Krungsri Consumer hopes to manage Central Group credit cards in Vietnam

Central Group operates Robins Department Stores in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. It also recently acquired Vietnam-based electronics retailer Pico, which it is renaming Power Buy, the same brand as in Thailand.

Krungsri Consumer managing director Thakorn Piyapan said the firm hoped to join with Central Group in offering credit cards with instalment payment services to customers of Robins and Power Buy in Vietnam.

Krungsri Consumer has expertise in such services for electronic products and has a 17-year relationship with Central Group through Central Credit Card, which has 700,000 cards in circulation.

Thakorn, who recently visited Vietnam, said that in that country Krungsri was part of the network of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ through VietinBank, which could help Krungsri Consumer establish services there.

Krungsri is awaiting official confirmation from Central Group on renewing an eight-year contract to manage its credit-card service after the contract expires this year.

Thakorn said the typical Central Credit Card users were mid-to-high-income earners with monthly incomes of Bt40,000-Bt150,000. Furthermore, 70 per cent of these cards are active, so Central Credit Card is a key contributor to Krungsri Consumer.

He said Central Credit Card spending this year would miss the target by 5-6 per cent because of the economic slowdown. On top of that, the recent Erawan Shrine bomb blast not far from CentralWorld affected shopper traffic.

Spending with this card is expected to resume in the fourth quarter, typically a high season for consumer activity, and also thanks to the opening of new malls such as Central WestGate.

Moreover, the renovated Central Pinklao is expected to reopen next quarter.

Overall spending through Krungsri Consumer cards is expected to expand by 9-10 per cent this year, to between Bt270 billion and Bt280 billion, which is an acceptable figure for the company amid the economic slowdown.