SET-listed Robinson Department Store Plc (ROBINS) is transforming its business model from department store to a multi-format retail outlet to cope with fiercer competition and raise profits.
President Alan Thomson said the company had divided its business structure into four units comprising Robinson Department Store, Robinson Lifestyle Center (shopping complex), International Brand and Robins Vietnam. Top executives were appointed to take care of each business unit.
Robinson's corporate brand logo and uniforms are being updated, along with its recruitment strategy that focuses on younger people joining the management team. The store transformation will start this year and be completed by 2020.
"With the transformation, Robinson will no longer be an old-fashioned department store as in past years. We will be a retail company with more competitive offerings for our customers," he said.
The company plans to open 16 new Robinson branches from 2016-20. Of the total, 12 will be Robinson Lifestyle Centers, with 10 in Thailand and two in Vietnam, and four will be Robinson Department Stores.
It also wants to refresh the look of 20 major branches into "lifestyle" department stores within three years, including those at Rama IX, Rangsit and Fashion Island in Bangkok and ones in Chiang Mai, Udon Thani, Khon Kaen, Ratchaburi, Saraburi and Phuket, with a budget of 25–150 million baht per branch.
This plan requires total investment of 16 billion baht from now till 2020.
Mr Thomson said the company would move slower than in past years by opening only two new branches this year because of the economic slowdown, but it planned to raise profits by focusing on renovating four stores.
By 2020, the number of Robinson stores across the country is projected to reach 56, up from 42 last year, with four in Vietnam.
The shift to a lifestyle centre concept is based on an expectation of higher profits, new income opportunities and faster-planned events than a department store.
This year the company will open only one Robinson Department Store in Nakhon Si Thammarat on July 28 and a Robinson Lifestyle Center in Lop Buri slated for Dec 2.
Renovation is planned at its Rama IX, Chiang Mai, Ratchaburi and Chanthaburi stores.
The Nakhon Si Thammarat branch is located in the Central Plaza Shopping Center and is its second store in the province. The company believes the province can potentially become a logistics hub for the region to support an economic development triangle between Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.
The new branch in Lop Buri will be launched under the concept of "Eat-Shop-Play," where people meet their friends and family.
Robinson allocated a marketing budget of 400 million baht this year for 16 campaigns. It also plans to develop a shopping website.
In a separate development, Central Pattana Plc, the operator of Central Shopping Complex, revealed yesterday it plans to use billions of baht to renovate the Bang Na, Pin Klao and Pattaya branches this year and Rama III and CentralWorld branches next year.
Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, executive vice-president of marketing, said the change would meet the demands of its target customers, those aged 15-30, what it considers a "game-changing" group for the retail industry within five years.
This target group comprises many people who consume a large amount of social media and have strong purchasing power, expected to transform the retail industry, he said. The company will allocate a higher marketing budget for digital activities this year to cash in on this trend.
ROBINS shares closed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand yesterday at 46 baht, up 75 satang, in trade worth 98.1 million baht.