A new mall in Pattaya is scheduled to open in 2018, with Khon Kaen also in the pipeline, costing between Bt5 billion and Bt6 billion for each project, company president Prasert Sriuranpong said.

The company’s current shopping-centre project, Terminal 21 Korat, is reaching its final construction stage and will be ready to open in December as planned. The new seven-storey shopping complex promises to serve as a high-potential retail platform for tenants and bring a brand-new shopping experience to consumers from across the Northeastern region with its unique “Market Street” concept.

The complex occupies 200,000 square metres of retail space and cost about Bt6 billion. About 90 per cent of the retail space of Terminal 21 Korat is already leased.

“Retailing is a geographically based business. Therefore, we pay a lot of attention to where we go,” Prasert said.

“It’s our practice that before we roll out any new project at any location, we conduct extensive research to study consumers’ behaviour and lifestyles and to gain insights into that particular market group in order to provide the best possible product offerings that best meet the needs of each local market.”

Prasert said the company was still focused on Thailand, as it believes this market still has a lot of potential and room for growth.

“We want to expand within the country first, bringing the new shopping experience to all Thais,” he said.

The company currently operates only one Terminal 21 complex, at Asoke Intersection in downtown Bangkok.

“We chose Nakhon Ratchasima as the second location for a Terminal 21 complex. Nakhon Ratchasima is a highly attractive province for investment, as a major northeastern province with high economic growth potential and a huge population of 2.62 million, second only to Bangkok.”

He said the province had the highest gross domestic product in the Northeast at Bt172.35 billion, and many of its people had high purchasing power, as seen from the average annual income per head of Bt96,690 in 2013.

“Its urban consumers are very close to Bangkok consumers when it comes to purchasing power, shopping behaviour and lifestyle. The province is also the top tourist destination in the Northeast, with more than 5 million tourists each year,” Prasert said.

Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, executive vice president of marketing, said yesterday that while urbanisation has driven the retail industry in recent years with the growth of shopping malls in the provinces, the new retail landscape is being reshaped by the Millennials and Generation Z shoppers.

Millennials are people aged about 21-30 and Gen Z are 15-20. Although these two groups represent only 10-20 per cent of shoppers, they are leading the voices in social media and influencing purchases and consumption.

“Retailers must give importance to these new-generation shoppers, who will be the game-changers of the retail industry and general businesses within five years,” he said.

To fulfil the needs of these shoppers, CPN, which is aiming to become a leader in the regional retail industry, is creating a seamless experience, focusing on customisation and becoming a social enterprise.

iBeacon enables tenants to send tailored messages to shoppers who have loaded the CentralWorldapp on their smartphones.

CPN is also talking with a software company to mine Big Data from its The 1Card customer relationship management programme, which holds mountains of data on 8 million-9 million members.

The Millenniums and Gen Z shoppers have already shaken up the fashion world, which has launched more frequent new collections and “limited editions”.

To address the tastes of these groups who get bored fast, CPN will have to create more “wows” and “happenings”, launch concept stores and speed up store renovations from every eight to nine years in the past to every four to five years now.

CPN has increased its digital marketing budget to 10 per cent of its Bt700 million marketing budget from just 3 per cent in the past.

Marketing staff have to have digital literacy. Store managers must know not only on how to run their physical branches but also how to engage and converse with their shoppers online.

The 18-year-old mall in central Bangkok has been closed for a Bt4-billion overhaul since May and expects to reopen under the new title “Siam Discovery – The Exploratorium” next quarter.

“We want to create a unique shopping experience for all customers. To make the new Siam Discovery different from its neighbouring shopping malls Siam Center and Siam Paragon, we want to introduce a revolutionary new retail concept in Thailand,” said Chadatip Chutrakul, chief executive officer of Siam Piwat, which also owns and operates Siam Paragon and Siam Center.

To turn this shopping venue into a hybrid retail destination, Siam Piwat decided to ensure that its 40,000 square metres of retail space would offer a range of products and undertake sales and marketing strategies that would be more flexible and respond to customers’ demands.

Previously, Siam Discovery hosted at least 120 retail tenants.

After the reopening, there will be hundreds of categories and more than 5,000 international and local brands on offer.

“We invited [Japanese design studio] Nendo to provide the inspirational design concept for Siam Discovery because Siam Piwat looks at the future from a global perspective rather than just the potential of the Thai market,” Chadatip said.

To turn this vision into reality, the Siam Discovery renovation was overseen by Oki Sato, one of the world’s top designers.

“Our role as a retailer has advanced to another level and become one of managing visitors’ experiences and emotions at the destination, rather than just one of managing products, categories and displays,” Chadatip stressed.

Besides being Nendo’s largest project in Thailand, this is the first major facelift of the 18-year old shopping complex. The aim is to cash in on the potential growth in shopping and retail markets in Thailand following the implementation of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) early this year.

Chadatip said the 2 million square metres comprising the Siam area was considered one of top-ranked retail destinations in Bangkok, which annually attracts more than 200,000 visitors. The number of foreign-tourist arrivals is expected to rise, particularly after the full implementation of the AEC.

Give this potential, one year after the reopening, Siam Discovery is expected to welcome 100,000 visitors a day, of whom about 65 per cent will be local shoppers while the remaining 30-35 per cent will be foreign tourists.

“We aim to double our sales revenue within one year compared the sales in the year before this major renovation,” she said.

Siam Piwat targets recovering the cost of this renovation within five to six year as it believes that this is a long-term investment. By the end of this year, the company hopes to see at least 10-per-cent revenue growth, partly driven by the new Siam Discovery.