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Central Department Store’s mission has never wavered. It constantly strives to be the most-loved store in Thailand. By the looks of things, this gia honoree has achieved and continues to maintain that impressive position.
A SECOND HOME
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For more than seventy-two years, Central Department Store has upheld its founder’s mission of maintaining ‘a commitment to contributing to Thailand’s prosperity and enhancing the quality of life of its people’.
The store is a world unto its own where co-living, co-dining and shopping is the name of the game.
‘We have created a bond with our customers – placing great importance not only on their needs, but also on their preferences through an ever-changing competitive landscape,’ says Natira Boonsri, president of Central Department Store.
‘We are a second home that transcends generations.’
Innovations By leading the way with innovations in Thai retail, Central Department Store has evolved with its customers, offering a seamless lifestyle shopping experience through a network of stores.
‘Our ever-expanding digital channels and our customer engagement platforms – e-commerce, social commerce and e-ordering – fulfill our modern-day vision to be the best omni-channel retailer in Southeast Asia,’ says Natira.
‘The CEOs of Central Group and Central Retail lead the way in fulfilling this philosophy, with constant innovations in our omni-channel platforms.
‘I truly believe in this philosophy, and our entire team at Central Department Store are fully invested in concentrating on a customer-centric omni-channel mindset.’
Philosophy Everyone working for Central Department Store follows the brand’s guiding philosophy that shopping today is no longer a mere transaction between sellers and buyers, but rather an interactive experience.
‘We have therefore allocated some of our selling space to more lifestyle-inspired elements,’ explains Natira.
For example, the store’s Living House concept is the latest implementation and iteration of this retailing approach.
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It’s a beautifully designed ‘co-living and co-eating’ space where home merchandise and Michelin Guide Thai street food and other food and beverage offerings merge seamlessly together, creating a home-like environment for families to enjoy.
Demonstrations In order to engage families and customers of different generations, Central Department Store frequently hosts cooking demonstrations and workshops by famous chefs and other activities that are shared on social media.
Live music and mini-concerts in the Living House area further entice customers to spend more time in-store.
‘We converted 35% of our home department space into eateries, yet sales have increased by 20% and sales per square meter have increased to as high as 75%,’ explains Natira.
‘We plan to add more eatery selections and adjust our merchandising to include more high-end brands in order to cater to our target customers.’
Successful Central is constantly innovating and staying on top of mind with its customers. In 2019, the store launched a hugely successful campaign that was a fresh take on its signature ‘Central Midnight Sale’.
Natira and her marketing team, along with a reputable advertising agency, brainstormed several ideas that they believed would capture the attention of millennials and office workers.
‘We decided to do this via a viral story-telling video series embedded with everyday humour,’ she says.
In 2018, the first video entitled ‘Work Hard, Shop Harder’ and was introduced, followed by ‘Don’t Die Till That Day’ in 2019.
Awards The videos were a hit, rapidly gaining over 3 million views and 14,000 shares.
This led to the campaigns garnering numerous awards including the Gold Award Film from Ad Stars 2019 from South Korea and three Silver Awards from the Advertising Association of Thailand and an amazing 40% increase in sales during the campaign period.
‘Our customers are our top-most priority – whether they are here for one visit or are regular visitors,’ says Natira.
‘Central is a store where the staff and other people are like family for them. It is a place of coming together where memories are created.’
Enriching To provide customers with the most enriching service and experience, Central Department Store has pioneered a detailed ‘Customer Service Excellence’ training program and refresher course for floor staff.
It focuses on training, concentrating on customers’ individual needs, and proactive servicing.
‘This all leads to creating a memorable shopping experience, and since the program’s roll-out, our customer compliments have increased 25% with corresponding complaints dropping by 12%,’ explains Natira.
To further incentivize staff, Central implemented a C-Star Awards program that gives monetary awards to
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sales staff who have received the most positive customer comments.
‘Impressive service stories are also shared on Central’s Facebook Workplace to give recognition to members of staff, for all our staff to gain inspiration from,’ says Natira.
Facts When it comes to the company’s goal of being the most popular store in Thailand, the facts speak for themselves.
Central’s ‘The 1’ loyalty program has 16 million active members, which amounts to more than 20% of Thailand’s population.
These members contribute to over 90% of Central Department Store’s sales.
‘It is our firm belief to constantly evolve with our customers, resulting in many of our pioneering innovations in the Thai retail industry.
‘We endeavour to offer complete, unique in-store shopping moments through our products, services, store designs and lifestyle elements, that blend together in harmony with our omni-channel platforms for a seamless shopping experience,’ says Natira.
Loved ‘This ensures that our customers will always have Central in their lives; anytime, anywhere, and it also means that we remain Thailand’s number one omni-channel department store and the best-loved department store for Thai people.’
To learn more about Central Department Store, visit www.central.co.th
Dealing with COVID-19
Subsequent to temporary store closure, alternative sales channels became very important as customers could no longer shop in-store.
Important ‘It became even more important to provide customers with as many channels to access and pay for merchandise as possible and services that do not require any physical contact,’ says Natira.
As the company already had a solid omni-channel approach to retailing, it was able to smoothly continue operating the business through the worst of the pandemic.
Despite store closures, Central’s online shopping website and ‘Chat & Shop’ shopping service via the LINE messaging app ensured the business carried on, almost as per normal.
‘In response to higher demand for online shopping, we increased our assortment alongside increased communication to promote Central Online awareness through various campaigns,’ says Natira.
Grew The company also accelerated the roll-out of new alternative sales channels such as the ‘Call & Shop’ shopping service via telephone and ‘Drive-Thru Pick Up’ service for self pick-up.
Staff also delivered merchandise to customers’ homes and increased calls to regular customers to let them know of new products.
All of these new services would continue once the situation has returned to normal, ‘as they are in line with our strategic omni-channel retail focus,’ said Natira.
Meetings A special crisis management team was developed and the team held ‘war room’ meetings daily to update the situation and tackle any arising issues.
Sponsored and organized by The Inspired Home Show and the International Housewares Association (IHA), gia (IHA Global Innovation Awards) is the world’s leading awards program honouring overall excellence, business innovation and creative merchandising in homegoods retailing. For more information about the gia retail program, the co-sponsors, or participating in gia, contact Piritta Törrö at piritta.torro@ inspiredconnection.fi. Additional information on gia is also available online at TheInspiredHomeShow. com/Explore/Awards/gia-Excellence-in-Retailing. For more information about The Inspired Home Show and to pre-register, please visit TheInspiredHomeShow.com.
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GMDC|Retail Tomorrow announces strategic meetings in partnership with International Housewares Association
Global Market Development Center (GMDC)|Retail Tomorrow and International Housewares Association (IHA) have partnered to facilitate a three-week series of virtual events tailored for top retail and wholesale companies, and their supplier and service companies, to participate in collaborative trading partner sessions.
Promoting Following the associations’ joint event in the spring, the autumn strategic meetings will take place from 28 September - 15 October to continue promoting connectivity across retail associations, accelerate long-term business growth and identify, prioritise and address new business opportunities in the industry.
Focused on selfcare, general merchandise (GM) and housewares, event attendees will have the opportunity to collaborate with members from each association and discuss the industry’s most pressing issues within these categories as they relate to merchandising, marketing, e-commerce, consumer and shopper insights, omnichannel agility, sales trends and strategies. ‘Through more frequent, category-specific events this year, GMDC|Retail Tomorrow continues to identify opportunities for more meaningful connections among existing industry partners and the discovery of new and unexpected partnerships,’ said Patrick Spear, president & CEO of GMDC|Retail Tomorrow. ‘We have seen the selfcare, general merchandise and housewares landscape evolve at a rapid pace throughout the past year, and as this trajectory continues, this event series is an opportunity to address these changes and prepare for more as we approach the latter half of 2021.’ The timing of the event series offers retail partners the opportunity to build on their current
Virtual sessions will promote connectivity, accelerate long-term business strategies, address opportunities for growth and vision for ‘22
plans and make thoughtful adjustments for 2022, readers are told.
Goal The goal is to reimagine the way in which retail trade members conduct and grow their businesses beyond the pandemic, and innovate for the future. In an effort to provide attendees with the most flexible virtual event format, meetings are specifically curated to support both retailer and supplier needs – and the meetings will be segmented across selfcare, GM and housewares categories throughout the three-week period: • September 28 – October 1: Session 1 – Selfcare Categories • October 5 – 8: Session 2 – GM Categories • October 12 – 15: Session 3 – Housewares
Categories ‘IHA’s mission is to bring buyers and sellers together regardless of format, and we are excited to work again with GMDC|Retail Tomorrow to connect our supplier members with their buyer members during this virtual event,’ said Derek Miller, IHA president.
Scheduled There is no registration fee for the event. Participating suppliers will be invoiced for each meeting scheduled and accepted during the event but will also have the opportunity to register for all virtual events and meetings that will take place during the three-week period. ‘As doors begin to reopen and our business climate evolves, we wanted to continue to create a seamless and accessible event for all, one that provides convenience and collaboration,’ added Spear. ‘Our spring event with IHA delivered a new kind of product and supplier discovery, and at the autumn event, we look forward to ushering our attendees into a new era of retail with fresh perspectives on how to do business.’ Visit: https://gmdc.org/virtual-event-fall/.
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Roni Tuominen
A busy quarter ahead for JYSK in Ireland!
After more than a year of coronavirus playing a big role in the retail sector, JYSK, the Danish homeware company, announced the roll out of six new stores in Ireland by the end of 2021.
The opening of these new stores sees an investment of €7m by the brand and the creation of up to 90 new jobs, contributing an estimate €43m to the local economies over the next 10 years.
Continuing its regional store network expansion, the new JYSK stores will open in Ashbourne in August, Carlow in September, Tralee and Eastgate in Cork in October, and in Limerick and Dundalk in November.
Since JYSK first launched in Ireland in April 2019, the brand has seen great success, currently employing 150 people across its nine stores.
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‘When we launched JYSK in Ireland, we announced that we would open 15 new stores in the first two years,’ comments Roni Tuominen, country manager for JYSK UK and Ireland.
‘The pandemic hampered our plans a little, but we are back on track and look forward to opening six stores by the end of 2021 to bring our total in Ireland to 15.
‘We have ambitious plans for JYSK in Ireland in the coming years.’
‘At JYSK, we very much believe in the future of physical retail, and while online sales have been successful over the past year and a half, we also know that a lot of our customers have missed going to physical stores.
It is quite simple. Most customers still want to visit a physical store, touch and feel the products, and get great service and guidance from our JYSK colleagues.
‘That is something we are great at in JYSK,’ explains Roni.
In February this year, JYSK reached the milestone of 3,000 stores worldwide, setting the brand firmly on its global expansion path to reach 5,000 stores.
Looking worldwide, the six store openings in Ireland are one part of an overall ambition to keep expanding and opening new stores.
‘Within the next year, JYSK plans to open 200 new stores across Europe.
‘By the end of 2024, JYSK will also have invested several 100 million EUR on its European stores.’
About JYSK
JYSK is an international chain of stores with Scandinavian roots that sells everything for the home. The first store opened in Denmark in 1979, and today JYSK has more than 3,000 stores and 26,500 employees in fifty-one countries.
In Germany, the stores are called Dänisches Bettenlager – in the rest of the world JYSK. JYSK is a family-owned company founded by the Danish tradesman Lars Larsen, who owns a number of companies with a total annual turnover of 4.25bn EUR. JYSK’s turnover is 4.1bn EUR.
