Gaysorn Plaza to be renamed Gaysorn Village, hopefully people will visit

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Gaysorn Plaza to be renamed Gaysorn Village, hopefully people will visit

By Coconuts Bangkok

 

Photo: Gaysorn Shopping Centre

 

BANGKOK: -- Gaysorn Plaza, the usually empty, highly air-conditioned  mall that caters to the one percent of the population with massive buying power, is changing its name to "Gaysorn Village," with the aim of becoming a new lifestyle destination in Bangkok.

 

At Gaysorn Plaza, there’s not much a middle class person can do except sipping tea at Twinings, but no more of that. The most hi-so mall in Thailand will ditch the label of “super luxury” and opt for “lifestyle urban village,” a retail space for “tasteful, inspiring products” that are not necessarily pricey.

 

Aside from the original Gaysorn Plaza, the revamp project called “Gaysorn Village” will include the renaming of Amarin Plaza, Amarin Tower and Gaysorn Tower, a new building. We’re talking a total of 47,000 sqm of retail space. The buildings are all conveniently connected through a skywalk, yet most people only ever visit Amarin Plaza, and then it’s just for the food court or the never ending “brand sale” in the atrium.

 

Full story: http://bangkok.coconuts.co/2017/01/19/gaysorn-plaza-be-renamed-gaysorn-village-hopefully-people-will-visit

 

-- © Copyright Coconuts Bangkok 2017-01-19

[uptheos]

Maybe the name puts a lot of people off,  just saying.

I have no idea why it is so empty, Thai's usually flock to hi so places

[fruitman]

It's just a very boring mall and the amarin plaza is that one at the opposit side of the road right? That one has nothing on the upper floors and in the hall it's just sale which is still expensive, even in the sportoutlets there.

 

In Gaysorn i was just windowshopping but when the staff sees me they suddenly go sit straight, pull their finger out of the nose and come to annoy me...Staff don't understand that if i need something from them i will start the conversation. If i'm just looking than let me do so.

[alex8912]

I always thought the name was stupid and I have no idea why I have never stepped in that mall and have been in every other one in the area. Thais like foreign or foreign sounding things. Maybe TVF should have a poll for a new name?  How about " take the money and run piazza"

[JHolmesJr]

Very high end mall with stratospheric prices thanks to high taxes levied in thailand. Rich folks would just take a trip to europe, singapore or HK and buy the same stuff. They might do better as a niche cinema and changing their name to Gayporn Plaza.

[gdgbb]

58 minutes ago, fruitman said:

It's just a very boring mall and the amarin plaza is that one at the opposit side of the road right? That one has nothing on the upper floors and in the hall it's just sale which is still expensive, even in the sportoutlets there.

 

In Gaysorn i was just windowshopping but when the staff sees me they suddenly go sit straight, pull their finger out of the nose and come to annoy me...Staff don't understand that if i need something from them i will start the conversation. If i'm just looking than let me do so.

They're called salesmen/women, if you go into their voluntarily shop let them do their job of trying to assist you and/or sell .

[gdgbb]

7 minutes ago, alex8912 said:

I always thought the name was stupid and I have no idea why I have never stepped in that mall and have been in every other one in the area. Thais like foreign or foreign sounding things. Maybe TVF should have a poll for a new name?  How about " take the money and run piazza"

Can't imagine the owners of Gaysorn having any interest in what Thaivisa posters think the mall's name should be.

[alex8912]

7 minutes ago, gdgbb said:

Can't imagine the owners of Gaysorn having any interest in what Thaivisa posters think the mall's name should be.

Neither did I Mr. Hence the sarcasm in my chosen name. 

Edited January 19, 2017 by alex8912

[fruitman]

20 minutes ago, gdgbb said:

They're called salesmen/women, if you go into their voluntarily shop let them do their job of trying to assist you and/or sell .

 

I wasn't even in their shop, just looking through the window....

[Yann55]

I can't  believe the fathomless stupidity of those comments about the name ...

 

Some guys just never seem to figure out that this country is not an English, American or Australian province. The 'gay' in 'gaysorn', by the way is pronounced more like 'guy', and even if it wasn't, who the fek cares ?

 

The problem of that place is it's unbearable pretentiousness, coldness, and the fact that no matter how 'high class' they try to be, ALL of the brand names that have a shop in Gaysorn Plaza are just that : brand names. They have outlets in many other malls too, so there is NOTHING to make that place special. It's just the dream of some rich snob who is just now starting to realize, apparently, that this pathetic dream of his has been costing him money from day one. At least it created jobs ... that's the only positive reflexion I can muster about that place.

 

 

Edited January 19, 2017 by Yann55

[mike324]

Why go to Gaysorn when they have almost all of the same shops at Paragon? and with more food variety to offer? Perhaps the owners miss that memo, hence changing their strategy .... food and supermarket is what attracts most Asian tourists to a mall.

[wordchild]

You are right, mike324, food outlets are the draw to malls these days. Gaysorn had a couple of pretty decent restaurants a few years ago; the only reason i ever used to  go. An Italian/Pizza place on the ground floor and a Thai place a couple of floors above , both were very good (IMO) and both have now gone.  There is a rather pretentious Thai restaurant on the upper floor (of the shopping mall) which i have been to once (as a guest)  and certainly wouldnt bother returning if i were paying, nice view though, as far as i remember.

Edited January 19, 2017 by wordchild

[fruitman]

7 hours ago, Yann55 said:

The 'gay' in 'gaysorn', by the way is pronounced more like 'guy', and even if it wasn't, who the fek cares ?

 

The one who's loosing big money on this mall should care.

 

That name "Gaysorn" is like a repellant on tourists...and i don't care what it means in Thai or Chinese or how it's pronounced...it sounds like gay and straight people stay far away from that.

 

And the Amarin plaza belongs to the Amarin hotel right? Which guest of the Amarin wants to score a pair of (still expensive ) sneakers in the sportsoutlet? I've been there a few times last decade but it was never busy.

 

The owner of those malls has lost a load of money on them, also it ruins the whole neighbourhood to have malls like that.

 

The only good thing about gaysorn is the escalator to the walkingbridge to central world.

[jayboy]

Very high end mall with stratospheric prices thanks to high taxes levied in thailand. Rich folks would just take a trip to europe, singapore or HK and buy the same stuff. They might do better as a niche cinema and changing their name to Gayporn Plaza.

I have never been able to understand the business case for Gaysorn Plaza for the very reason you mention.Rich Thais buy their brand items overseas and tourists would not be interested.Even well to do middle class/upper class Thais don't shop there.Maybe it has a use as a place to check out out an item before buying it in HK or Singapore.

Basic lesson is you can't have a high end shopping industry without a more sensible tax/duty structure.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[fruitman]

3 hours ago, jayboy said:

 

I have never been able to understand the business case for Gaysorn Plaza for the very reason you mention.Rich Thais buy their brand items overseas and tourists would not be interested.Even well to do middle class/upper class Thais don't shop there.Maybe it has a use as a place to check out out an item before buying it in HK or Singapore.

Basic lesson is you can't have a high end shopping industry without a more sensible tax/duty structure.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

 

 

Gaysorn and amarin plaza are connected to the hotels...they hope their guests will shop there. But the malls are crappy and boring....better make it into something that attracts loads of people. Can be an art mall, or jewelry gem mall, or gold mall, it's time the malls get a theme...now they are all the same.

[arrowsdawdle]

Brilliant. Plaza is the offensive term that can be fixed by changing it to village?

 

When you see something like this you know for certain that there has been a fortune-teller at work here.

[theguyfromanotherforum]

Most people just pass through this mall to go to Central.

[lujanit]

8 hours ago, theguyfromanotherforum said:

Most people just pass through this mall to go to Central.

I have done for years.  Now the new skywalk is up it is even better.

[dopenhagen]

Try to ask some older thai friends about it, its a fascinating story involving deceit, betrayal, murder, spells and curses... All I can say is that the place is put under a very powerful curse by someone who were betrayed in a business dealing during its early days... hahahaha... Apparently same story about the Intercontinental... #ThisIsThailand 

Edited January 21, 2017 by dopenhagen

[bkkcanuck8]

Any of the major shopping centres (modern) I will see many Thais window shopping, but very few actually shopping in the stores there....  They do go to the shopping center to hang out and eat, then might wander around....  Gaysorn is even higher end, which means for most it's draw is just window shopping which can be done in any Shopping Centre... but it lacks a reasonably food court or movie theatre which would be the real draw.  Just changing it's name is not going to improve the draw.... unless they are going to build a food court which would be of interest.

 

And of course westerns like me.... just don't have time for malls that sell luxury items.... there is a reason why for most of the time I lived in Toronto we had no 5 star hotels.... we are a little too cheap to waste money like that 

Edited January 22, 2017 by bkkcanuck8

[Saastrajaa]

Gaysorn is victim to the fact that hi-so Thais like whatever is the "latest" mall to go to, and it's far too old and stodgy to have survived the hype and rush to competitors that have opened in the intervening years like Paragon, Emporium and Em Quartier (I'm not counting Terminal 21, though it is indeed immensely popular, because it's not a "hi-so" mall.

 

The idiot <deleted> farang <deleted> who are commenting on this post that the name "Gaysorn" has <deleted>-all to do with <deleted> anything are total <deleted> <deleted> idiots, and I'll wager most of them have lived here for 10 or more years without learning a <deleted> word of Thai.  "Gaysorn" means "pollen".

[01322521959]

This always makes me react angrily. The assistants atr on commision and have to get that sale. They follow you around. Irritates me no end. I end up walking out when I may have made an impulse purchase if just LEFT ALONE.

Sent from my i-mobile_i-STYLE_219 using Thaivisa Connect mobile app

[Prbkk]

Gaysorn attracted a bigger crowd when it had the big handicrafts section on the upper floors. The hiso parts of it never worked: no single, must visit drawcard and insufficient eating options. The idea that the link though to the IC would draw people in hasn't worked: those well-heeled guests are aware of bigger and better malls in close proximity.

Gaysorn is one of the oldest malls but it needs to re-invent itself quick smart.

[jayboy]

One idea might be to knock the place down and restore the night life attractions that the wrinkly element of our community will remember from the Gaysorn of the 1970's and early 1980's.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[bkkcanuck8]

It probably should be redeveloped, but going back in time for that parcel would not be possible because of the market value for it now.  

[fruitman]

11 hours ago, Saastrajaa said:

Gaysorn is victim to the fact that hi-so Thais like whatever is the "latest" mall to go to, and it's far too old and stodgy to have survived the hype and rush to competitors that have opened in the intervening years like Paragon, Emporium and Em Quartier (I'm not counting Terminal 21, though it is indeed immensely popular, because it's not a "hi-so" mall.

 

The idiot <deleted> farang <deleted> who are commenting on this post that the name "Gaysorn" has <deleted>-all to do with <deleted> anything are total <deleted> <deleted> idiots, and I'll wager most of them have lived here for 10 or more years without learning a <deleted> word of Thai.  "Gaysorn" means "pollen".

 

I can't be arsed what it means...

 

They should make it a condominium, the Gaysorn Condominium...tourists will all come to make a picture of it.

[theguyfromanotherforum]

Gaysorn massaz

[lamyai3]

On 1/20/2017 at 9:36 AM, arrowsdawdle said:

Brilliant. Plaza is the offensive term that can be fixed by changing it to village?

 

When you see something like this you know for certain that there has been a fortune-teller at work here.

 

With malls like this I get the impression making money through retail sales is far from their intention.

 

Regarding the name, give the Thai spelling to three different experts and they'd romanize it five different ways. It's probably a family name, spelt like this since back in the days when gay meant mirthful... 

[bkkcanuck8]

8 hours ago, lamyai3 said:

 

With malls like this I get the impression making money through retail sales is far from their intention.

 

Regarding the name, give the Thai spelling to three different experts and they'd romanize it five different ways. It's probably a family name, spelt like this since back in the days when gay meant mirthful... 

 

If they were really Thai transliteration experts, I would expect them to use the "Royal Thai General System of Transcription" and not five random ways to transcribe.  Teachers teaching Thai as a second language often do not use this because they adjust the transcription to match the phonetics of the language of their customers home language and not the standard which may be harder to remember.