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PussyLover 69
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Report from Bangkok Post dated Monday 30 January 2006 :-
Isetan @ Central World Plaza, Bangkok given a makeover : Japanese department store stresses style
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By Pitsinee Jitpleecheep
Amid intensifying competition in the retail industry, Isetan Department Store at Central World Plaza, has decided to update its image to target younger consumers.
The move is an effort to compete with the new 15-billion-baht Siam Paragon shopping centre and to bring Isetan into line with the new look of CentralWorld, which will be relaunched in May.
Attractions at the site, formerly known as the World Trade Center, include a 5,000-square-metre Tops Supermarket and the trendy Zen Department Store.
Ken Kobayashi, the newly appointed general manager of Isetan (Thailand) Co, said that as part of the CentralWorld development the store would receive a facelift for the first time in its 14-year history.
The full makeover is expected to take three years and will transform Isetan into a fashionable Japanese store for both Japanese and Thai customers who are willing to pay for quality, he said.
Renovations, set to begin in early February, will start with the first and fifth floors, with the three main areas set aside for fashion, quality products and Japanese brands.
Once the renovations are completed, Mr Kobayashi said the sales space of the cosmetics section would account for 50% of total commercial space, with the supermarket area making up 30-40%, and the home-decoration area would be scaled down.
"Fashion not only refers to clothing and accessories, but also food and other necessities for daily life. Everything available here is fashionable," he said.
Recently, the company opened a Jalux counter service at Isetan Supermarket, providing airport-delivery food services to Japan Airlines customers who make a purchase from the Jalux counter on their departure date.
"Isetan is a Japanese store. We will maintain our identity, and we will emphasise our Japanese uniqueness even more. We want to become a favourite department store with loyal customers, like Central Chidlom," said Mr Kobayashi.
He said that a key factor in running a successful department store amid Thailand's dynamic and complicated retail business was customer satisfaction.
Asked about the impact from the opening of Siam Paragon, Mr Kobayashi said Isetan's sales dropped by 10% after the new shopping mall opened on Dec 9.
However, he said the situation had gone back to normal since Christmas.
Last year, the company achieved a growth rate of 5%, thanks in particular to sales of Japanese food, which increased by 20% to 55 million baht.
Japanese food accounted for 20% of the total sales volume of food products in its supermarket.
This year, the company expects sales to grow on par with last year's performance, said Mr Kobayashi.
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