Nitori, a Japanese furniture and home furnishings company, is poised to spend 240 million baht to expand its furniture business in Thailand through 2024.
According to Masanori Takeda, director and general manager of the global merchandising division, and general manager of the global sales promotion office for Nitori Holdings Co, the company is scheduled to unveil three more stores later this year at Seacon Bangkae, Central Westgate and The Mall Bangkapi. Mr Takeda was speaking after the opening of the company's first Nitori store at CentralWorld yesterday.
Each of these outlets spans 2,600 square metres of space, requiring an investment of 20 million baht, he said.
The company plans to open 10 new Nitori stores next year and aims for a total of 25 stores within five years, said Mr Takeda.
Nitori Retail (Thailand) Co was recently established with registered capital of 210 million baht to operate stores in Thailand.
Since 2008, Nitori Holdings has been actively expanding its business into international markets, with Thailand marking its fifth venture into Asia following China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore.
"The Asian market, where significant growth potential is expected, is pivotal for the materialisation of Nitori's overarching mission and vision. The firm thus has strategically earmarked the expansion of its store network as one of its top priorities. This strategic direction entails a swifter pace of store openings," said Mr Takeda.
He said Nitori's involvement in Thailand dates back to 1999, when it established a trading company responsible for orchestrating the Nitori Group's supply chain management in the Southeast Asia region.
Nitori also has a factory called Siam Nitori that manufactures environmentally-friendly carpets and rugs.
The company boasts a robust and expansive network of suppliers that have produced Nitori Group goods for several years, said Mr Takeda.
"From 2023, we have set our sights on accelerating the opening of stores in the Asian region. There are still only a few home-furnishing stores in the Asian region that offer both furniture and home-furnishing products," he said.
In addition to Thailand, Nitori Holdings plans to open its first stores in Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Hong Kong and South Korea.
By the end of March 2024, Nitori aims to have opened 78 new stores in both existing and new countries and regions, bringing the total number of stores in the Asian region to 206.
Furthermore, from 2025, Nitori plans to open an average of 300 overseas stores per year to fulfil its mission and vision.
Nitori is set to open 3,000 stores and achieve sales of 3 trillion yen by 2032.