CP Axtra Links Makro Stores with Online as Makro PRO Targets Up to 110bn Baht

 

Tanit Chearavanont says in-house software and faster product cycles are driving online growth, with sales expected at 100–110 billion baht this year.

 

CP Axtra is reshaping Makro from a store-based wholesaler into an omni-channel retailer. Its branches draw business customers in, while its online platform takes a growing share of their orders. Makro PRO, the online arm, is heading for annual sales of between 100 billion and 110 billion baht this year.

 

Tanit Chearavanont, Group Chief Executive Officer of the wholesale business at CP Axtra Plc, told reporters in Bangkok that customer behaviour had changed faster than expected.

 

Many business customers still visit a store about once a month to see new products and ideas, he said, but they increasingly place their orders online for convenience.

 

 

Online share has more than tripled

When Tanit became chief executive about four years ago, online accounted for roughly 10% of Makro’s sales, or less. The share rose to the low 30s last year and now stands in the mid-30s.

 

He expects it to reach about 40% next year. Makro PRO recorded sales of about 72 billion baht last year, according to the annual report. Tanit said he could not yet confirm the full-year figure, but based on current growth he expects it to close between 100 billion and 110 billion baht.

 

Euromonitor has ranked Makro PRO first among first-party (1P) e-commerce platforms in ASEAN. Tanit said the distinction matters because of how sales are counted. Marketplace operators typically report gross merchandise value (GMV) for goods sold by third-party sellers, and their own revenue is only a fraction of that, which he put at 10–15%. 

 

 

 

Makro PRO sells its own stock, so its sales and GMV are close to identical. By GMV, he acknowledged, the top two Thai e-commerce spots may still be held by foreign players. He said he wants Makro PRO to reach the top two.

 

 

Writing its own software

Central to the strategy was a decision, taken three to four years ago, to build much of the company’s software in-house rather than rely on foreign systems.

 

Tirayu Songvetkasem, chief digital officer who joined Tanit during a media briefing, said the earlier platform had struggled as order volumes grew. In-house development, the company says, makes it easier to adapt systems to Thai business conditions.

 

Tanit said organisations that want to move quickly in the digital era should consider writing their own software and raising the proportion of engineers in their workforce.

 

Those engineers, he said, must be able to use AI coding tools, which speed up development. The design of the systems was shaped by fieldwork, he said.

 

He drove delivery trucks himself in several provinces while the company refined its transport management system, and the runs doubled as customer visits. A small grocery owner who had ordered about 10,000 baht of discounted stock told him that scanning it all into inventory would take hours.

 

That bottleneck led to Smart POS, a point-of-sale system built on the Makro PRO ecosystem that needs only a tablet and a mobile scanner rather than a conventional terminal. Once a shopkeeper confirms a delivery, stock is booked in automatically and can go straight on to shelves.

 

Tanit said more than 1,000 shops use it, a small share of a customer base that still mostly uses the standard platform.

 

 

 

Stores as the draw

If online handles repeat orders, Tanit said, stores must give customers a reason to visit. Makro has turned to faster product cycles, which he said reflect how Thai consumers behave online.

 

He said Thai users spend an average of three to four hours a day on TikTok and swipe away content that fails to hold their attention within about five seconds. Food businesses, in his view, must respond to a customer base that tires quickly of the familiar.

 

Makro’s rotisserie chicken, which started in standard flavours, now rotates special flavours every two months, down from every three to four months. Its soft-serve ice cream, launched at 8 baht against colleagues’ preference for 15 baht, changes flavour every two to three months, and the company plans to move to monthly.

 

It has also extended licensed characters, such as the Minions, from non-food goods to food products.

 

Tanit was open about the economics. A 179-baht pork rib offer is sold at a loss, he said, designed to draw people into stores and make the visit entertaining rather than to make money.

 

 

Extending the model to restaurants

Business customers account for about 65–70% of Makro’s sales, a proportion Tanit said has changed little. Restaurants and hotels are a core part of that base, and he said their buying remains steady despite closures, as new venues continue to open.

 

CP Axtra also signed an initiative with the Department of Internal Trade, part of the Ministry of Commerce, to raise the capability of small and medium-sized enterprises. Tanit said it covers traditional grocery shops as well as restaurants and hotels, with digital tools such as Smart POS used to streamline stock management and automated ordering.

 

The next step for Smart POS, he said, is to extend it to restaurants, whose needs differ from those of convenience stores. Possible features include digital menus and recipe ideas. Makro PRO has also begun producing short videos to teach restaurant customers new techniques.

 

For small chains of two or three outlets, he said, a central challenge is keeping flavour and quality consistent across branches. Ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat products can help, he said.

 

A jus that takes ten hours to prepare from scratch can be replaced by a frozen version that takes 30 to 60 minutes. Operators can also add dim sum or Thai desserts as rotating off-menu items without hiring more kitchen staff.

 

Meat and fish are increasingly trimmed at source before delivery, he added, after the company found that cutting quality varied between butchers in individual shops.

 

He pointed to the demand for value for money. Thai diners want good food, quality and low prices at once, he said, which explained why chains such as Suki Teenoi and a number of steak concepts have grown quickly despite a weak economy. He suggested operators consider buffet-style formats.

 

 

Competition and the economy

Traditional retail varies by region, Tanit said. Sales of small grocery shops remain strong in the north-east, Makro’s best region for such outlets, and are growing in the north, while the south is flat. He said he could not be sure why but suggested local shopping habits might play a part.

 

Asked about Chinese platforms such as Taobao, which are expanding in Thailand, he said Chinese firms were already entering many sectors, from electronics to electric vehicles. He had told his team to adopt a “996” work ethic, a reference to China’s gruelling working schedule.

 

He noted that Thailand had seen earlier waves of foreign investment, including from Japan after the Second World War, and said businesses should adapt rather than retreat.

 

“In a crisis there is opportunity,” he said, adding that Thailand’s economy was growing more slowly than larger ASEAN neighbours such as Vietnam and the Philippines.