CJ Express Group looks set to spend 20 billion baht to greatly expand the number of its CJ Supermarket stores over the next four years.
According to Sathien Setthasit, the company's chairman, CJ Express intends to double its stores to 2,000 branches over the next four years, starting from 2023, up from 1,000 by the end of this year.
"Between 2023 and 2026, we plan to open 250 new CJ Supermarket branches a year both in the original concept and CJ MORE, a new compact community mall concept store. Each store requires an investment of 8 million baht," said Mr Sathien, also the founder and chief executive of SET-listed Carabao Group, the maker of the Carabao Dang energy drink.
According to Mr Sathien, under the four-year business plan the number of CJ Supermarket stores will reach 2,000 nationwide by 2026. Of the total, 1,500 stores will be under CJ Supermarket and the remaining 500 stores will be under CJ MORE.
CJ MORE comprises CJ Supermarket, providing consumer products along with multi-brand cosmetics and health supplements, Bao Cafe, which sells Thai-style coffee and beverages, and UNO, a lifestyle zone for young professionals offering fashion and lifestyle merchandise, stationery, and a food hall.
At CJ MORE, customers can also buy home improvement products such as DIY goods, hardware tools, gardening tools, and small electrical appliances.
Founded in 2015 and mostly funded by Mr Sathien, CJ Express plans to open a total of 250 new CJ Supermarket stores this year, up from 200 new stores last year. This will raise the total number of CJ Supermarket stores in 2022 to 1,000.
"Brand awareness of CJ Supermarket has improved gradually year by year and it is much easier than in the past to access shoppers in each location," Mr Sathien said. "Apart from opening new stores, we are also planning to offer loans to CJ's customers."
Mr Sathien said the company will put more focus on opening CJ MOREs on two-rai land plots, allowing small shops to rent their spaces to build customer traffic in the community.
According to Mr Sathien, the company's investment plan will be partially funded by proceeds from its listing on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) in the fourth quarter of next year.
The company expects to raise 25 billion baht from the listing.
"We will resume our active investments from next year onwards because we believe that the pandemic situation will improve in 2023," Mr Sathien said.
"Despite the overall economic conditions and consumer spending power being still relatively poor, CJ Supermarket sales have continued to grow over the last couple of years because shoppers have been shopping at stores near their homes and CJ has made available more than 10,000 basic product items."
The company expects sales to reach 28 billion baht this year, with a net profit of 2 billion baht. In 2021, the company reported sales of 23 billion baht with a net profit of 1.4 billion baht.
