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Baht/$ 34.05/10 (Bid/Ask)
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13,350
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RETAILING
PITSINEE JITPLEECHEEP
Pieter Schats (left), chief executive director of Toys LiFung (Asia) Ltd, and Manit Lertsakornsiri, country manager of Toys ``R'' Us Thailand, show off the new Express store. |
The Toys ''R'' Us chain is introducing a new store format as part of its plan to speed up growth in Asia to reach 150 outlets, a 65% increase, over the next three years. About 20% of the 150 outlets in Asia will be Toys ''R'' Us Express locations with sizes of 400 to 800 square metres each, said Pieter Schats, the chief executive officer of the distributor Toys LiFung (Asia) Limited.
The remaining outlets will be larger flagship stores (2,000 sq m) and satellite stores (1,000 to 2,000 sq m), he said during a visit to Bangkok yesterday.
Toys ''R'' Us Express was first introduced in Taiwan three years ago. The new concept was created in order to more easily obtain space in shopping malls and be convenient for shoppers.
The store concept was recently launched in Hong Kong, Malaysia, China and Thailand, where the first Toys ''R'' Us Express is located on the second floor of The Esplanade shopping complex on Ratchadaphisek Road.
Mr Schats said the Express stores would have a new logo and in-store signs. The Esplanade shop covering 400 sq m has a more modern, colourful look.
''We will continue to grow our business here,'' he said. ''I'm not concerned about the current political unrest because Thailand is the young democracy and it has good infrastructure. So, I'm confident that everything including tourism will go smoothly.''
Mr Schats said the business of Toy ''R'' Us in Asia had grown by 15-20% annually in the past three years and the company expected the same rate over the next three years.
Performance in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia was very strong last year but conditions were tougher in Thailand because of the political turmoil. Last year, the local market for imported toys declined by 50% but it has improved with double-digit growth this year to date.
Manit Lertsakornsiri, country manager of Toys Retailing (Thailand), the local distributor, said sales of Toys ''R'' Us in Thailand grew between 30% and 40% per year because of the opening of new stores and same-store growth at double-digit rates.
''Our business was not affected by the economic situation because we aim at 'A' and 'B' (higher-income) customer groups. Also, parents have fewer children so they have more money to spend on their kids,'' he said.
Mr Manit said the company spent 10 million baht to open Toys ''R'' Us Express at The Esplanade, the 91st branch in Asia and the seventh in Thailand.
The company plans to open its eighth store under the Express concept in Hua Hin in the next two months, and the ninth store would be opened at Central Beach Pattaya early next year.
The company expects to double its sales to 300-320 million baht by the end of this year.
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