Robinson Plc, a department store chain, yesterday relaunched its lifestyle centre in Trang to lure shoppers amid relatively weak consumption sentiment and booming online shopping.
The relaunch is a part of the company's 1-billion-baht plan to make over its stores in 2019.
Wuttikiat Techamongklapiwat, the company's president, said 270 million baht was spent on Robinson Lifestyle's makeover in Trang, making it a more modern, one-stop destination for shoppers to spend more time here.
"Since we opened this branch nine years ago, sales have never dropped regardless of whether the economy is in a good or bad condition," Mr Wuttikiat said.
The company extended the retail space at the Trang outlet to 42,000 square metres from 32,000 sq m.
An additional retail space of 8,000 sq m is for various anchors, including over 50 new food stores, a playground and entertainment facilities.
The move is also expected to lure tourists visiting Trang in the future after the completion of its airport expansion.
"The airport expansion will be able to accommodate over 3.4 million tourists in 3-5 years," he said.
The company is also making over its two lifestyle centres in Suphan Buri and Kanchanaburi.
Some 8,000-10,000 sq m of space are being extended for the two branches to fulfil new anchors, responding to consumers' new lifestyles.
The company expects to hold the grand opening for both projects early next year.
"The renovation is expected to draw customers to visit our stores more frequently, not only for shopping but also as a part of their lifestyle," Mr Wuttikiat said.
He said apart from the renovations, the company is looking for further collaboration with the retail network under the Central Group as well as outsiders for business synergy.
Bordin Klinsuwan, vice-president of home merchandising, said the company plans to launch 4-5 new house brand products in various groups to make its store different from rivals, bringing total house brands to reach 24-25 by the end of next year.
House-brand products contribute 12% of the company's total sales.