With about 80% of shoppers at Megabangna resuming their shopping after one week of the reopening, operator SF Development is set to continue all of its expansion plans except hotels, which will require a revision to fit the changed environment.
Paphitchaya Suwandee, managing director of SF Development, the operator of the Megabangna shopping complex, said that while not all shoppers have returned to the complex, average spending per receipt is back to normal at 3,000 baht per visit.
Some product categories have seen spending above 3,000 baht per bill per visit, she said. Popular categories include furniture and electrical appliances.
The company has seen more than 97% of tenants restart operations, and all are anticipated to return by the end of the year.
A majority of shoppers have returned to shop because most Megabangna customers are Thais. Shoppers are therefore less concerned about risking their health compared with shopping centres that focus on foreign tourists.
After the outbreak, however, the number of shoppers on weekdays is 10% lower than on weekends. Before the outbreak, visitor numbers on weekends were about 40% higher than those on weekdays.
Average customer traffic before the pandemic was 130,000-150,000 visitors per day. Shoppers in the Bang Na area have good purchasing power, and their shopping was held back for almost two months.
“Whether spending power recovers fully depends primarily on a vaccine being developed and when all businesses such as cinemas, fitness centres, playgrounds, bowling alleys and tutorial centres are allowed to reopen,” Ms Paphitchaya said. Despite the outbreak and changing economic conditions, the company plans to continue developing Mega City on a 400-rai plot to become an allinclusive development home to residential properties, office towers, hotels, schools and parks.
During the pandemic, the company completed an architectural renovation of Megabangna. An improved Food Walk under the concept of a Scandinavian playground is under way.
The new area features a large playground for children with a stream valley and sand dune in a lush, natural and green atmosphere for families to enjoy and spend time together.
Progress on the new concept is at 50%. Completion is scheduled for September.
All projects combined require an investment of 800 million baht, Ms Paphitchaya said.
Construction of an eight-storey parking garage worth 1 billion baht is ongoing, with completion expected by early 2021, boosting total Megabangna parking capacity to over 12,000 cars.
For the hotel business, Ms Paphitchaya said the company is revising its business plan in terms of hotel design with facilities to accommodate the changed environment and target customers.