Robinson Plc (ROBINS), the SET-listed department store developer under Central Group of Companies, will ramp up development of lifestyle shopping centres to tap customers in small cities and challenge existing hypermarkets.
Wuttikiat Techamongklapiwat, the company's newly appointed president, said the company plans to open the 800-million-baht Robinson Lifestyle Kamphaengphet on Dec 8.
This Robinson branch will be the prototype store for Robinson Lifestyle shopping complexes in small cities.
The compact-size lifestyle centres will have a gross area of 28,000 square metres, 15-18% smaller than the original lifestyle centre format.
If the concept is successful, the company will roll out more compact lifestyle centres in small cities as part of efforts to boost local economies.
Robinson expects development of smaller Robinson Lifestyle centres to increase profit and generate faster return on investment.
Apart from compact-size model in Kamphaeng Phet, Robinson operates lifestyle centres of 33,000-35,000 sq m and 37,000 sq m or more.
Central Group has three lifestyle shopping complex developers under its umbrella. Central Pattana Plc develops large-scale lifestyle shopping complexes in major cities, while Robinson handles lifestyle complexes in the mid-range markets and Central Food Retail Co Ltd, the operator of Tops Supermarket, develops Tops Plaza lifestyle complexes in third-tier cities.
According to Mr Wuttikiat, the company aims to open at least nine Robinson Stores during 2018-20. Each location will require an investment between 800 million and 1 billion baht, depending on store size.
Of the nine new branches, five will be developed under the lifestyle centre concept and four as department stores.
With the plan, the number of Robinson stores will reach 55 branches by 2020. The company plans to open two or three branches next year, including in Chon Buri province.
Robinson currently has 44 stores in Thailand, comprising 11 stores in Greater Bangkok and 33 stores upcountry, plus two stores in Vietnam. It also manages six brands, including Just Buy and Great Value.
"We will focus on expanding our new stores upcountry because there is no direct competitor, with only the hypermarkets being our direct competitors," Mr Wuttikiat said. "With relatively low competition in this environment, Robinson feels positive about future business growth."
Robinson has slowed down its expansion plan from four or five branches a year in the past few years to two or three a year because of the economic downturn and the company's focus on refurbishing its existing stores.
ROBINS shares closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 76.50 baht, down 25 satang, in trade worth 111.2 million baht.