Despite a sluggish economy and slowing sales in Thailand, Tesco Lotus announced that it plans to open at least 65 stores this year, The Nation claimed. The company will also continue to focus on improving online outlets including its delivery service while enhancing the customer shopping experience for those who make frequent in-store visits.
“We saw a small improvement in the market in terms of local consumption. But we are optimistic that the Thai market is still promising, as it is the second-largest unit outside the UK,” John Christie, chief executive officer, explained to the newspaper.
No budget was announced for the expansion but he noted that the company wants to open more outlets than it did in 2015. The locations and sizes of these stores is expected to vary.
“Due to the location limit, I would say that the small type would be suitable for the Bangkok area while large ones would be deployed upcountry,” Christie stated. “Importantly, we are looking for an opportunity in medium-size provinces where we have not been yet,” he said.
The Nation added that Tesco expects to create at least 3,000 jobs and possibly more during this round of expansion. Plans are also in place to renovate 18 stores in the Thailand. These improvements aim to enhance the shopping experience with Tesco hoping to bring in more children and families to increase customer traffic.
Last year the company saw 15 million people visit their stores which was an increase of two million visitors y-o-y. Tesco believes it will surpass that total in 2016 but are also looking to enhance their digital reach as well. This is because consumers continue to prefer online based shopping methods. Tesco already has a website where customers can have goods from the store delivered to their home and the retailer has set aside part of its budget to continue developing its online shopping platform with its partners, according to The Nation.
