Central Group is a Thai multinational conglomerate consisting of subsidiaries in retail, property development, brand management, hospitality, and food and beverage sectors.

Central Group
กลุ่มเซ็นทรัล
Company typeFamily-owned holding company
IndustryRetail, Property development, Brand management, Hospitality, Food and beverage, Digital lifestyle
Founded1947
FounderTiang Chirathivat, Samrit Chirathivat
HeadquartersBangkok, Thailand
Area served
Asia
Indonesia
Japan
Malaysia
Maldives
Sri Lanka
Thailand
Vietnam

Europe
Denmark
Germany
Ireland
Italy
Netherlands
Switzerland
United Kingdom
Key people
Tos Chirathivat, Executive Chairman and CEO
ProductsShopping centers, department stores, restaurants, hotels.
Number of employees
80,000[1]
SubsidiariesCentral Pattana PLC (SETCPN)
Central Plaza Hotel PLC (SETCENTEL)
Central Retail Corporation PLC (SETCRC)
WebsiteCentralGroup.com

History

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Founder Tiang emigrated from Hainan Island to Bangkok in 1925. He set up his first shop in the Thon Buri district on the outskirts of Bangkok across the Chao Phraya River from the city center. He moved across the Chao Phraya River to a location near the grand Oriental Hotel (now the Mandarin Oriental), where he opened a store with his eldest son, Samrit, in 1947.[2] In 1956, the family opened Central Department Store, the biggest department store in Thailand at that time, in Wang Burapa district, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok. The company's property development arm, Central Pattana, was founded in 1980, and opened its first shopping centre, CentralPlaza Ladprao in Chatuchak District, Bangkok, in 1983. Besides expansion through physical presence in the Bangkok retail space, Central Group has in recent years built an online presence among ASEAN e-tailers and a strong presence of luxury department store collection in Europe.

Key business line

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Central Embassy, Pathum Wan, Bangkok

Malls and commercial properties

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Central Group has substantial operations in developing Thai retail and commercial properties, and currently holds the largest market share of net leasable area in Thailand. Besides retail, Central Group has also developed offices, co-working spaces and residential projects.

Name Opening Total Project

GFA

Location
Central Ladprao December, 1982 310,000 Bangkok
Central Ramindra November, 1993 86,000 Bangkok
Central Pinklao March, 1995 370,000 Bangkok
Central Marina July, 1995[3] 70,000 Pattaya
Central Chiangmai Airport March, 1996 250,000 Chiang Mai
Central Rama III October, 1997 188,000 Bangkok
Central Bangna December, 2001 500,000 Bangkok
Central Rama II December, 2002 273,000 Bangkok
CentralWorld December, 2002 830,000 Bangkok
Central Rattanathibet December, 2003 140,000 Nonthaburi
Central Chaengwattana November, 2008 310,000 Nonthaburi
Central Pattaya January, 2009 210,000 Pattaya
Central Udon April, 2009 250,000 Udon Thani
Central Chonburi May, 2009 156,000 Chonburi
Central Khonkaen December, 2009 200,000 Khon Kaen
Central Chiangrai March, 2011 110,000 Chiang Rai
Central Phitsanulok October, 2011 100,000 Phitsanulok
Central Rama IX December, 2011 214,000 Bangkok
Central Suratthani October, 2012 130,000 Surat Thani
Central Lampang November, 2012 110,000 Lampang
Central Ubon April, 2013 186,284 Ubon Ratchathani
Central Chiangmai November, 2013 260,000 Chiang Mai
Central Hatyai December, 2013 295,000 Songkhla
Central Samui March, 2014 76,000 Ko Samui
Central Embassy (Mixed Use Development) May, 2014 1,000,000 Bangkok
Central Salaya August, 2014 185,500 Nakhon Pathom
Central Rayong May, 2015 155,000 Rayong
Central WestGate August, 2015 352,000 Nonthaburi
Central EastVille October, 2015 90,000 Bangkok
Central Nakhon Si July, 2016 125,000 Nakhon Si Thammarat
Central Korat November, 2017 233,000 Nakhon Ratchasima
Central Mahachai November, 2017 131,250 Samut Sakhon
Central Phuket – Floresta September, 2018 300,000 Phuket
Central i-City[a] March, 2019 259,000[4] Shah Alam, Malaysia
Central Village Luxury Outlet August, 2019 80,000 Samut Prakan
Central Si Racha October, 2021 140,000 Chonburi
Central Ayutthaya November, 2021 160,000 Ayutthaya
The Esplanade Ratchada August, 2021 105,000 Bangkok
Megacity Bangna August, 2021 500,000 Samut Prakan
Central Chanthaburi May, 2022 92,000 Chanthaburi
Marche Thonglor March, 2023 62,000 Bangkok
Central WestVille November, 2023 93,000 Nonthaburi
Central Nakhon Sawan January, 2024 133,300 Nakhon Sawan
Central Nakhon Pathom March, 2024 126,000 Nakhon Pathom
Central Krabi 2025 46,500 Krabi
  1. ^ Central i-City, despite managed by CPN, is the only mall that didn't feature Central Department Store or any Central Group retail stores.

Retail and brands

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Retail & Brands is Central Group’s most significant business with investments in Europe and Asia.

Fashion: Department stores, lifestyle centers, lifestyle & fashion brands

Hardline: Home décor & construction, electronics, office supplies, books & stationery

Food: Supermarkets and convenience stores

Chains Country Branches
Central Department Store Thailand 22 (In 2019, Zen Department Store was rebranded as Central[5])
Indonesia 1 (Opened first at Grand Indonesia in 2014, then opened its second branch at Neo Soho in 2016, but Neo Soho branch closed down from February 18. 2019 due to low sales.)[6]
Robinson Department Store (Robins in Vietnam) Thailand 50[7]
Vietnam 2
La Rinascente Italy 9
Illum[a] Denmark 1 (Copenhagen)
Alsterhaus Germany 1 (Hamburg)
KaDeWe 1 (Berlin)
Oberpollinger 1 (Munich)
Globus[a] Switzerland Central Hotel Zurich[a] Switzerland 7
Selfridges[a] England 4
Brown Thomas[a] Ireland 5 (6 including BT2 Blanchardstown)
Arnotts[a] 1 (Dublin)
De Bijenkorf[a] Netherlands 7
  1. ^ a b c d e f g In partnership with Signa Holding

Hospitality

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Central Group owns and manages visitor accommodation at all major Thai tourist destinations and around the world under own banners as well as international brands. Hotels cover every segment from luxury to economy. Central’s own brands comprise Centara Reserve, Centara Grand, Centara Boutique Collection, Centara, Centra by Centara and Cosi, while internationally-branded hotels include Park Hyatt Bangkok and Hilton Pattaya. In Japan, Central Group is a co-investor in StayFactory Hotel Group, whose brands include Hotel Hillarys, Hotel Relief, and Hotel Stork. In Switzerland, Central Group has also comprised Central Hotel Zurich company and Globus supermarket.

Central Group has also pioneered restaurant chains in Thailand, and operates well-known local, regional, and international food brands such as Mister Donut, KFC, Auntie Anne’s, Pepper Lunch, Chabuton, The Terrace, Yoshinoya, Ootoya, Tenya, Katsuya and Fezt.[8]

Financial Services & FinTech

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One of Central Group's aspirations towards the New Central New Economy strategy is to create convenience for both merchants and consumers with financial services and Fintech, with the ultimate goal of a cashless society in Thailand.

Financial Services & Fintech categories:

Credit : The1 credit card, sales finance, personal loans

Payment : gift cards, e-payments, e-wallets

Insurance brokerage : motor, health, personal accident, property & casualty, group life [9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Achievements: Employees". Central Group. Retrieved 2022-02-11.
  2. ^ Ono, Yukako (10 September 2017). "For Thailand's retail giant Central Group, it is no longer all in the family". Nikkei Asian Review. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  3. ^ "Central Marina | Central Pattana (CPN)". www.centralpattana.co.th. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  4. ^ "Central i-City". www.cpn.co.th. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
  5. ^ "CENTRAL GROUP on Instagram: "[#CGUPDATE] เปลี่ยนคุณให้เป็นอีกคน เริ่มต้นความสนุกครั้งใหม่ กับ ZEN ที่เปลี่ยนชื่อเป็น CENTRAL @ centralwOrld แล้ววันนี้ #CENTRALGroup…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  6. ^ Image imggmi.com Archived 2019-01-11 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "Store Location". Robinson Department Store. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  8. ^ "Hospitality". www.centralgroup.com. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  9. ^ "Financial Services & FinTech". www.centralgroup.com. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
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