Story of Our Heritage
From family shop to retail conglomerate
Central Retail as we know it today evolved from Tiang Chirathivat’s small family shop he started in 1947. Together with his son Samrit Chirathivat, the business expanded over the years and the first Central Department Store was unveiled in Bangkok’s Wang Burapha district in 1956. The founders, along with the help of other family members, ran the business hands on, taking the company to flight.
Amidst an era where trade was flourishing, Tiang and Samrit were recognised as visionaries that revolutionised retail by pioneering never-before experiences in Thailand. Under the care of the Chirathivat family, Central Group has grown to become one of Thailand’s most recognisable brands and amongst the most successful retail conglomerates in Southeast Asia.
The Chirathivat family’s vision for the business has lived on from generation to generation. And today, the business continues to expand with an omnichannel platform, driving growth and reinforcing Central Retail’s leadership position across multiple retail categories.
Timeline of our milestones
Where legacy lives on
In over 70 years of our journey we have been alongside our customers, Central Retail has witnessed many key milestones that continue to shape and evolve who we are today. In celebration of our journey so far, we look back into some of these milestones:
The new digitally assisted shopping platforms such as “Rinascente ON DEMAND” and “Chat & Shop” are launched.
Central Retail changed its business structure to prepare for an initial public offering (IPO) and a listing of its shares on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET).
Central Retail was converted into a public company limited and made a tender offer for all securities of Robinson Public Company Limited (ROBINS) as well as delisted the securities of ROBINS from the SET.
Moreover, Central Retail acquired the remaining shares of Nguyen Kim in Vietnam.
Central Retail also launched Rinascente, Turin branch, in Italy, after its renovation with expanded space and up to 1,000 brands as well as new zones for jewelry and famous restaurants in order to provide a comprehensive range of products and services.
The Company makes a debut on the SET trading day on February 20, 2020 and becomes not only the largest ever IPO in the history of the SET, but also the second largest IPO in retail business, which meets the fast-track criteria for the SET 50 and MSCI Global Standard Indexes. The Company also executes its “5 Prompt Strategy” to respond to the challenges of New Normal. In Italy, it also launches Rinascente’s e-commerce website www.rinascente.it.
In addition, 1 branch of Robinson Lifestyle Center, and 4 branches of Thai Watsadu are opened in Thailand. In Vietnam, 4 GO! branches and the first go! are opened and 4 branches of Big C rebranded to GO!.
January: Opens 2 branches of Thai Watsadu Suksawat and Bowin, and launches GO! Application for grocery in Vietnam.
February: Completed a tender offer for all securities of COL (1) to strengthen the hardline segment and add value from synergy between business units of the Company and expand the business to corporate market.
April: Opens GO! Thai Nguyen in Vietnam and Jing Jai Market located within Tops in Thailand during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, with a total number of 25 branches in 2021.
May: Introduces a new shopping experience with the latest service "Personal Shopper", both in the non-food and food segment like Tops and Central Food Hall.
July: Opens Thai Watsadu Ayuthaya
August: Opens Thai Watsadu Songkhla and launches the first go! WOW under the hardline segment, which is a miscellaneous home products shop. The Company invests in Thai startup “Mercular” (2), which marks its completion on August 31, 2021.
October: Launches a new brand under the hardline business group “go! Power” at Hua Hin, an integrated electrical appliance center focusing more on the provincial market penetration.
November: Opens Thai Watsadu Sri Samarn in a new hybrid format, namely a merger between Thai Watsadu and BNB Home as a response to the needs of home and decoration products with design and innovation targeting on urban citizens. In addition, the Company opens Robinson Department Store Ayuthaya and GO! Ba Ria in Vietnam. The Company also announces its successful transformation as the number one organization of "Digital First" and "Omni-Centric Retailer" with omnichannel platform covering all business segments in 3 countries, resulting in the strength and readiness to overcome every challenge and move forward to sustainable growth.
December: Acquiring 40% stake of Grab Taxi Holdings (Thailand) Co., Ltd (3). This particular investment and collaboration with Grab will be a key player in strengthening the Company's ecosystem and omnichannel platform. In addition, the Company opens GO! Thai Binh in Vietnam.
Note:
(1) PBHD Company Limited (The Company’s subsidiary where it holds 100% stake) has completed a tender offer for all securities of COL Public Company Limited (COL) on February 2021.
(2) Mercular is a community commerce platform that focuses on creating values for customers. In cooperation with Power Buy, the Company aims to extend sales channels from E-Commerce to omnichannel platform and expand the market for Hobby & Lifestyle products by focusing on creating good shopping experiences such as complete and unique supply of products, providing product insights, community building, and effective after-sales service
(3) The Company acquires 67% stake of Porto Worldwide Limited (Porto WW), and 40% stake of Grab Taxi Holdings (Thailand) Co., Ltd. This particular investment and collaboration with Grab will be a key player in strengthening the Company's ecosystem and omnichannel platform, including service development to better meet the needs of customers.