Thai chains surprised that anti-big store legislation will apply to them too, not just foreigners

from The Nation:

Central surprised local retail giants are also restricted

A senior department store executive yesterday spoke out against the government's clampdown on big retail operators, calling it "bizarre", rushed and unfair.

"It's kind of strange to include shopping mall operators like us [Central, The Mall Group, and Robinson] on the list of retailers that are required to limit their expansion," said Likit Fahpyochon, executive vice president of Central Retail Corp Ltd.

The Commerce Ministry should focus instead on those retailers that really disturb local, traditional shops, rather than label all "modern" trade as troublemakers, he said.

The three shopping-centre chains always gave more serious consideration than other types of retailers to planning the opening of an outlet in any area to ensure that it did not stir up trouble with long-standing community businesses, he said.

Each branch is also usually large, so it's not easy to add new stores lightly.

Likit said he was still not clear on which type of retailers the ministry really wants to control.

Late last month the ministry set temporary measures to rein in modern retailers' expansion moves nationwide in an effort to help mom-and-pop stores survive.

The ministry has asked for cooperation from 15 retailers to sign a memorandum of understanding tomorrow that imposes two main requirements.

First, the retailers have to stop all their current expansion plans, including projects that are already under construction.

Second, the retailers have to hold public hearings and get the agreement of all concerned organisations and people in all regions where they want to locate new branches.

Likit said Central hadn't received any form of request from the ministry yet for

the memorandum. If the ministry really sends the request to the company tomorrow, Central would want to clarify the issue before signing anything, he said.

And Central already has a plan to meet caretaker Deputy Commerce Minister Preecha Laohapongchana at 2pm

tomorrow with other members of the Thai Retailers Association to make their views known

about unfair treatment in the enforcement of "eight guidelines" on what retailers should do in running their businesses.

The ministry and other organisations - including the Consumer Protection Board, the Federation of Thai Industries and the Board of Trade of Thailand - as well as various scholars came up with the guidelines without discussing them with the association beforehand, Likit said.

Both the two main points stipulated in the memorandum and the "eight guidelines" would cause all sorts of problems for retailers who have already received government approval for their expansion plans or are in the midst of construction, he said.

The ministry should think of how the memorandum and the "eight guidelines" impact

the retailers and other businesses that work with them in the expansion plans, including construction companies, in terms of financial loss and who would take responsibility for that, he added.