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according to Euromonitor. Local perfumery chain Mall Group, for example, joint operator of Siam however, which has implications of what types Mist 1000, operated by Bel Perfumes, has six Paagon, has announced the development of six of brands and products are successful. stores and two franchises and also operates an new world-class malls over the coming years. E-commerce is also playing a growing role. e-commerce site. The chain, which is expanding Infrastructure developments announced by the Singapore-based Luxola, which was acquired through franchises, offers international as well as military government are also expected to provide by LVMH in July this year, is one of the main local celebrity fragrance brands. a boost for retail. online players offering skincare and make-up, According to Euromonitor International, and opened its Thai website and warehouse in Mall development continues one in three dollars in Thailand is spent in 2011. Several brands also operate their own As a whole, prestige retail is quite well Bangkok, and residents of the capital have e-commerce sites. Estée Lauder Companies, for developed, with department stores as well high discretionary income due to relatively low example, has sites for the Clinique and Bobbi as standalones for beauty brands the main housing costs. Nevertheless, retail growth is Brown brands. distribution channels. Sources say there are also accelerating in the country’s North and Despite Thailand’s morose economic outlook, Northeastern areas, where department-store with prestige beauty sales on the rise, retail operator Robinson has opened outlets in Chiang continuing to develop and increasingly brand- “ Brand awareness is lower outside the capital, play for in the country. n savvy consumers trading up, there is still much to Mai, Udon Thani and Mukdahan, for example. Overall, there is a bit of a slowdown in Thailand. The market is not moving Thailand retail at a glance in a very strong way, N° of prestige points of sale: around 110 and is affected by the movement of tourism. Robinson Department Store: 39 stores The political instability is Robinson, controlled by Central Group, has 10 department stores in Bangkok and 29 in the rest creating headwinds of the country. Two new stores are planned for the second half of 2015. Central Department Store: 22 stores ” premium Beauty Galerie areas across its store network. A new-look Beauty Galerie at its Central Central pitches itself as the department-store chain for affuent consumers, and has rolled out its Luxasia ceo Patrick Chong Pattaya Beach store opened in August. The chain’s Westgate store in Nonthaburi, a suburb of Bangkok, opened late August in the new Westgate Central Plaza mall. Central also operates a joint venture with Watsons in Thailand, which is the leading health and beauty retailer in the country, according to Euromonitor. around 110 prestige points of sale in the country. However, department stores are not The Mall Department Store: 8 stores necessarily seen as having a true prestige Joint operator of Siam Paragon, The Mall Group opened its frst department store in 1981. The positioning, while standalone stores are fueled operator has announced plans for six new retail developments over the coming years. by the country’s strong tourist business and the young population’s desire for new shopping Sephora: 4 stores formats. “Shopping malls are still consumers’ Sephora opened its frst Thai store in December 2013 in the revamped Siam Center mall, preferred shopping destinations, but we see and now has four outlets there, including in the Central Embassy and Central World malls department stores continue to invest and in Bangkok, as well as in the Mega Bangna mall in the city’s suburbs, geared to the local upgrade towards a more luxurious image,” population. Sephora has partnered with online fashion retailer Zalora in South East Asia with says Rasquinet. plans for a Thai e-commerce site in the works. The country is home to many high-end malls, which include Siam Paragon, the largest Zen Department Store: 1 store shopping mall in Asia, and CentralWorld, which Zen, housed in Bangkok’s CentralWorld mall, has a trendy lifestyle positioning and features houses the Zen department store. With the a range of international beauty brands on its frst foor. The store reopened in 2011 after a implementation of the AEC at the end of this revamp, and is operated by Central. year, new retail projects are anticipated. The November-December 2015 - N°24 - BW Confidential 85