THE MALL GROUP BLUEPRINTS 1BN FASHION FACELIFT

The Mall Group will spend 1 billion baht over the next three years to rejuvenate the fashion departments in its stores.

Some 200 million baht will be used to renovate the fashion zone in Siam Paragon Department Store, 140-160 million baht for The Mall Bang Kapi and the remaining 640-660 million baht for the renovation of other branches of The Mall, said Cherngchai Poovaviranon, the general manager for merchandise.

The company will start renovating its fashion zone at Siam Paragon Department Store in May and later at The Mall Bang Kapi. The remaining branches will have a facelift next year, and all branches will be completed by 2014.

At Siam Paragon, products in each category will be relocated to suitable floors. Apart from the change of concept design, retail space for fashion products on the first floor will increase by 70% to 5,000 square metres.

Under the brand repositioning programme, a first in its 30-year history, The Mall will design product displays, furniture, lighting and atmosphere suitable for each brand. However, some outstanding brands will be allowed to have their unique displays.

This is different from what happened in the past three decades, when fashion suppliers could create product displays on their own, said Mr Cherngchai.

"The programme will totally change the image of the fashion zones at all our complexes," he said.

The full renovation is due to increasing demand of fashion products from apparels, shoes, and bags to accessories.

The Mall Group is not alone in redesigning its lucrative departments. Many retailers have aggressive plans for their fashion sections.

Chulalongkorn University wants to turn a space opposite Siam Center into a fashion street.

The trend reflects a huge demand for fashion products, encouraged by the growth of local brands and the entry of new fashion labels into the Thai market.

What's notable about the trend is that it is men rather than women who drive the demand.

Ravimon Thanitarom, general manager of The Mall, said cosmetics and women fashion are the top two sales contributors to the department store. Shoes and bags ranked third and their demand are expected to grow 30% in the first quarter of this year.

The company will add 30 new brands to the fashion portfolio, and a multi-brand lifestyle store with retail space of 200-300 square metres will open in The Emporium shopping complex and Siam Paragon.