Central Retail Corporation, the Thai department store operator, says it will open its first department store in Indonesia in 2014.

The store will take up 21,000sqm inside the Grand Indonesia mall in Jakarta and is part of the company’s preparation for Asean Economic Community which will be effective in 2015.

The Jakarta department store will be the fourth under the Central brand outside Thailand; it has three in China. Central Retail Corporation also operates 11 department stores under La Rinascente brand in China.

CEO Tos Chirathivat is optimistic about Central’s prospects in Indonesia due to its strong brand awareness in the country. According to Nielsen, Indonesians have chosen Central as the preferred foreign department store to open in Jakarta.

Central Retail Corporation plans to open five more department stores in Jakarta and Surabaya in five years. Each store will cost Central about 600 million baht (US$19 million).

Another foreign retailer, Japan’s Aeon Group, has confirmed plans for department stores in Indonesia and other Asean countries.

GB