The Lat Phrao branch of Central Department Store is set to welcome visitors after the company spent 600 million baht on renovations, using "a boundless playground" concept in an effort to become a landmark and complete lifestyle destination.
Rvisra Chirathivat, chief marketing officer of Central Department Store Co under Central Retail Corporation, the SET-listed retail arm of Central Group, said the upgrade is a major change for Central Ladprao in almost four decades of catering to new lifestyle customers.
Central Ladprao is one of the Central flagship stores where wealthy customer groups account for 40% of sales, second only to the Central Chidlom branch.
Central Ladprao has a space of more than 50,000 square metres and tries to portray a premium image.
The store offers many new products, brands, shop concepts and services to customers to improve their shopping experience.
The Beauty Galerie, on the ground floor, provides more than 300 international beauty, skincare and fragrance brands, including new ones such as Charlotte Tilbury, Gucci Beauty, Augustinus Bader, Suqqu, By Terry, Elixir, D Program Diptyque and Acqua di Parma.
The Luxe Galerie zone on the same floor features men's and women's global fashion brands, including Bao Bao Issey Miyake, BOYY, Marc Jacobs, Boss and Karl Lagerfeld.
Sporty & Rich, an American streetwear brand, is debuting its first physical store at the mall.
Lamy, a retailer of pens and stationery, also has a new concept store at Central Ladprao.
The company launched a new concept called My Little World in the children's zone on the fourth floor, offering more than 30,000 products from 400 brands globally. It has a breast pump bar and baby advisor with a baby tech zone, providing a smart baby bed with many exclusive brands, along with CUBS by Playmondo, a playground for kids.
The Living House zone on the fifth floor provides more than 200 brands, both domestic and international.
Olivier Bron, the company's chief executive, said the new look of Central Ladprao is expected to help increase customer traffic by 35% and monthly sales by 40%.
Ms Rvisra said she is optimistic about the retail outlook for next year after seeing a continuous improvement in customer spending and customer traffic in the second half, particularly in October and November.
"We've seen a huge improvement in sales both offline and online during our double-digit sales campaign. Sales in October and November this year are ahead of the same period in 2019, although Chinese tourists have yet to return to Thailand," she said.
"We expect our full-year sales in 2022 to be almost on par with the pre-crisis level."
In addition to reopening Central Ladprao, the company plans to open a new department store in the Ratchaphruek area next year and continue investing in renovating 14 department stores in 2023, said Ms Rvisra.
"Despite myriad risks, we remain committed to continuing our development," she said.
"We will pay more attention to customer spending in each location and offer the best products that match their demand."
Ms Rvisra said sustainability will be a focus for the company in new store openings.
