The Mall Group has decided to give its Bang Khae branch a facelift in order to guard its dominant market position in the face of competition from new retailers.
The 20-year-old Bang Khae branch of The Mall is facing tough competition from retail rivals in the area.
Next year, a total of 716,000 square metres of retail space will be added to Bang Khae, the district in the west of Bangkok, and Bang Yai in Nonthaburi.
Around 500,000 sq m alone will come from CentralWestGate, a super-regional mall in Bang Yai, which is set to open in May next year.
A further 180,000 sq m belongs to the Central Salaya branch in Nakhon Pathom province.
Two new community malls — The Paseo Park and The Bright with a combined 36,000 sq m — could turn consumers away from The Mall Bang Khae.
Duangta Phongwilai, group general manager-corporate marketing of The Mall Group, said these new retailers had drawn visitors away from the 20-year-old complex, prompting the group to invest about 400 million baht to renovate the branch. The revamp starts this year and will be completed next year.
She said that the renovation would be made to cope with stiff competition and the growing middle-income group of customers in the area.
A budget of 120 million baht has been set aside this year on zoning products and services to bring more urban lifestyle products to the Bang Khae branch. Tenants will be mixed, adding more international fashion and cosmetic brands and restaurants.
After completing its facelift, The Mall hopes to draw back younger adults as this group prefers spending time at retail complexes.
The company estimates that the volume of traffic at its Bang Khae branch will rise by 20% after the renovation.
According to Ms Duangta, higher competition in the retail market has forced The Mall to place more focus on young families and workers.
To this end, it plans to spend 80 million baht on the new campaign, "The Mall Shopping Grand Sale Happy Surprise" from Oct 2-31, with prizes and gifts to attract customers.
Chan Lertprasertpakorn, president of the TBN Group, a Toyota car dealer, said the company had invested 2.3 billion baht to develop The Paseo Park, a new community mall on a 50-rai plot on Kanchanaphisek Road.
The Paseo Park will be the third community mall under the TBN group and it is located about one kilometre from The Mall.
"There is huge potential to develop community malls in the area thanks to light competition in Bang Khae," Mr Chan said.
The TBN Group plans to open The Paseo Park this month with a target to draw about 30,000 visitors every day.
Sales for the first year are projected at 350 million baht and the group is confident about reaching the break-even point for the project after six to seven years in operation.
Retailers are bracing for the aggressive expansion of Central Pattana Plc, the developer of both CentralWestGate and Central Salaya.
Rangsit Plaza Co, the operator of Future Park Rangsit, is scheduled to announce its new investment plan to prepare for the new retail development by Central Pattana Plc nearby in the near future.
Recently, the company decided to spend 25 million baht to launch its "Future Park 19th Anniversary Grand Splendour" campaign which runs until Oct 5, aiming to increase its customer traffic by 20% from the current 157,000 visitors per day.
Central Pattana Plc plans to open its CentralWestGate mall, costing 10 billion baht, in Bang Yai in May next year. Currently, the development of the shopping centre is about 60% complete.