The chain recently joined hands with CenPay, a bill payment operator and a unit of Central Group, to launch a 24-hour cash deposit via “KBank Service”.

The new banking service will strengthen FamilyMart’s position as a leading operator of “One-Stop-Shopping” convenience stores offering fast and convenient services to individual shoppers.

Ruedee Euachongprasit, vice president/marketing at Central FamilyMart, the operator of FamilyMart convenience stores, said that “FamilyMart has expanded its stores in many clusters, and we need to prepare ourselves to provide quality services to diversified groups of customers in residential areas that are appropriate to their different lifestyles. Cash deposit is a new service at FamilyMart. It will allow individual clients more convenience in handling money transactions. We have teamed up with CenPay of Central Group, which had been appointed by Kasikornbank as its banking agent in providing the 24-hour cash-deposit service at all CenPay counters at FamilyMart stores.

“With the strong market coverage of FamilyMart stores, the cash-deposit service will serve all requirements of our customers including business entrepreneurs in the community, school and university students and the public in general, so that they do not have to travel to a commercial bank. The service will be launched at the first five branches of FamilyMart, and will then be expanded to other stores in the near future,” Ruedee said.

Kanyaporn Panich, the Central Group vice president for financial product development, said: “CenPay is pleased to announce that we have been appointed as banking agent of Kasikornbank to provide ‘KBank Service’, starting from cash deposit to KBank’s account at our FamilyMart stores.

“This is another significant service, aimed at providing extra convenience to our customers in banking transactions. It will be the latest service provided by CenPay in addition to our existing bill payment and prepaid services. Cash deposit is the latest in the CenPay plan to provide a comprehensive service. We believe that with the strong points of FamilyMart and CenPay, we can offer the best services to our customers,” said Kanyaporn.

“The new offering by KBank Service will be another dimension of service to be provided by FamilyMart in order to create differentiation for its stores and to be a selling point to attract customers who will be able to enjoy quality services that are convenient, fast and safe. The cash-deposit service provided by CenPay, however, is limited to a maximum of Bt2,500 each time and cannot exceed Bt5,000 a day.

The fee will be set at Bt20 per deposit,” she added.

Scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of next year, the group said the department store would feature amenities like no other and cater to everyone’s lifestyle in an environment designed to be harmonious with nature.

Responding to the development of Phuket Smart City, Porto de Phuket will contribute to the city’s economic growth and will help promote Phuket to be the world’s top destination, the group said.

Lertvit Pumipitak, senior executive vice president for corporate business development at Central Group, said that the success of Central Phuket, which opened in September, revealed the potential of the tourist industry in Phuket.

“When we talk about types of consumers in Phuket, we can separate into local residents [including expatriates], and tourists, who play a major role in Phuket’s business. Also, each area has different characteristics.

“For example, in the city the target is the local residents and tourists, while in Patong the focus will be more on tourists who are young to middle-aged with probably a limited budget.

“Porto de Phuket is located in the Cherngtalay area where local and tourists have high spending power.

“Most of them are well-educated and pay attention to lifestyle. That is why we need to customise and specifically developed this concept to support this group of customers,” said Lertvit.

He added that the launch of Porto de Phuket will make Cherngtalay a new destination and this will directly support the community as well as people in the vicinity, and circulate more than Bt4.5 billion.

Lertvit said that the cost of living in a destination city like Phuket and Bangkok are pretty much the same for food and shopping. However, there is a major difference – the transportation cost in Phuket is much higher due to the lack of public transport.

Tourism boom

The number of tourists visiting Phuket has increased every year. In 2017, Phuket had 16.9 million visitors, who contributed more than Bt377 billion to the economy.

It is forecast that in the next two to three years, the number of tourists may reach up to 20-25 million, generating more than Bt555 billion. Porto de Phuket will be developed under the concept “The Finest Living Experience”.

This will be the only department store that combines design, lifestyle and nature in a harmonious manner responding to the trend of the new generation to be one with nature. With an investment of more than Bt1 billion, it will cover 40,000 square metres, of which 12,000 square metres will be building area.

“We expect Porto de Phuket to accommodate at least 3 million shoppers every year, of which 40 per cent will be local residents and expatriates, and 60 per cent foreign tourists,” said Lertvit.

He said that visitors from abroad are divided into two segments: free and independent travellers such as Chinese, Koreans, Japanese and Singaporeans who have high purchasing power and seek premium amenities and are willing to pay for great experiences.

They will spend from five to seven days during the trip. The other group is western high spenders such as Russians, English and Americans. These tourists will spend a long period in Thailand.”

Nick Reitmeier, executive vice president – food halls & international buying of Central Food Retail Co Ltd, stated that to make Porto de Phuket the new leading food destination of Phuket, carefully-chosen goods from around the world should be provided like Central Food Hall, as the best food store in Asia.

The store will consist of a cheese counter that offers more than 400 types of cheese from around the world, a grill bar, The Catch (a premium seafood store) and Central Wine Cellar with more than 400 wines.

Porto de Phuket will be situated in Cherngtalay district near Laguna Phuket, which is an area with the best resorts in Asia, luxurious apartments and villas. Hotels in the area have more than 12,000 rooms in total, there are more 5,000 apartment units and more than 2,000 villa units.

The area is a high demand residential area and Porto de Phuket will be the new destination for tourists of any generation to enjoy in a lovely green environment, the group said.

THAI president Sumeth Damrongchaitham apologised for the incident and said the investigation showed that the problems happened due to lack of coordination between the flight captain and the Zurich station manager. They failed to prioritise the interests of passengers and the airline in resolving the seating dispute of two off-duty pilots heading to Bangkok, he said.

Both the THAI staff acted against good corporate governance of the national carrier, which is focused on giving passengers first priority, while hurting the passengers and damaging the airline, he said.

The seating dispute involving the two pilots in TG971 from Zurich to Bangkok on October 11 delayed the flight by more than two hours. The insistence of the pilots for first-class seating resulted in two passengers who had been upgraded, having to return to business class.

The next step is to set up a committee, which will decide on the disciplinary penalties, said Sumeth, who declined to elaborate, saying it was THAI’s internal matter.

The less ons learned from this matter will be used for improvement of THAI’s organisational reform, which not only targets income and profit but also is striving to improve its corporate culture, he said.

“This was not the first time such an incident had happened. In the past too, off-duty pilots have agreed to change seats. There must be coordination first.

“This problem was caused by the communication breakdown between both of them [the flight captain and the Zurich station chief],” he said. “After this incident, THAI must have clear and correct regulations.”

Sumeth said that the national airline would issue regulations on off-duty pilots who are on board as passive crew to prevent the recurrence of such an incident.

Since last mid-week, THAI has contacted all passengers who are members of Royal Orchid Plus (ROP), providing them THAI mileage as an apology, and will try to contact non-ROP passengers with a proper measure to apologise.

“I, as the management chief of THAI, and all related parties admit this mistake and apologise for this incident. I assure that the company prioritises both the highest safety standards and services for customers. After this, our work process will be improved for good coordination, and customer-interest will be at the centre in order to prevent the recurrence of such an incident in the future,” Sumeth said.

He said that such an incident can exact a cost in terms of business operations and hence the company must improve its regulations.

“Since the past three years, we have been witnessing consistent 200-per-cent annual growth, and we believe it will continue in the next few years,” he said in an exclusive interview.

Wai Phyo Kyaw said urbanisation would drive the company’s growth in the long run, as the demand for passenger cars and industrial vehicles is increasing day by day.

“Given the slowdown in Myanmar’s economy, it is no wonder that we are not yet ready for an auto boom. But we are happy to see the demand for vehicles rising, though we do not have stable regulations for car imports in place,” he said.

According to the statistics, there are less than 1 million cars in Myanmar. This leads to much room for improvement in the nation’s auto industry. The executive sees it as a good opportunity to facilitate sales of both old and brand-new cars in the market where 54 million people reside.

With more than 10 million views for nearly 300,000 users on the website and mobile application every month, CarsDB has become the nation’s No 1 automobile portal. Currently, more than 10,000 cars are available for sale on the website, he said.

“Registered sellers usually showcase an average of 7,500 cars on our website every month. They usually manage to sell around 60 per cent of the cars within one month. We are very happy to see that a large number of cars were sold out in less than three days,” he said.

“We aim to facilitate sales of thousands of vehicles next year. So, we are now trying hard to make our current business units more efficient by building up our team. We will double our efforts to create a one-stop platform for the auto industry as a whole. In the next two or three years, our portal will be all-inclusive, offering both vehicles and parts.”

Launched in January 2012 as the first automobile portal in Myanmar, CarsDB provides an online platform for those who want to buy or sell passenger cars, commercial and industrial vehicles in major cities including Yangon, Mandalay, Nay Pyi Taw, Taunggyi, Dawei, Monywa, Mawlamyaing and Lashio. The company has offices in Yangon and Mandalay with a total of 55 employees.

The website lists both brand-new and used cars for sale from local car showrooms, individual dealers and private sellers. On top of car classifieds, the portal also offers auto news, car reviews and articles, tax-related information, motor directory and car parts and accessories marketplace.

“We are always trying to make searching your desired car as easy as possible. With detail information, description and photos of each car for sale, it is very easy and convenient for buyers to compare and the majority of the vehicles sold out are used cars, which represents the domination of middle-income people among the buyers. Sales usually rise in May and June while October and November are not very active. As the popularity of Japanese cars, particularly Toyota, Honda and Suzuki, is expected to continue over the next few years, the executive is also aware of the rise in buyers’ interest in high-end European and American-made cars.

“The demand for premium cars has increased since August. But, they account for less than 10 per cent of available vehicles on our website,” he said.

He said more than 90 per cent of the car showrooms across Myanmar enjoy the company’s premium service, which starts from as less as 100,000 kyats (Bt2,100) per month.

“Since the past five months, we have provided our full-fledged service, which mainly aims at auto showrooms. In this package, we provide better services for sellers including taking photos of the cars, writing good advertisements, inspection of the vehicles and facilitating enquiries,” he said.

Additionally, the company also facilitates insurance services, auto loans and organises auto shows as part of its core missions. It has occasionally held large-scale auto shows in Yangon since last year, and has planned for another mega-show in Yangon next month.

In order to expand its business, the company is currently negotiating with two groups of investors to raise funds. The company secured more than a million US dollars investment from a foreign investor in 2014, said Wai Phyo Kyaw.

WHAT IS THE GLOBAL TREND LIKE ON HOW THE WORKPLACE IS IMPACTED BY TECHNOLOGY DISRUPTION?

Globally, we have seen technology drastically transform the way we live, learn and work. There is an increasing demand for collaboration tools at the workplace to enable innovation and allow for greater flexibility. With the expanded reach and faster surfing speeds of high-speed broadband networks, technology is giving people the freedom to work from anywhere, the way they want to. “Anywhere working” is becoming the business-normal.

Throughout the Asia-Pacific region and Thailand, we are witnessing traditional offices evolve into open, technology-enabled environments that create more opportunities for flexible working and anywhere, anytime collaboration.

HOW DOES DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY IMPACT THE WAY PEOPLE WORK, AND HOW ARE THEY ADAPTING

THEMSELVES TO SUCH CHANGES?

The habits and preferences of today’s workforce have been impacted as a result of digital technology. According to the Polycom Future of Work 2017 study, 62 per cent of today’s multi-generational workforce are now working from anywhere. Enabled by mobile devices, employees today are demanding more flexibility in managing their work schedules. This is to not only adapt to a globally connected workplace that often works across multiple time zones, but also to allow time for commitments like family, healthy living, me-time or better work-life integration.

Consumerisation also plays a big part in shaping the technological expectations of the workforce, and has cultivated that familiarity with collaboration devices in any workplace. People now expect to either work from home or work flexibly, with collaboration technologies as key enablers of productivity and innovation.

WHAT ARE THE KEY BENEFITS OF MOBILE OFFICES OR PEOPLE WORKING REMOTELY FROM HOME OR ON THE GO?

Mobile offices enable companies to scale quickly, as they are able to set up operations in a fairly simple way – with simple connectivity tools like laptops, instant messaging, audio-conference phones or video-conferencing, without the demand for large spaces, which incur higher rental. Allowing people to choose their location of work also gives rise to productivity gains and employee satisfaction. In addition to the ability to expand market coverage that has a positive impact on the business, an engaged workforce would also boost innovation and reduce churn, which can be costly for businesses.

A great example would be the well-known traffic congestion in major cities like Bangkok, where any amount of time spent commuting would be lesser time spent with a customer. By harnessing technology such as video-conferencing on-the-go, decision-making can actually be accelerated, while customer face-time can also be improved, thereby increasing customer satisfaction.

Another example would be in the healthcare industry. Continuing medical education is mandatory for healthcare professionals. Scheduling physical training can be a challenge for large healthcare organisations with high employee headcount and dispersed geographical coverage. Leveraging video-conferencing as a tool to conduct training can potentially increase participation and information retention, while making the whole process more efficient and lead to savings in travel costs. Direct access to professional lecturers or medical professionals also improves knowledge transfer and the overall quality of healthcare education.

WHAT WILL BE THE KEY CHALLENGES FOR THE WORKPLACE, ESPECIALLY IN ASEAN, CAUSED BY TECHNOLOGY DISRUPTION? HOW CAN ASEAN COMPANIES ADJUST BUSINESS STRATEGIES TO OVERCOME SUCH

CHALLENGES?

With the rise of mobility especially in mobile-first Asean, employees are constantly connected and want the flexibility to work anytime, anywhere. The Future of Work 2017 study highlighted that 98 per cent of the global working population believe “anywhere working” has a positive impact on productivity and that 91 per cent believe that video collaboration technology helps improve relationships and fosters better teamwork. To cater to these changing preferences and modes of working, companies need to embrace the “anywhere working” mandate by putting mobility at the centre of the collaboration experience, thereby enhancing employee productivity.

In order to do this, companies need to create a framework as guidance for their workforce, outlining expectations of flexi-work and providing tips to maximise the usage of given technologies. Human resources or people managers have to agree with a flexi-work employee on the set of outcomes so that the end goal is measurable as if they are functionally in a traditional, physical operation-only workplace. Organisations need to invest in collaboration tools to enable employees to connect, share content and manage projects, preferably on multi-modal devices.

HOW DOES POLYCOM OPERATE AND HOW IS THE

COMPANY COPING WITH THESE BUSINESS CHALLENGES?

Polycom is a part of Plantronics, an audio pioneer and a leader in the communications industry. Plantronics and Polycom technology create rich, natural, people-first audio and collaboration experiences so that good ideas can be shared and heard – wherever, whenever and however they happen. Polycom is on a mission to develop collaboration solutions that make connecting people and communicating feel like they are in the same room, and are easy to use, intuitive and require no training to operate.

For example, our RealPresence line includes several solutions that exemplify our vision. RealPresence Clariti is a collaboration infrastructure software that allows co-workers to connect in team environments on virtual boardrooms while seeing each other and sharing ideas visually, no matter what device or technology they are using.

In-app content sharing and virtual whiteboards make for a seamless collaboration experience.

With this solution, companies can also manage, monitor and troubleshoot voice and video devices easily from a centralised, intuitive dashboard.

With RealPresence Desktop and RealPresence Mobile, users can enjoy high-quality video, audio and content-sharing with smart tuning of lighting and sound quality wherever they are, on any device.

With our focus on user experience, Polycom has developed a number of innovations to enhance collaboration solutions. With these solutions, we want to empower workers with true location liberation, and fulfil the “anywhere working” vision.