Index Living Mall Co, a local home furnishings and decor company, has signed a contract with SM Group, the Philippines' largest retail conglomerate.
SM will be the franchisee for Index Living Mall furniture outlets in that country next year.
Index managing director Kridchanok Patamasatayasonthi said SM Group would operate the furniture outlets in the Philippines for five years, after which the franchise contract may be renewed for another five years.
Kridchanok: Filling a niche market
SM's business interests range from retail outlets, hotels and property to food and banking.
The first Index store in the Philippines will open in next year's first quarter.
The Philippines is the second foreign Asean member for the Thai furniture store chain after Malaysia, where it teamed up with Aeon to open its first outlet in Putrajaya last month.
"The Philippines was chosen due to its huge market potential," Ms Kridchanok said.
"There's no furniture or furnishings chain like us in the country, just small local and imported furniture stores."
In Malaysia, it plans 30 branches nationwide in the next 15-20 years.
Index Living Mall also has stores in Nepal, the Maldives and Russia.
Plans for Indonesia are expected to be finalised by mid-year, while Vietnam is on the radar as well.
With all these plans, Index's foreign sales are expected to double to 15% of the total in three to five years.
At home, the company plans to open four new stores this year at a cost of 1.5 billion baht.
The first two will be in Songkhla's Hat Yai district and Surat Thani province, with the other two scheduled for Bangkok and eastern or southern Thailand.
The new openings will make 25 branches in Thailand.