Central Retail Corporation (CRC) announced a partnership with Singaporean tech firm The Parentinc to enhance CRC's service offerings and strengthen its portfolio in the mother and children's segment.
The Parentinc's market leadership in Thailand will also help drive CRC's growth for both online and offline platforms, aligning with its "omni-centric retailer" strategy, said the Thai firm.
Ty Chirathivat, CRC chief financial officer, said the partnership reflects the shared vision of the two market leaders to grow the business and add value within the mother and children's segment.
This is accomplished by giving parents access to information and valuable services via an online community platform with the largest number of followers in the region.
"As a leading retailer, CRC will continue to charge ahead in finding new investment opportunities to strengthen the business, and we are ready to expand and sustainably grow The Parentinc's community network, both in Thailand and in Southeast Asia," he said.
Through this partnership, CRC foresees the opportunity to expand in the mother and children's segment, a high-potential market.
With The Parentinc also a leading Southeast Asia community platform for parents with over 35 million users, it can influence consumers through its diverse content on health, tips for new parents, family planning, child development and childcare.
Roshni Mahtani Cheung, The Parentinc group chief executive and founder, said the firm's flagship brand, theAsianparent, has long held the No.1 spot in the digital parenting space in Southeast Asia.
"With CRC's support, we look forward to continuing to scale and innovate how we support and engage Thai mums virtually and on-ground. This will be coursed primarily through theAsianparent's top-rated app, a one-stop app for parents, which provides a seamless experience, where variety meets uncompromising quality," Ms Cheung said.
The app theAsianparent has grown its online community to over 35 million parents -- almost tripling its user base in under three years.
Content, community and tech innovations have been key to its rapid growth, maximising the team's knowledge of what works with mothers across varied platforms.
Nitinan Assavathorn, cluster country manager of theAsianparent Thailand and Vietnam, said her team has found that 90% of mothers in Thailand use a smartphone and are online for an average of four hours daily, with 57% of these mothers residing outside Greater Bangkok.
"This is a growing segment that CRC can reach out to via our community, allowing them to gain an enhanced and nuanced understanding of parenting and of their needs and wants," she said.
