Bangkok 11 November 2021:
Mr. Yol Phokasub, Chief Executive Officer of Central Retail Corporation PCL (CRC) announced that Central Retail has successfully transformed, driving an Omni-centric culture and a digital-first mindset across every aspect of the company. Building on a strong foundation as the first mover in omnichannel platforms, CRC continues to deliver the most seamless customer experiences across three markets and all its business units. Today, CRC marks many successes that have enabled the company to stay leaps ahead of the market, build from strength to strength, and shape its digital future:
- Standardize and synergize online platforms across all 14 business units within a short period of 17 months
- Central App surpassed four million downloads within less than a year of its launch
- Sales through omnichannel platforms increased 4-fold in 2019, with omnichannel now accounting for 20% of all sales
- Successfully connect customers to omnichannel platforms, speeding up growth by 600% and boosting spending by five times compared to spending of single-channel customers
- Redefine next-level standards of convenience via quick commerce services, fulfilling orders within one hour
- Rejuvenate and digitize retail spaces of 3.2 million square meters across three countries, creating omni-lifestyle experiences
Mr. Yol reinforced 4 key drivers of transformation towards Digital Retail
- Build a purpose-led organization by staying committed to being Central to Life for customers, partners, shareholders, and communities by fulfilling their every need and enriching everyday life with innovative and meaningful experiences
- Invest in our people’s potential by reinventing work culture and inspiring a digital-first mindset, equipping over 50,000 employees with the firepower to take on the Industry 5.0 era and work with an Omni-centric approach to deliver the best experiences to modern customers
- Create a future-fit organization by investing over 31,000 million baht to develop Central Retail Ecosystem with state-of-the-art infrastructure and omnichannel capabilities that merge offline and online worlds seamlessly
- Develop online platforms including websites, quick commerce, and mobile applications (Central Super App and Tops Online)
- Speed up expansions and renovations of physical stores, integrating new technologies such as robotics and AI to deliver on innovative retail experiences
- Pioneer hyper-accessibility for all customer segments via social commerce such as ‘Personal Shopper for Everyone’ services and Smart Cashless Payment system with Dolfin Wallet
- Synergize the strengths of our network across the nation to build a world-leading supply chain and logistics ecosystem that enables flexible inventory flow and unlocks speedy delivery. The move was built on the intention that if customers could commit one hour of their time to visit our department stores, Central Retail should be able to deliver within one hour’s time as well.
4. Strategically shift its business portfolio into a fast-growing space to enable sustainable growth
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- In fashion: Build a destination for premium brands around the world by leveraging partnerships with world-leading vendors and synergy with Central Retail Europe to diversify product offerings and answer to the needs of premium lifestyle segments
- In hardline and food: Expand our presence in Thailand’s and Vietnam’s mass-market segment and pave way for leadership in the hardline segment with Thai Watsadu as the flagship brand, which is now competing neck to neck with market leaders. A new format store has also been launched undergo! WOW to bring daily home conveniences to enable customers with better access to products and services anywhere, any time.
Quarter three of 2021 was one of CRC’s most challenging times. Despite these unimaginable turbulences, the company charges ahead with strength, resilience, and optimism. Even when a majority of our businesses in Thailand were closed for over 51 days and Vietnam closed for almost the entire quarter, CRC’s omnichannel platforms have been the defining assets that allowed customers to conveniently access shopping experiences during the pandemic. In light of the ongoing events, the group’s revenue for Q3/2021 amounted to 41,482 million baht (-10.6%QoQ) EBITDA 2,541 million baht (-37.8% QoQ). In this year, we have pushed forward by investing in expansion, the development of platforms, strategic acquisitions, and support for our tenants during times of crisis, which has temporarily impacted our profits in the third quarter and incurred a loss of profit by 2,220 million baht.
“Central Retail has successfully proven the transformation of the organization with speed, strength, and clarity in its vision. And in times of crisis, the perfect storm has brought us the perfect opportunity to do better. From now until next year, we are confident the business will achieve a strong momentum, especially with Thailand’s reopening and customers returning to our physical stores with our elevated safety measures. We will continue with our expansion plans in Thailand, Vietnam, and Italy and aim to mark our success as the world’s leading Digital Retail by 2025,” concluded Mr. Yol.
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About Central Retail
Central Retail Corporation Public Company Limited or Central Retail is a leader in retail business in Thailand and is a flagship in retail businesses that paved the foundation of Central Group with a network of 3,687 retail branded stores (information as of 30th June 2021). It provides multi-category products through multi-format channels, such as department stores, convenience stores, specialty stores, supermarkets, hypermarkets, plaza, and online sales on Omnichannel Platform. Central Retail covers 4 business industries, which include (1) Fashion that emphasizes clothing and jewelry under Central Department Store, Robinson Department Store, Supersports, Central Marketing Group (CMG), and Rinascente; (2) Hardline that emphasizes electronic and hardware under Thai Watsadu, Baan and Beyond, PowerBuy, NguyenKim, OfficeMate, B2S, and MEB (e-book); (3) Food that emphasizes fresh produce and household appliances under Central Food Hall, Tops Market, Tops Daily, Family Mart, Big C/GO!, and LanChi Mart; and (4) Property that emphasizes retail space rental for outsiders and stores under Central Group namely Robinson Lifestyle Center, Tops Plaza, and Big C/ GO!. Central Retail operates the business in 3 countries, including Thailand in all 54 provinces, Vietnam in all 39 provinces, and Italy in major cities across the country (as of June 30, 2021).
The preceding is a press release from Central Retail Group authorized for publication with TPN media. Their statements and opinions are their own.
