The Mall Group Co, one of the country's leading retail operators, plans to open The Emsphere mall on Sukhumvit Road in December 2023 as part of the group's retail district, with an investment cost of 15 billion baht.
According to chairwoman Supaluck Umpujh, The Emsphere is the latest piece of the group's "EM District" development plan, designating 50 rai of land in the Sukhumvit area with a combined usable space of 650,000 square metres.
With an investment cost of 15 billion baht and located next door to Benchasiri Park, The Emsphere is a mixed-use project developed on a 20-rai plot.
The project has total space of 200,000 sq m, comprising retail, entertainment arena and hotel.
The group's other two malls adjacent to the Phrom Phong skytrain station are Emporium and EmQuartier, which is a destination for families and the younger generation.
The Emporium is scheduled to complete its renovation into a modern luxury shopping complex by the end of this year, she said.
The Emsphere has been developed under the concept of "Future Retail", gathering the latest trends, immersive experiences and futuristic lifestyle to its store. Its opening schedule is two years behind its earlier plan due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We poured a 500-million-baht budget into designing The Emsphere to have a new vibe for Bangkok. Each of our malls in the EM District aim to meet a different need," said Ms Supaluck.
"The Emsphere proved to be our most challenging project in our 40 years of experience in Thailand's retail business because we wanted to position each of the three malls to be fun for shoppers."
She said she sought inspiration to develop each retail project by travelling around the world to learn what consumers want.
In dealing with the digital disruption and online shopping, physical retail stores have to be more exciting, agile and innovative, Ms Supaluck said.
Kriengsak Tantiphiphop, chief executive of The EM District Group, said The Emsphere provides fashion brands, Thai designer brands, along with over 1,000 restaurants and a new hangout spot such as a beach bar.
The new mall is slated to provide a world-class arena spanning 20,000 sq m with more than 6,000 seats, managed by AEG, the entertainment and sports business leader. It hires 10,000 new jobs at all complexes. The company targets to draw 80,000-100,000 visitors per day.
"We believe The EM District will be the next important chapter in the retail history and Thailand will become prominent in the world's retail industry, like never before," Mr Kriengsak said.
According to Ms Supaluck, after successfully establishing Siam Paragon as a world-class retail and entertainment phenomenon, the company is ready to make history again, like never before at The Emsphere and the new retail district in Bangkapi in the future.
She said the opening of The Emsphere will lift up Bangkok as a metropolis to compete with Paris, Shanghai, London, New York, Japan and Seoul.