Central Food Wholesales, part of Central Retail Corporation (CRC), the country’s biggest retailer, is preparing to allocate roughly 20 billion baht to expand its Go Wholesale stores over the next five years.
Yol Phokasub, the chief executive of CRC, said that given the immense potential of Thailand’s wholesale food sector, which promises new growth opportunities, CRC is fully equipped to expand its business-to-business (B2B) model with Go Wholesale as a new growth engine.
Central Food Wholesales was established recently to operate Go Wholesale stores with registered capital of 1.8 billion baht.
The company has ambitious plans to open 43 Go Wholesale stores, which would require an investment of roughly 20 billion baht over the next five years, said Suchada Ithijarukul, group chief executive at Central Food Wholesales.
The first Go Wholesale store, covering 7,000 square metres, will open on Oct 27 in the Srinakarin area of Bangkok.
“We aspire for Go Wholesale to become the preferred destination for our target customers,” says Suchada Ithijarukul, group chief executive officer at Central Food Wholesales Limited.
Three more stores will follow, starting with Chiang Mai in November. The other two will open in Pattaya and at the Amata City Industrial Estate in Chon Buri in December. The company has set a revenue target of 60-70 billion baht for Go Wholesale once it has a total of 43 stores by 2028.
Ricardo Boarotto, chief executive for Thailand at Central Food Wholesales, said Go Wholesale is a membership-based business, targeting hotels, restaurants, catering services (HoReCa), food retailers, culinary enthusiasts, small retailers and other service sector entities.
Go Wholesale offers an extensive range of products and services, boasting a selection of over 20,000 items with the primary focus on fresh food and ingredients sourced both domestically and globally.
“Go Wholesale will be one of the key drivers for CRC’s food business,” Mr Yol said. “Go Wholesale is operated by a seasoned team of professionals, led by Suchada Ithijarukul who possesses more than two decades of experience in the domestic and international wholesale industry.”
CRC first entered the wholesale sector several years ago through Thaiwatsadu, which specialises in home improvement and construction materials. The wholesale business now constitutes 17% of CRC’s total revenue. With the expansion of Go Wholesale, the segment’s contribution is projected to surge to 25-30% by 2028.
According to Mr Yol, Go Wholesale will capitalise on synergies with Central Group, which operates 110 department stores across 100 provinces in Thailand and Vietnam, along with an extensive network of 6,750 restaurants and 93 hotels. Furthermore, Go Wholesale will tap into the Central loyalty platform, granting access to a vast customer base exceeding 28 million individuals.
“We are fully confident in Go Wholesale’s capability to propel remarkable growth for CRC,” said Mr Yol, adding that Go Wholesale would not only emerge as a new choice for business operators and suppliers but would also mark a significant transformation within Thailand’s wholesale industry.
According to Mrs Suchada, Thailand’s food industry is valued at about 2.6 trillion baht, with a consistent average annual growth rate of 5%.
“The wholesale business is enduring, and we aspire for Go Wholesale to become the preferred destination for our target customers,” she said.
“Go Wholesale will be one of the key drivers for CRC’s food business,” says Yol Phokasub, chief executive officer of Central Retail Corporation.
Go Wholesale operates as a membership-based wholesale business, says Ricardo Boarotto, CEO Thailand of Central Food Wholesales Limited.