Central Group announces the purchase of Zalora Thailand

This deal will advance the e-commerce market and stimulate the economy in Thailand. Retailing channels will be enhanced for Thai fashion SMEs, suppliers, and manufacturers of all levels who will experience an increase in sales on both the offline and online realms, which is all in keeping with the government mandate to support businesses of all sizes.

Pornchanok Tanskul, president of COL, an e-commerce arm of Central Group, said that with the acquisition of Zalora, Central Group will be able to help in stimulating the Thai economy by promoting increased domestic consumption through e-commerce, which is a retail channel growing in popularity. Furthermore, the acquisition will increase confidence amongst our trade partners and suppliers of all levels by giving them an additional retailing channel which is not limited to the traditional offline model. This will increase our partners’ and suppliers’ revenues, create demand for more consumption in Thailand, and will give consumers greater choice and quality.

“The trend in Thailand is shifting towards an era where social media will have a greater influence on the behavior of consumers," she said.

 PwC conducted a retail market survey across 25 sample countries which showed that social media has an influence on around 80 per cent of consumers globally meanwhile currently around 51 per cent of Thai e-commerce occurs through social media platforms, the highest in the world, with the main factors behind online consumption being convenience and prices of items. In this day and age, consumers are able to find detailed descriptions and can compare across many products quickly, allowing them to make purchasing decisions very quickly whether it be on their smartphones, tablets or computers. Therefore, the company is confident that the online retailing market will continue to grow considerably.

“The reason behind moving to purchase Zalora was due to their strong position as the leader in online fashion shopping in Southeast Asia. They started in 2012 and primarily target young office workers and fashion-loving consumers. They are a hub for both Thai and international brands to gather, are consistently updated according to the latest fashion trends, and have a wide selection of modern items including clothing, accessories, bags, shoes, cosmetics and even kids’ fashion items, totaling over 80,000 unique SKUs," said Pornchanok.

She said that furthermore, Zalora possesses an e-commerce platform which is swift, user-friendly, and accessible to customers across the region to enjoy. Combining Zalora’s online presence with Central Group’s reliable reputation results in a complete and seamless online-to-offline shopping experience (Omnichannel), heightening the service and convenience that we will be able to provide to our customers. This is expected to double Central Online’s sales while customers can still choose to shop for fashion items under the Zalora brand, as Zalora will become the flagship fashion e-commerce platform for Central Group.

This deal will allow Zalora and Central Group to share knowledge and experience, enhancing the strengths in technology, organization, and professional talent of both firms. It will also improve Central’s and Zalora’s logistics capabilities and enhance our image as the leader in fashion retailing, thereby benefitting all of our brand partners and suppliers through our expanding retailing channels; one of many mechanisms to stimulate the Thai economy to return to full health.