With spending having dropped by 10 to 15 per cent this quarter at Siam Centre and Siam Discovery, Siam Piwat Co Ltd, which operates the two shopping complexes, has decided to up its marketing activities from once a quarter to every month.

Mayuree Chaipromprasith, Siam Piwat's assistant managing director for business promotion and development, said yesterday the decline from the first quarter had not actually affected revenue as it consistently earns rental fees from tenants.

Siam Piwat has not actually witnessed a decline in the number of shoppers, with traffic within the two malls about 80,000 to 100,000 people per day - 70 per cent of whom are locals.

Economic factors - chiefly the hike in oil prices and rising interest rates - as well as political uncertainty have contributed to the fall in spending. In addition, renovation of the two malls has meant parts have been closed for months at a time. The company, therefore, plans to arrange monthly activities to boost spending.

The first event, planned from June 29 to July 2, is a Shop Marathon campaign.

Siam Piwat has joined forces with four banks to offer privileges to their Visa credit-card holders. The offer is available for card customers of Citibank, Krungsri GE, Siam Commercial Bank, and Kasikornbank, as well as Total Access Communication Plc for DTAC Maximize package users and Siam Paragon Platinum card holders.

The company hopes these alliances will bring in new customers, both during the event and in the long run, from a total of 1.8 million credit-card holders, 250,000 Maximize package users, and about 10,000 Paragon Platinum card holders.

Mayuree said during the same event last year sales in tenants' shops were three to four times higher than normal. This year, she estimates the four-day event will bring in Bt500 million-Bt800 million in sales. Also, traffic within the shopping complexes is expected to increase to 200,000 visitors per day.

Last year the event generated Bt600 million sales.

Other events planned for the rest of the year include fashion shows of leading brands and The Luxury of Giving campaign during Christmas and New Year, as well as non-commercial ventures to maintain the image of the two shopping complexes. These will include charity, cultural and kids activities.

This year the company has allocated Bt80 million, up from Bt60 million, to cover all marketing activities at the two malls.

Mayuree said Siam Centre and Siam Discovery were not the only two shopping malls arranging marketing activities to increase sales, but she hopes the events will give a boost to the shopping atmosphere as a whole.

She added that she expected the economic atmosphere to improve after the general election, expected to be held later this year.

Referring to the Siam Discovery renovation plan, Mayuree said the fifth floor would be changed from a children's centre into a floor for information technology, sport, home decoration items - and male fashion products in an attempt to draw more men with high purchasing power, which is the mall's main target group.

Of the products sold in the two complexes, 40-50 per cent are fashion products, 25-30 per cent are home decoration items while the rest are IT products and sales from restaurants and other available services. 

Nitida Asawanipont

The Nation