Central Group to open luxury store in Turin

 

Central previously announced that it would invest Bt40 billion this year on domestic and international expansions, especially in Europe, in a bid to grow revenue by 15 per cent this year to Bt286.6 billion.

Central Group posted Bt249.5 billion in sales last year, up 6.6 per cent from the previous year. 

CEO Tos Chirathivat said the group had made internal changes in its business fundamentals, as well as policy and organisational structure changes in preparation for future expansions, particularly regional and international markets, which contributed about 15 per cent of the group’s total revenue. “The overall business situation in Europe is significantly better,” said Tos. “In Italy alone, our sales surged by almost 20 per cent year on year in the first quarter. 

“Driven by the depreciation of euro, we have seen the spending of international travellers in Italy increasing by 100 per cent during the quarter. The spending of shoppers from Thailand jumped significantly by between 60 per cent and 80 per cent, and up by 200 per cent for Chinese tourists.”

As part of its “Luxury Connec-tion” plan to acquire high-end department stores in Europe, the Central Group three years ago acquired La Rinascente in Milan, as well as Illum, a premium department store in Copenhagen, about two years ago. After being renovated, the Illum is slated for an October re-launch. The group is constructing a new La Rinascente store in Rome, with its slated opening 2017.

“We expect our sales in La Rinascente department stores to rise by 20 per cent this year to more than 600 million euro [Bt22 billion],” said Tos. In addition to Europe, he said, the group’s retail business in Vietnam was promising.