Shared from Business of Fashion
The listed retail subsidiary of Central Group was light on detail of how the funds would be spent, beyond store network expansion and refurbishments along with implementing new technology across its three geographic markets.
The strategy, unveiled at a presentation earlier this week, aims to boost turnover by 2.5 times and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) by 3.5 times over the next five years, the company said in a statement.
The plan includes Central Retail’s operations in Thailand and Vietnam, along with Italy, where it owns the upscale Rinascente department store business. It does not include the Selfridges department-store business that parent company Central Group, along with Austria’s Signa Holding, agreed to purchase for $5 billion last December.
“We aim to be the retailer who truly knows and understands our customers, shaping the future of retail in a way that’s never been done before,” said Central Retail chief executive, Yol Phokasub.
Thailand’s apparel market generated $7.8 billion in revenue in 2020 according to Statista, with expectations the market will grow to a value of $9.8 billion by 2025.
Central Retail operates 23 department stores in Thailand under the Central banner and another 40 under its mid-range Robinsons brand, making it by far the largest player in the nation’s department-store category.
The Central Retail store network stood at 3,641 branded stores as of Sept. 30, 2021, including supermarkets, hypermarkets, sportswear, stationery, electronics and office products.
Alongside store refurbishment and expansion, the new strategy will embrace live-streaming, crypto payments, NFTs, gamification, IoT and the metaverse, Central Retail said.
Learn more:
Who Is Selfridges’ New Thai Owner?
Thailand’s Central Group has partnered with Austria’s Signa Holding to acquire Selfridges Group in one of the UK’s biggest retail deals in years.
Images and Article from Business of Fashion