Mall Group prepares expansion worth B5bn

Mall Group prepares expansion worth B5bn

Company not worried about stiff competition

The Mall Group will continue to expand its business this year, allocating 5 billion baht on new projects and upgrades to cope with the tougher retail market.

Chief executive Phaibul Kanokvatanawan said of that amount, 800 million baht will be spent on a new building behind The Mall Bang Khae.

Parking will also be increased to 3,800 spaces from 3,000.

The remaining 4.2 billion baht will be used to extend its branch in Nakhon Ratchasima province, where two retail projects are under construction and scheduled to open soon.

After relaunching its Korat project in September, total space at the complex will be 200,000 square metres.

The company will also spend 2 billion baht to develop Blue Port, the latest retail project under its group in Hua Hin.

Construction in Hua Hin is 80% complete, and the project is scheduled to open earlier than planned, in October.

A part of the budget will be allocated for renovation of The Mall Bang Kapi to respond to the rapidly changing customer profile in the area.

The company also needs to keep an eye on the competition, which have expanded their retail complexes on Rama IX and Ekamai-Ram Intra including Crystal Park Phase II, Central East Ville and Show DC.

Mr Phaibul remains optimistic, however, that his company's business will thrive by both catering to core customers across a complete range of products and fostering brand loyalty.

The spending power of Thai consumers has not improved despite heavy consumption at the end of last year sparked by a government tax break, he said.

However, the number of foreign tourists visiting three of its shopping complexes -- Siam Paragon, The Emporium and The EmQuartier -- has returned to normal levels since the New Year holiday season.

"We want the government to speed up the extension of airport facilities to attract more foreign tourists to Thailand," he said.

On top of increasing the number of visitors to its shopping malls, the mall operator will also keep an eye on its bottom line.

Mr Phaibul said the company expected sales growth of 5% to 52 billion baht this year.

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