India Emporium (Pahurat) Co Ltd director Ajit Sachdev, right, with Nexus Property Consultants Co Ltd managing director Apisit Limlomwongse, a consultant for India Emporium department store.

The family, which has been doing business in Thailand for 52 years, will first build the Bt1.2-billion India Emporium shopping centre. It will be operated through India Emporium (Pahurat) Co Ltd, which the family created last year with Bt150 million, said director Ajit Sachdev.

He described India Emporium as Thailand's first Indian-style department store. The centre will house both wholesale and retail businesses.

The family spent Bt400 million last year on a two-rai 25-square-wah plot of land on Chakrapetch Road to house India Emporium. The family bought the land from the former operator of ATM textile centre.

The company will finance part of the development with loans from Bangkok Bank.

The four-storey department store will have 4,000sqm of commercial space, with room for 311 shops selling fashion, women's accessories, textiles, gifts, children's apparel and toys. The centre will also house banks, a food centre, a miniature supermarket and other businesses, such as mobile-phone shops. The commercial spaces will range in size from six sqm to 130sqm.

Construction will start next month and should be finished by November next year.

The Sachdev family currently operates a textile factory and several textile shops, as well as a 105-room apartment located on Sukhumvit Road called S M Grand Resident.

India Emporium (Pahurat) will accept applications from potential renters from September 15-17 at Grand China Princess Hotel. The company will offer several contracts, ranging from short-term, one-to-three year leases starting at Bt7,000 per unit per month, and long-term leases of 15 years starting at Bt1.4 million per unit.

The company will target retail and wholesale businesses currently operating in Pahurat, Sampeng, Boe Bae and Pratunam.

India Emporium (Pahurat) is also in talks with several grocery store operators to handle the centre's supermarket.

Ajit said the recent political turmoil had not affected his confidence in the venture because business has been strong in Pahurat and Sampheng, home to many textile and jewellery businesses. He said these areas are well known to the Indian community.

He estimated that more than Bt100 million circulates among businesses in those two neighbourhoods every day. In addition, he said India Emporium would naturally attract the roughly 500,000 people who live in the area.

India Emporium expects to generate Bt800 million in its first year and plans to reach the break-even point in two years.

As far as its plans for the hotel, the Sachdev family is still trying to decide whether to build a new hotel on its own or to take over an existing one. The family has targeted either Phetburi or Sukhumvit roads.

The Sachdevs are currently negotiating with a hotel operator in Bangkok, though it has not yet decided on what kind of business relationship it would like, said Ajit. The family already has a plan to hire a hotel chain to manage the hotel once the business relationship has been completed.

Nitida Asawanipont

The Nation