Siam Retails plans 3 more malls

The firm is looking for land in prime areas in Bangkok and key cities such as Chiang Mai, Hua Hin, Pattaya and Phuket as the locations for the new malls.
 Each project will likely cost at least Bt1 billion and the designs will depend on the target customers in each location, said executive director Prasert Sriuranpong. The new malls would be medium-sized, on about 10-20 rai (1.6-3.2 hectares) each.
“It is difficult to build and operate a 150,000-square-metre shopping complex like Fashion Island, so we need to focus on medium-sized ones in prime areas to attract high-spending customers,” he said.
The company has enough cash flow to buy land and construct the three new malls, which would require investment of at least Bt3 billion, he said.
Siam Retail Development expects to break even on its Bt1.2-billion investment in The Promenade in the next seven years. This upscale lifestyle mall aims to attract 20,000 customers a day, while nearby Fashion Island welcomes about 70,000 people on weekdays and reaches a peak of 100,000 during weekends.
“I believe the Ram-Indra area has good potential, as real-estate development is seeing positive growth, not only on the residential side, but also in rental office projects. Meanwhile, mass-transit extension lines will reach this area soon,” he said.
The company has earmarked about Bt10 million for a series of marketing campaigns throughout this year to promote this new mall.
The executive director targets Bt1.6 billion in revenue by the end of this year.
Of this amount, Bt1.5 billion will come from Fashion Island and the rest from The Promenade.
So far this year, revenue is on target and the company expects to see 2-per-cent year-on-year growth from Fashion Island, Prasert said.