Thailand's Central Group goes own way after FamilyMart exit

Top retailer seeks fresh start with Tops Daily convenience stores

The old and the new: Thailand's Central Group aims to take its convenience stores to the next level after rebranding FamilyMart. (Source photos by Kenya Akama)

KENYA AKAMA and YOSHIHIRO HARA, Nikkei staff writers

August 28, 2023 09:48 JST

BANGKOK/TOKYO -- Top Thai retailer Central Group will pursue its own brand strategy in convenience stores after making a break with Japanese partner FamilyMart.

FamilyMart stores, a fixture since in Thailand the 1990s, have been closing one after another in the area around central Bangkok's Phra Khanong rail station. The closures have led some residents to lament and others to shrug.