The Mall Group Co is evolving from a family business to a full-fledged multinational company with a fresh investment of 100 billion baht to expand business domestically over the next six years.
The 38-year-old company recruited foreign executives with experience in retail, fashion, online and IT to its operations two years ago.
The executives hail from famous consultancies for Walmart and The Galleries Lafayette, and are responsible for business development, retail business, strategic plans and IT.
Operation management, finance and marketing units will remain under the lead of Thai executives.
The Mall Group's chairwoman Supaluck Umpujh is set to take over the real estate business, while her younger sister Achara Umpujh will oversee department stores. Her brother Suthipong Umpujh works with foreign executives to handle online business.
"Our management has been decentralised, allowing each executive ownership of their segment. They have to find winning formulas," said Ms Supaluck.
"We are blending old and new experiences together, transforming the company into a multinational. We are ready to compete on all platforms and pioneer new benchmarks to make Thai retail history."
She said about 1 billion baht has already been spent on technology systems and more funds will be injected in the near future.
Yesterday Ms Supaluck announced The Mall Group will allocate 100 billion baht to expand the retail business over the next six years.
Of the total, some 50 billion baht will be used to build a 1.2-million-square-metre Bangkok Mall on 100 rai, which is expected to be completed within 3-4 years.
About 10 billion baht is set aside for the EmSphere project next to the The Emporium, while the remaining 40 billion will be used to renovate old properties such as The Mall Ngam Wong Wan, The Mall Ramkhamhaeng, The Mall Thapra and The Emporium, as well as for new projects including Blue Pearl in Phuket.
The Mall Ramkhamhaeng will be renovated as a mixed-use complex, providing 230,000 sq m of retail space. Renovation is scheduled to be completed by 2021.
"With technological disruption, the challenge for us is to create something new beyond just developing shopping complexes," Ms Supaluck said.
Under the restructure and investment plans she believes sales for the group will jump to 100 billion baht in six years from 58 billion last year.
Ms Supaluck said the country's stability is vital for business.
She plans to meet with the next government to seek state cooperation to help promote Thailand as Asean's entertainment hub.
Entertainment is one sector that has not been disrupted by technology, said Ms Supaluck. She said the sector could generate huge revenue for the country.
She suggests the government extend the service hours of entertainment operations to 5am such as in Vietnam, instead of 2am as in Bangkok.
"We want the government to reposition Thailand as the entertainment hub to raise our competitiveness against other Asian countries," she said.
