Bangkok, 1 June 2022 – Central Retail Corporation, or CRC, marches ahead with the ‘CRC Retailligence’ strategy, investing THB 17 billion to expand its property business with a 5-year roadmap, to remodel Robinson Lifestyle as an all-in-one shopping centre with the aim of modernising spaces and maximising convenience. Each branch will exhibit a unique design inspired by the local identity, which aligns with the concept of ‘Lifestyle and Experiential Community’. As a centre of life for everyone to serve diverse needs, Robinson Lifestyle houses an expansive selection of stores, including Robinson Department Store, Tops market, Supersports, Power Buy, B2S, OfficeMate and Auto1. Customers can browse through over 800 local and global brands and enjoy diverse facilities, including res-taurants and movie theatres. With expansion plans set for 2022, the four strategies include: New concept design with a local touch, accelerate new business growth engines, contribute to local communities and drive sustainable growth. These principles align with Robinson Lifestyle’s vision as ‘Your place for everyday life, a unique experience in the neighbourhood’. It is expected that in 2022, Robinson Lifestyle’s revenue will increase by more than 30% over the prior year. In the next five years, the company expects its growth to double with its expansion across every region nationwide, scaling its presence from 24 provinces to 49 provinces to reinforce its leadership as the most expansive shopping centre nationwide.
Mr. Philippe Broianigo, Chief Executive Officer - Property and Business Development,
Robinson Lifestyle under Central Retail, said, “Our business vision is to create shopping malls that serve as a ‘Lifestyle and Experiential Community’ for the locals. We have set a 5-year target to remodel Robinson Lifestyle across design and service experiences. To create next-level uniqueness for our shopping centres, we aim to take design inspiration from the local identity and expand food and non-food zones to create spaces for visitors to enjoy their shopping experiences. Through the four strategies, we are not only aim to offer vibrant, lively and inspiring experiences for the community but also sustainably grow alongside communities across aspects, including economic, social and environmental development to reinforce our commitment in being ‘Central to Life’ for the communities we serve.”
The four strategies that will turn Robinson Lifestyle Shopping Centre to a "Lifestyle and Experiential Community" in-clude:
- New Concept Design with a Local Touch: With 25 branches across 24 provinces nationwide both in major cities and second-tier cities, Robinson Lifestyle has a total re-tail space of 1.6 million square metres and over 3,000 tenants. Across these locations, the company aims to reimagine spaces by taking inspiration from local elements and landmarks, creating unique and modern destinations that is truly ownable to every community. Additionally, rest areas and co-working spaces will also be added to maximise convenience and comprehensively serve needs and fulfil the everyday lives of customers.
- Accelerate New Business Growth Engines: Robinson Lifestyle will join forces with leading partners to introduce mixed-use developments, including condominiums and hotels in addition to the shopping centres, which will draw more traffic and offer greater convenience to customers. Additionally, there are also plans to launch new businesses in 2022 to better serve the needs of customers in each community.
- Local Community Contribution: We aim to enhance quality of life in various communities by supporting Thai SMEs and start-ups by bringing access to new distribution channels for local goods and creating new sources of income. The company will also engage local organisations and surrounding temples to initiate social initiatives and donations. These actions will allow Robinson Lifestyle to achieve its business commitment to become a part of local communities, advancing to drive long-term development and sustainable growth of the areas we serve.
- Drive Sustainable Growth: Beyond the development of shopping centres, Robinson Lifestyle places importance on the environment and the use of green energy. Over the past six years, the company has installed solar rooftops to generate electricity and reduce carbon dioxide emissions up to 28 million kilograms. In 2022, there are plans to continue reducing electricity costs and expand the number of shopping malls powered by green energy to up to 23 branches nationwide.
With the strengths of these four business strategies, Robinson Lifestyle successfully reimagined the Robinson Lifestyle Banchang, Rayong branch as its model shopping centre. Investing THB 900 million, the branch was designed under the concept of ‘Sense of Island’, taking inspiration from the bright blue shades of the sea, which is one of Banchang’s icons and a representation of being the ‘Hub of Eastern Commerce’. These local elements are then fused with Robinson Lifestyle’s modern designs spanning across an area of over 38,000 square metres, with the food zone taking up 40% of spaces and non-food zone hosting fashion, IT and entertainment offerings to serve the diverse lifestyles of shoppers. With renovation plans set for other branches, the four strategies will continue to be the core pillars that help guide our thinking.
In 2022, there are plans to launch two more new branches, including Robinson Lifestyle Thalang and Robinson Lifestyle Ratchapreuk. The Phuket branch is in Amphoe Thalang and covers over 44,000 square metres with designs inspired by Sino-Portuguese elements. The shopping centre is a THB 1.1 billion project and will launch in August 2022. With an investment of THB 1.2 billion, Robinson Lifestyle Ratchapreuk is set to launch in October 2022 as the largest Robinson Lifestyle branch covering over 48,000 square metres with a design concept of ‘Enjoy Modern Lifestyle Beside You’.
As for renovations this year, the company is investing over THB 580 million across three branches, including Robinson Lifestyle Chachoengsao, Robinson Lifestyle Srisaman and Robinson Lifestyle Chanthaburi. The Chachoengsao branch will be reno-vated under the concept of ‘Odyssey’, which mimics the shape of a ship – the iconic symbol of the province. Set to launch in August 2022, the branch’s retail spaces are expected to increase by 30% along with new shops within the food zone and fashion and IT shops in the non-food zone. As for Robinson Lifestyle Srisaman, its design concept is ‘The River of Life’, referring to the Chao Phraya River that has played a vital role in the daily lives of Nonthaburi residents. Along with the enhanced designs, new stores in the food and non-food zone will be introduced and the store is set to be fully completed in June 2022. Lastly, the Robinson Lifestyle Chantaburi branch will be modernised with new facilities such as larger parking spaces and remodelled layout and tenant mix. There will also be new stores added to the mix, and the renovation will begin in late 2022.
“We are confident that the strength of our four strategies and our 5-year roadmap to become a ‘Lifestyle and Experiential Communi-ty’ will reinforce Robinson Lifestyle’s position as a lifestyle community for everyone to fulfil their everyday needs with maximised convenience. In 2022, we expect Robinson Lifestyle to achieve a revenue growth of more than 30% over the prior year with a leading retail presence across 49 provinces to reinforce its leadership as the most expansive shopping centre nationwide. We remain confident in achieving these goals to further strengthen the capabilities of Central Retail’s property business,” Mr. Philippe concluded.