Thailand’s retail conglomerate Central Retail Corporation (CRC) has established a membership-based wholesale business dubbed ‘Go Wholesale’.
The company said the unit will serve as its new growth engine. CRC is reported to be going to allocate about US$570 million to the development of the model over the next five years, eyeing 43 Go Wholesale locations during the period.
“Go Wholesale’s short-term goal is building brand love and becoming top of mind of targeted customer segments, which will especially enable sustainable growth for small businesses,” said Suchada Ithijarukul, group CEO at Central Food Wholesales Limited. “We also plan to expand branches nationwide by 2028.”
The first branch, scheduled to open at the end of next month, will span 7000sqm on Srinakarin Road. The store layout is designed to serve the needs of customers, restaurants and retailers. Go Wholesale will be home to more than 20,000 products with a focus on fresh food and ingredients sourced domestically and globally.
“Although Go Wholesale is a new business, we are fully committed to driving sustainable growth in accordance with the company’s purpose of being Central to Life,” said Ithijarukul. “We also purchase products directly from local farmers and promote employment for vulnerable groups to drive growth, to align with CRC’s sustainability commitment as Green and Sustainable Wholesale.”
CRC generated $6.7 billion in revenue last year with a net profit of $216.6 million. The group and its subsidiaries reported a 5.6 per cent increase in revenue to $1.6 billion and a 5.3 per cent growth in profit for the second quarter ended June 30.
