Thailand supermarket Central Food Tops

The parent company of Tops Supermarket, Central Food Retail (CFR), will invest Thb1bn (US$29.37m)in a new format Tops Plaza, and 176 new Superkoom supermarkets.

The leading Thai retailer told the Bangkok Post that the new format will be community shipping mall, with the first to open in Pichit this year, and another in Payao next year.

CFR also plans to open 178 Superkoom supermarkets this year, bringing its total operations of the discount supermarket to 200.

Phattaraporn Phenpraphat, CFR executive vice-president for marketing and public relations, told the Post that the company had strong sales growth in the first quarter of the year, both from existing stores and from new Superkoom, Tops Daily and Tops Market store openings.

'Our sales growth of 3.02 per cent in the first quarter exceeded the industry growth rate,' she said.