Bangkok--6 Aug--Bangkok Public Relations
Innovations in design to reinforce leadership in retail design with greater and help compete with world’s leading shopping complexes
Over 350 store owners can re-enter CentralWorld to redecorate their stores commencing this month
Mr. Kobchai Chirativat, President and Chief Executive Officer of Central Pattana pcl, the developer and operator of CentralWorld, today, announced that the company is spending Bht 2,800 million to renovate CentralWorld and Zen Department Store and confirmed that CentralWorld will re-open by the end of September 2010. There will be a grand opening in November 2010.
Mr. Kobchai said: “We want CentralWorld to return grander and better and are improving the retail space to make it more modern, beautiful, safe and environmentally friendly.”
“We have received approval for our renovation plans from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s Public Works Department and owners of more than 350 stores in CentralWorld can now begin to decorate their stores,” he said.
According to Mr. Kobchai, “The re-opening is divided into three phases. The first phase, opening at the end of September, includes eighty percent of CentralWorld’s total space and covers the Beacon, Central Court, Dazzle, Eden and Forum zones, which are all the zones except the Atrium zone which was the most heavily damaged. In the second phase, to be completed progressively between November and December 2010, CentralWorld will open in its entirety, with the exception of Zen and the areas immediately adjacent to it. In the third phase, Zen Department Store and areas adjacent to it will re-open, which will be by the end of August 2011.”
The re-opening of CentralWorld and Zen Department Store is in 3 phases:
Phase 1: By the end of September 2010 - eighty percent of CentralWorld’s total space (Zones Beacon, Central Court, Dazzle, Eden and Forum) including B2S, Topshop Topman, GAP, Miss Selfridge, XXI Forever
Phase 2: completed progressively between November and December 2010, CentralWorld will open in its entirety, with the exception of Zen and the areas immediately adjacent to it. Re-opened areas including Coach, Billabong, Kloset (Thai Design), Din Tai, Fung, Anastasia, and Food area in 6th-7th floor
Phase 3: By the end of August 2011, Zen Department Store and areas immediately adjacent to it
Mr. Kobchai added: “To highlight CentralWorld’s status as a leader in Thailand’s retail business, the re-decoration of CentralWorld will focus on innovative designs that are on par with the world’s leading shopping complexes. Our new design will integrate a ‘Spring Season’ atmosphere by using water and being airy and light, while still retaining the attributes that made CentralWorld so popular, such as being timelessly minimal and simple.
“We have also invested in upgrading the fire prevention system and the security system, with extensive CCTV and very sensitive smoke detectors”.
Earlier, CentralWorld outlined a 4-Point Assistance Plan to assist and support CentralWorld's tenants. The plan includes helping tenants to ‘bring back customers’, ‘find alternative sales outlets’ until CentralWorld reopens, ‘financial assistance’, as well as ‘rental contract flexibilities’. As part of this assistance programme, CentralWorld has conducted numerous activities.
Bring back customers with marketing events such as ‘Smile@Ratchaprason’ and ‘CentralWorld Unity Shopping’
Find alternative sales outlets at CentralPlaza Ladprao with 3,000 square metres of space for over 200 affected stores, as well as Pop-Up Stores, and sales outlets in other areas.
Provide financial assistance by not collecting rent for April 2010 until shops can return
Give rental contract flexibilities by extending the contracts of tenants to compensate for the time lost during the renovation period.
Mr. Kobchai estimated that over 600 tenants and more than 15,000 people working at the CentralWorld shopping complex have been affected.
CentralWorld is Southeast Asia’s largest lifestyle shopping complex and the largest lifestyle destination in Bangkok comprising 550,000 square metres of retail space that includes 6 anchor mega-stores such as Zen and Isetan Department Stores, SuperSports, SFWorld Cinema, PowerBuy, B2S, as well as over 500 shops and more than 100 restaurants.
Recently, the International Council of Shopping Centers or ICSC, the world’s leading association for the shopping centre industry with over 60,000 members in more than 90 countries, awarded CentralWorld with First Prize in its annual awards for the world’s best shopping and lifestyle centres. CentralWorld was selected to receive the organisation’s highest award, the ‘Best-of-the-Best Award’, in the Design and Development category.
For more information, please contact:
Central Pattana pcl Bangkok Public Relations Ltd.
Tel: 0-2664-9500
Sakorn Thavisin, Assistant Vice President Panta Poonsapmanee (ext. 116)