CRC Sports Co says it will overtake an Indonesian rival to become Asean's largest sporting goods retailer by 2020, paving the way to rank among the top 50 players worldwide.
President Tony Morton said the company will continue to expand its sporting goods business in Thailand and Vietnam during 2017-20. At the same time, the company will seek new business opportunities in other Asean countries, including Myanmar and Cambodia.
According to market research company Sporting Goods Intelligence, CRC Sports is a leading sporting goods chain in Thailand and is ranked second in Asean after Indonesia's Mitra Adiperkasa. CRC Sports is also ranked 59th worldwide among sporting goods retailers.
CRC Sports plans to allocate 300-400 million baht per year to expand its business domestically over the next four years. This year, the company will allocate 400 million baht to renovate its existing branches and open 29 new outlets.
Of the total, four stores will be operated under the Supersports brand and the rest will be concept stores for Fit by Supersports, Sneakerz, Skechers, Crocs and New Balance.
Those funds will further be used to grow its online business.
With its expansion plans, the number of sporting goods stores under CRC Sports will reach 250 branches by 2020, up from an estimated 178 branches in Thailand by the end of this year.
Its total number of sporting goods branches in Vietnam is expected to reach 100 by 2020, up from an estimated 43 branches by the end of this year.
"Vietnam has shown strong economic growth in Asean and its rising momentum will continue in the next five years. We believe in big opportunities over there," Mr Morton said.
Supersports, which views Vietnam as a strategic market, will keep on growing its sports retail business there over the next several years before branching out into countries where its parent firm, Central Group, has already established a presence.
At home, CRC Sports is optimistic about the market potential for the sporting goods business this year. The company reported sales in 2016 of 8.76 billion baht, up 10% over the same period in 2015.
The top three product categories driving sales are performance shoes, apparel and soccer.
The company expects sales this year to grow by 12% to 9.8 billion baht. CRC Sports further targets sales to hit 15.5 billion baht by 2020.