Jariya Chirathivat, president for marketing and communications, said yesterday a pilot shop has already been open for business since last year in Sukhumvit Soi 103 in the Udomsuk area of Bangkok.

The Mini Big C's floor space of 200 square metres is smaller than Leader Price's 300-700 square metres. Half of its shelves are filled with house brands and half with branded products while Leader Price stocks only Big C brands.

Mini Big C so far has experienced good feedback, although some points still need to be ironed out, she said. The company is now developing a repositioning plan for the small-store business, including transforming all Leader Price branches into Big C Minis and estimating the required budget, which is expected to be finished this year.

Thailand tends to have many small communities, which presents a good market opportunity for this small retail model to enter, she said.

The two major reasons why Leader Price's five branches have been a disappointment are because they are too big and their merchandise assortment confuses shoppers.

"Consumers know that those products are Big C products when they're placed in our main supercentres but when they're in the small shop, not many people know who owns those house brands," Jariya said.

The company also maintains a policy of never advertising its house brands in the mass media so its prices can be kept below other brands.

The company found difficulty in reaching sales targets with Leader Price's large size. The stores started with 1,000 square meters and were gradually reduced to 700 square metres for standard branches and 300 square metres for mini branches.

Turning to the whole picture, Jariya said Big C Supercentre enjoyed a good first quarter with Bt14.48 billion in sales. However, it didn't achieve its growth target of 10 per cent as its sales rose only 7.2 per cent. But that was still satisfactory given the economic slowdown.

The company will forge ahead with its plan to open four supercentres this year. One of the four opened in Lamphun early this year, bringing the total to 50 branches.

In a new tack, 20 per cent of its planned budget for direct selling will be used to advertise its supercentres this year.

The early rainy season has slightly dampened sales as fewer shoppers visit its supercentres, but annual sales are still expected to grow 10 per cent.

Nitida Asawanipont

The Nation