Siam Piwat Co, a large Thai mall operator, has forged a partnership with Pavilion Group, a Malaysian retailer, to open its first concept store outside Thailand at Pavilion Bukit Jalil in Kuala Lumpur.
Usara Yongpiyakul, Siam Piwat's chief executive for retail business, said that under this partnership the company will debut three of its curated Thai brands that are popular with foreigners: Iconcraft, Absolute Siam and Ecotopia.
The project covers 1,200 square metres in a "Discover Siam" zone on the third floor of Pavilion Bukit Jalil, a fully integrated lifestyle mall scheduled to open on Dec 3, 2021.
"With the pandemic, we adjusted our business strategies to be more offensive. We no longer wait for customers to come to our stores. We are expanding our business on various platforms globally," Ms Usara said.
The collaboration is a Siam Piwat policy to build awareness of Thai brands and propel Thai talent to the global stage, she said.
"We selected Pavilion Bukit Jalil to debut our first brick-and-mortar concept store in Malaysia for three selected Thai brands because Malaysians are one of the three largest source markets for our retail complexes in Thailand and they have high spending power," Ms Usara said.
Ecotopia is a community of environmentally-friendly products while Iconcraft is a hub to showcase Thai craftsmanship products from over 800 craftsmen, designers, and local communities across Thailand. Absolute Siam is a trendsetting multi-brand concept store that features a mix of leading fashion and lifestyle brands under one roof.
Ms Usara said the company plans to provide these three brands made by 300 Thai SMEs at 2-3 retail projects under Pavilion Group in Malaysia over the next two years.
Apart from Malaysia, the company is studying an opportunity to roll out this business platform into other Asian countries including China, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Europe in the future.
Joyce Yap, chief executive of retail for Kuala Lumpur Pavilion Sdn Bhd, the developer of Pavilion Bukit Jalil, said the company chose products from Thailand because it has just as rich and unique a culture as any other country. This uniqueness and richness is shaped by extraordinary creativity and conveyed through a wide range of exquisite artworks and design products that have been proven to appeal to people across the globe, she said.
"We recognise the value and delicate magnificence of Thai culture and the creativity of Thai artisans, designers, and creators. We are proud to have Siam Piwat's presence exclusively in Pavilion Bukit Jalil. Malaysians and international visitors have the chance to experience a hint of Thai culture without leaving KL," she said.
Ms Usara said apart from opening the concept store in Malaysia, her firm has also sold Thai products for 2,000 SMEs via online channel platforms in China and Taiwan to increase their sales opportunities.
She said Siam Piwat has a chance to open a concept store in China, but if it did so then the business model would be different from that used in Malaysia.