Tops Club, Central Retail Corporation's first membership store, recently opened on Rama II Road behind Central Rama II, boasting an expansive list of imported goods from the US, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand for everyone in the family.
Tops Club is perhaps the closest thing to Costco that you can experience in Thailand, with all the very tall shelves filled with seemingly endless supplies of goods in a warehouse setting.
From its sheer size of 15,000m², Tops Club may look intimidating but it's simply divided into three main zones, each offering different types of goods. Mind you, I'm not going to list all 3,500 products in five categories that are available or else we'll be here all day.
The highlights from Zone A include toys, electronics, gadgets, pet costumes, gaming chairs (which costs B1 shy of 176,000 baht), giant pool floats (in case you want to open your own waterpark), barbeque grills and camping gear. Zone B is dedicated to food galore with many tasting stands and a huge room for fresh fruit and vegetable. Sip free coffee before you go find your new favourite snack. Zone C is packed with even more food but focuses on fresh meats, seafood, bakery and alcoholic beverages. The cafe, cashiers and exit await at the end of the zone.
As per the membership store concept, you can't just simply pick stuff up and pay for them at the cashier. As a prerequisite, you'll have to apply to either be a normal or a premium member. You can sign up for the former for free in a jiff with the help of the helpful staff but the latter grants you 5% discounts on all items (except alcohol, tobacco and electronics) and perks but comes with an annual fee. Both types of membership also let you earn The 1 points.
Until Oct 31, premium membership costs B799 instead of B999. It may sound steep but it comes with, besides the discount, dedicated cashiers, reserved parking space and free delivery with no minimum purchase until Dec 31 for an address in Bangkok and adjacent provinces. There are desks set up for shoppers to sign up for a membership at the entrance and near the exit.
Tops Club Rama II opens 10am-10pm on weekdays and 8am-10pm on weekends.
