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Bangkok Jun (EFE).- Despite the acceleration of digital commerce and the moment of decline experienced by shopping centers in countries like the United States, Bangkok is committed to a massive expansion of large stores with which the Thai capital hopes to establish itself as a the “mecca of luxury” in the heart of Southeast Asia.
For this 2023 alone, Bangkok plans to inaugurate at least five megaprojects that aspire to reshape the urban landscape and become a point of reference among expatriates, locals and tourists in the shopping sector and, especially, luxury.
Private investment in the commercial construction service is expected to grow in the capital between 3 and 4% in 2023 and 2024, encouraged by growing demand and in line with the “upturn in the tourism sector and consumption” after the covid, according to a June report last year from Krungsri bank.
Likewise, the retail sector, represented to a large extent by shopping centers, corresponds to almost 16.7% of the Thai gross domestic product (GDP) and, only in 2021, moved a commercial flow of some 77,788 million dollars.
This was enough to put the retail sector in second place in terms of its importance to the Thai economy, only after manufacturing, which accounts for 27% of GDP.
Bangkok: commercial hub in Asia
Thus, more and more, the metropolis with 11 million inhabitants is consolidating itself as an important commercial “hub” in Asia, where shopping guides abound with titles such as “Inside the 7 most luxurious shopping centers in Bangkok” or “Luxury in Bangkok: Glamor and exclusivity in Thailand”.
Walking through its streets, it is impossible not to notice the opulent buildings erected parallel to the train tracks, which display huge and luminous signs with the names of the most exclusive brands, such as Gucci, Prada, Armani, Channel, Tiffany & Co., among others. so many others.
In a movement contrary to that observed in some parts of the world, hit by the expansion of electronic commerce, generalized inflation and less consumer power of citizens, the expansion of the sector in Thailand contrasts with the phenomena of massive closure of shopping centers in countries like the United States and some places in Europe.
In the luxury capital, the sky is the limit
Among the megaprojects planned for this 2023 are the opening of the Bangkok Mall, in the final phase of construction and which aims to become the largest shopping center in Southeast Asia, and the Emsphere, a “state-of-the-art” facility in the heart of the metropolis.
Considered one of the main operators of luxury shopping centers in Thailand, The Mall group is behind the construction of three of these giant shopping complexes, including Emsphere, which will open its doors next December and already accumulates investments for 435 millions of dollars.
The group has also announced an investment of another 580 million dollars for the renovation of two important shopping centers located on the eastern and western ends of the city, an initiative with which it seeks to “complete majestically” the urban scene of Bangkok. .
The project “is an important source of power that drives Bangkok’s rise to the center stage of the world commercial market,” explained The Mall in a statement sent to EFE.
Shopping and leisure pole
Several of these spaces have long ceased to be mere shopping venues and have come to congregate in one place an endless number of services, ranging from vintage cafes and stylish bookstores to relaxed bars or modern nightclubs.
“These new venues will play an important role in the country’s economic development and elevate Thailand as the regional center for the business of entertainment, tourism, sports, arts and culture,” the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau said in a statement. a statement.
Under the premise of uniting leisure, culture and, of course, luxury in one place, deliveries scheduled for this year will reshape Bangkok’s architectural scene and add more than one million square meters to the urban landscape of the Thai capital. .
As of today, the area of commercial premises in the entire metropolitan region of Bangkok already amounts to about 6 million square meters, most of them located in shopping centers, says the report prepared by the Krungsri bank.
The publication indicates that, after the devastating impacts left by the covid-19 pandemic (2020-2022), industry and private investment, including construction services, will be one of the engines of the recovery of the Thai economy .