Bangkok's suburbs set to receive more community malls

Pure Sammakorn Development Co plans to open two Pure Place malls by next year, costing about Bt200 million each, while Suwan Ratchaphruek Park plans to build its second, Bt500-million Circle mall in the suburbs, after the success of its first property on Ratchaphruek Road.
There are three projects in its portfolio. The firm is looking for sites in both central Bangkok and surrounding areas. Pattanakarn and Srinakarin are some of the prime areas that several operators are keeping an eye on. There are at least 120,000 households in the area. , which covers 5 kilometres.
Kittipol Pramoj Na Ayudhya, director of Pure Sammakorn Development, said yesterday that there was still room for community malls although some areas face an oversupply.
However, the firm needs more time to study each location in detail because the competition in this business has been very high.
The third Pure Place community mall will open on May 12 on a 10-rai (1.6-hectare) site in the northern zone of the Ratchaphruek area at a cost of Bt150 million. Its concept is a green living mall.
It expects to recoup its investment in six to seven years, with rental income of Bt3 million per month.
The mall has 4,000 square metres of retail space. So far, 80 per cent has been booked and the remaining 20 per cent will be taken before its opening. About 70-80 per cent of the total space is occupied by a Max Value supermarket, banks and restaurants while the rest has a beauty salon, language schools and other services.
Ratchaphruek was a high-potential location and Pure Place was the only mall in its northern zone. There are housing projects emerging in the area and also a connection to a mass-transit project in the future, opening up a business opportunity for the company.
Pure Sammakorn Development is a joint venture of Rayong Purifier and Sammakorn, a developer. The first Pure Place is at Rangsit Klong 2 and the second at Ramkhamhaeng 110, with investment of Bt120 million and Bt350 million.
Kongtawat Pongsak, managing director of Suwan Ratchaphruek Park, said the company was mulling several venues for its new mall, either in Rangsit, a northern suburb of Bangkok, or Kanchanaphisek or Srinakarin Road. The mall is expected to cover 20-30 rai and cost about Bt500 million to Bt600 million.
“Now, we are doing market research on what kind of new mall should be built to serve the demands of that community,” he said. This would depend on which area would be selected.
The mall’s concept should be finalised by the end of this year and its opening should come in 2014.
“We’ll still use the Circle brand for our second branch, featuring a cosy environment with a mix of urban lifestyle and nature where anybody can chill out like The Circle on Ratchaphruek Road,” Kongtawat said.
The Circle’s main target is young families from the upper middle class.
The growing presence of community malls on Ratchaphruek Road is not a threat, he said. In fact, it would be an opportunity to position the road as a venue for a variety of lifestyle malls. The Circle alone with 20 rai could not fulfil the needs of all the people in the community.
The Circle Ratchaphruek has received a good response from major brands and small shops and enjoyed good traffic of cars parking at the mall. The Circle witnesses 3,000-3,300 cars a day, exceeding the target of 2,800. For this year, the company expects about 4,000 cars a day, buoyed by more parking lots.
Though the Circle waived rents for a month during the flood last year, its gross margin was 30 per cent of Bt100-billion revenue, slightly below 35 per cent as expected, Kongtawat said.