ( unpaid loans ). Thais are more susceptible to

the glitter of merchandisers/malls, have little economic training and will buy

Thailand into an even deeper hole then it is now.

Want Malls ? then build budget malls like the so-called Factory Outlets but with true lower prices, no waterfalls or

zoos in them, more like Macro, pipe racks, pallet loaded merchandise, most importantly on a low cost commercial

transportation route, ( Tuk,tuks ? ).Developers need glitz, Thais need bargain basement pricing and accessibility !

[sammygood]

spend spend spend today

pay tomorrow, next week, next month

[BuaBS]

Most malls are only good for 1 thing : AIRCON !!

[clockman]

Hong Kong, is better and cheaper. No import tax! They are flogging a dead horse.

[mango66]

Why is there a picture of a woman in a bathrobe to go with this story?

she makes the money for the Mall with this robe ! pingo ??

[ratcatcher]

Here's the other side of the coin, so to speak.

http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/jun/19/-sp-death-of-the-american-shopping-mall

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/shopping-malls-are-going-extinct-2014-1

[Ricardo]

Most malls are only good for 1 thing : AIRCON !!

I recall seeing, when I first spent precious time sitting in a mall waiting for 'She Who Shops' (No ... NOT Yingluck ! ) , seeing families of poor people walking about admiring the goods (but not buying), whilst enjoying the experience of being cool (temperature-wise).

They have increased the measure of the peoples' happiness immeasurably, over the past decade, a tribute to the people who financed and built them !

[alanrchase]

So much bullshi*t in one article. Pretending it's about anything but greed. Open spaces and green areas will return a lot more happiness to the people than any mall ever could.

Was reading an article recently on some new park spaces that are supposed to be opening soon in BKK, and the article was interviewing the groundskeeper at one of them.

He was complaining that the local noodle stand vendors kept pouring their hot oil/water/soup etc onto the ground around his trees, and that was killing the trees in the new park...

So much for Thais and park space. If there's no money to be made from it, it's just irrelevant.

Don't live in Bangkok but the throwing everything by cooking places peves me. Here they throw greasy water across the road, not nice when riding a bike. Cools the area down apparently.

[ddavidovsky]

There are community malls like the Mall Bangkapi, which is a great place to spend some time, and there are soulless designer malls like Gaysorn Plaza which don't want to live and don't want to die.

We need some malls but we don't need only malls. There needs to be some mechanism to stop development getting out of control, but control is a tall order in a country without a proper government.

[Yunla]

Bangkok risks losing its poignant charms to be just another city with high-rise buildings. Residents have taken up the cause with the Makassan Hope group petitioning the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to refrain from selling huge plots of state land in the central district to developers.

There has also been much buzz about the popular street food court on Sukhumvit Soi 38, which will soon make way for condominium blocks.

I'm a tourist and I totally love Bangkok street-food, night-markets, and traditional local culture. We have lots of faceless corporate mega-malls back in my home-nation, that is one of the reasons I don't live there anymore. Modern development is fine, but it should exist alongside traditional local culture, not replace it.

[brewsterbudgen]

What's not to like about Bangkok's malls? Cheap-ish foodcourts, western food, movie theatres, banks that are always open, great imported food in the supermarkets, super cool aircon, sexy hi-so girls and most importantly, great toilets.