Community malls have become very popular in Thailand since 2008 as they provide greater convenience for modern Thai consumers compared to shopping in Bangkok's high traffic areas. They now make up 11% of the retail market. Real estate developers see them as attractive and profitable investments. Leading developers like Siam Future Development have pioneered the community mall concept and found success through customizing each mall to match the local population. While the market is maturing, developers continue introducing new concepts and formats to attract more customers. Community malls are expected to remain an important part of Thailand's retail landscape.

1. ©Canvassco 1

2. THE NEW HYPE ON
COMMUNITY MALL
Community malls or lifestyle malls
have become one of the most
prominent projects for real estate
d e v e l o p e r s s i n c e 2 0 0 8 .
Community malls have gained
popularity due to lifestyle
changes of modern day Thais
w h o d e m a n d g r e a t e r
convenience. While Bangkok city
is notorious for its high traffic,
Community malls have gained
popularity because modern day
Thais prefer easy living, quicker
and easier physical access to
dining and shopping, and easy-to-
find parking spaces. It is no
surprise that these malls have
become the first choice as a
hangout place.
Today, community malls take up
11% of all retail markets which is
almost the same size as that of
the hypermarket share. It is
e x p e c t e d t o o v e r t a k e
hypermarket share in number of
outlets by 2014 retail market
report half year 2013 (Source:
Colliers Research) Due to city
zoning restrictions, big retailers
find it difficult to open large
shopping malls and hypermarkets
in the city area. While increase in
housing projects, roads and
shortcuts in these residential
a r e a s h a v e b o o s t e d t h e
convenience behind going to
these community malls hence,
making it not only a feasible
choice for consumers but
a t t r a c t i v e f o r r e a l e s t a t e
developers who are confident of
their success. An added benefit
for real estate developers
investing in community malls is
that these malls are more cost-
effective to maintain than big
retail outlets located in urban
areas. Therefore, it is no brainer
for more and more real estate
developers to penetrate and
saturate this market.
KEY RETAIL
DEVELOPERS
The biggest and first mover to
penetrate this market is Siam
Future Development (SF) being in
the industry for more than 20
years. The first community mall
by SF, Market Place Bangbon was
up and running since 1995 to
provide essential products and
services such as restaurants,
supermarkets and banking
services. Community mall started
to gain popularity since 2005
after the launch of J-Avenue;
Japanese lifestyle mall. J- Avenue
is favored due to its right concept
- it was built at the right place and
at the right time. It was built when
Japanese residents started
occupying the area and Japanese
culture and cuisine was extremely
well-received among Thais.
J Avenue is the second modern
community mall in the area to
service affluent residents in
Thonglor after the Thonglor
Market Place built by SF in 2003.
Nevertheless, because it s the
first Japanese concept mall in
Bangkok, it attracted people from
all over Bangkok and became
quite the It place in Thonglor.
Following the success of J-
Avenue, all community malls built
had a clear concept that was
localized to target that particular
residential area.
SF was a monopoly in the
community mall industry for a
decade before KE land developer
built The Crystal Shopping mall .
The Crystal Shopping Mall located
in Ekamai-Ramintra is a crowd-
pleaser for residents in the area.
KE has stirred a dramatic shift in
© Canvassco 2
WHAT IS COMMUNITY MALL?
There is no single definition. Generally, it is a mall situated in
residential areas, especially in the suburbs, contain all the
shops and services that people need in their daily lives.
However, in Thailand, this concept does not apply. This is
because community malls are located also in the City and serve
loose groups of shoppers, but not genuine communities. We
can distinguish hypermarket from community mall by looking
at the size and design.

3. customer expectation for lifestyle
m a l l f r o m b e i n g j u s t a
convenience for residents to
accommodating luxury, design,
ambiance and atmosphere so
c o n s u m e r s a r e g i v e n
multidimensional experience in
their residential area. The Crystal
M a l l f e a t u r e s a C a l i f o r n i a
landmark with well designed
w a l k i n g s t r e e t s m a k i n g i t
appealing not only for residents in
the area but it attracts people
from all over Bangkok as well as
tourists.
In close proximity to the location
of The Crystal Shopping Mall, SF
launched a competing lifestyle
mall called La Villa adjacent to Ari
BTS Station. The first modern
greenery mall, it offers trendy
products and services that are fit
for a cosmopolitan area. Its key
selling points are its convenient
location and its distinctive
greenery setting making it just as
s o u g h t - o u t f o r a s C r y s t a l
Shopping Mall.
Both small and big real estate
developers have built around 21
community malls between 2007
to 2010. Between 2007 to 2010
alone, SF had already built a total
of three community malls which
are La Villa in 2007, Major
Avenue Ratchayothin in 2009 and
Nawamin City Avenue in 2010. All
of these malls are popular due to
it s catchment area - a good
location and a good residential
population mix.
From 2010 to 2012, Community
malls industry had attracted both
big and small players making the
market saturated. Many land
developers including TCC land,
Property Perferct, Sena Villa
Group, and MBK Group have built
these lifestyle centers targeting
local residents.
© Canvassco 3
Year Leading Community
Malls
Developer
1995 Market Place Bang
Bon
Siam Future
Development
2003 Thonglor Market
Place
Siam Future
Development
2005 J - Avenue Siam Future
Development
2007 The Crystal
Shopping Mall
KE Land Developer
2007 La Villa Siam Future
Development
2010 Nawamin City
Avenue
Siam Future
Development
2011 Amorini AMR Development
2011 Chocolate Ville The chocolate
group
2011 Rain Hill Boutique Group
2012 Park lane Gelson
Development
2012 The Promenade Siam Retail
Development
2012 The Nine MBK Group
2012 The Portico-
Langsuan
Portico Property
2012 The Walk Index Group
2013 Pickadaily Areeya Property
2013 W district lifestyle
mall
W Property
2013 Kurve 7 Kurve 7
2014 Chic District Ram 53 Major
2014 Vue Lifestyle by The
River
Raimon Land
*Remark : These lists of malls are malls that mentioned in the
article that influenced the development of community malls market

4. Sena Development became a key
player in community mall opening
five projects by the end of 2013.
SENA fest, the first of the five is
up and running in a prime
location in Thonburi area. It s
success is due to a big enough
resident population in the area
which includes existing residents
and newly erected condominiums
located next to the Chaophraya
river.
DESIGNS AND
CONCEPTS
With Crystal Mall as the role
model, community malls built in
2012 are raising customer
expectations in terms of design
and ambiance. For instance - The
Park Lane in Ekamai features a
roman style architecture, The
Promenade on Fashion Island has
a European Landmark and
Amorini on Ramintra Road
features a recreation of Santorini
landmark from Greece. Further,
Festival Walk Mall located on
Nawamin road has recreated the
antique European landmark and
Chocolate Ville located in the
same area features a popular
landmark and design resembles
that of a western village. Their
concept is to be a one stop
destination of international
eateries; their concept is very
successful that so many people
drive for a visit including
foreigners.
Now, most players compete on
architecture design featuring
either either a unique famous
landmark or distinctive concept.
The only outstanding mall that
adopts the retail function as a key
competitive advantage is Crystal
Design Center, the same owner
with The Crystal Shopping Mall.
Crystal Design Center features
itself as a center of design and
home decoration showroom.
Keeping La Villa, Festival Walk and
Chocolateville in mind, the trend
t o w a r d s c o m m u n i t y m a l l s
adopting a greenery landscape is
highly appreciated trend because
modern day consumers are
looking for a place to relax
without having to drive to the
country side. To emphasize, it is a
hideaway from the hustle and
bustle of the city yet located in
close proximity to that of the
urban area.
Another concept community mall,
Rain Hill which was launched in
2012 imitates the freshness of
forest hill while at the same time
featuring a modern architecture
making it apt for it s location in a
cosmopolitan area of Sukhumvit
47. The Nine neighborhood
center is launched by MBK
Group, located at Pharam 9 road
w i t h t h e f r e s h g r e e n e r y
l a n d s c a p e . T h e P o r t i c o -
Langsuan , also launched in 2012
has a green concept but is
located in the heart of business
district (Chidlom). Most greenery-
style malls always include
Japanese restaurants because
Japanese cuisine is celebrated
among Thais. In close proximity to
J-Avenue, TCC land opened
Japanese lifestyle mall, Gateway
Ekamai in 2012 to go with the
popular Japanese trend. The
motivation for building lifestyle
malls for real estate developers is
the city zoning restrictions that
make it difficult to open large
shopping malls in town, hence
making lifestyle malls a more
feasible outcome even in urban
areas.
© Canvassco 4
COMMUNITY MALL CONCEPTS
Key concept Descriptions Example
Japanese
lifestyle
Is the concept that use
Japanese restaurants and
decoration as a key theme
Thonglor Market
Place, J-Avenue,
Gateway Ekkamai
Roman Style
Architect
Is the concept that use the
famous scenery and
landmark; especially
European landscape as a key
theme
The Crystal Shopping
Mall, The Park Lane,
Chocolate Villa, The
walk, Amorini, The
promenade
Green
concept
Is the concept that use the
freshness of greenery
concept as a key theme
The Portico
Langsuan, Rain Hill,
La Villa
Lifestyle &
Entertainment
Is the concept that focusing
on store varieties and
convenient location
Nawamin City Avenue
Condo -
Community
Concept
Is the concept of community
that come with
condominium; the theme is
vary
The Pickadaily
Bangkok, W-district,
Chic District Ram 53
24hours
Concept
Is the concept focusing on
time convenient like 7-11
W-district, The Kurve
7

5. COMMUNITY MALL
GROWTH TO
CONTINUE AT
MODEST PACE
According to research by Colliers
International (Thailand), all newly
completed facilities of retail
expansion in the second quarter
of 2013 were community malls.
The number of community malls
has soared from 30 malls in
2010 to almost 100 malls in
2013.
This shows that community malls
market has shifted from the
growth stage to the maturity
stage. However, most of them
are in the suburbs area, due to
the expansion of residential
projects along the suburbs area
such as Rachapruek, Kaset-
Nawamin, Ramintra, Praram 2,
P r a r a m 3 a n d B a n g n a .
Particularly, Ratchapruek, the
center of western Bangkok has a
catchment of over 100 residential
high-end projects or 50,000
households with high purchasing
power.
With the announcement of the
road expansion with over 80,000
cars transported daily and this
area is going to be a new
e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t o f
Thonburi area. Now, five popular
projects are located in this area;
Homepro, Homeworks, The Walk,
Pureplace and The Circle. The
Circle; claimed to be the biggest
community malls features a
fusion of Thai heritage and
modern European design with
over 200 retailers.
Similar to any product in the
maturity stage, variety and
features are added to make it
more interesting and increase
sales. The Walk is the first indoor
community mall with a recreation
of Santa Monica landscape and is
a mix format between being a
furniture outlet, Index Living Mall
and it houses a variety of dining
outlets, local shopping outlets and
supermarket. Similarly, The Paseo
is a mix format of being a car
showroom while also featuring a
number of restaurants and is
located on Onnut road since
2009.
Another much more appreciated
feature added to the community
malls are pub and bars notably,
The Portico Langsuan features
ChocoBar while The City Viva
features WooBar.
RESIDENTIAL
CONDOMINIUM +
COMMUNITY MALL
CONCEPT IS ON THE
RISE
The innovative concept is real
estate developers are including
C o m m u n i t y M a l l s t o t h e i r
Condominium building projects.
O v e r 1 0 n e w c o n d o s t h a t
included community malls were
up and running in 2013. One of
the distinctive concept is The
Pickadaily Bangkok community
mall which has an English old
town architecture design located
next to A Space Me condo in
Sukhumvit 77. Another novel
concept is community malls being
built on Bangkok University
Campus by SF.
The intensity of the competition is
fierce as Community malls are
imitating the 24 hours availability
7 - 1 1 b u s i n e s s m o d e l . F o r
instance, W district lifestyle mall
within the high rise condo project
on Sukhumvit road has a direct
sky walk from the condo to the
mall will be open 24 hours again.
The Kurve 7 located at Bangkapi
a l s o p r o m i s e s 2 4 h o u r s
availability, hence showing that
this could be another valuable
feature for community mall.
In 2013, SF announced the plan
to develop over 10 community
malls in suburban area in the next
5 y e a r s . T h e y a r e a l s o
cooperating with LPN condo
developers to co-project on
building condos with community
malls.
© Canvassco 5
Future Supply
Cumulative future supply in bangkok by year and category,
1Q 2014
Source: Colliers International Thailand Research

6. CUSTOMIZATION
STRATEGY IS THE
KEY SUCCESS
FACTOR
The key success factor adopted
by SF in ensuring the popularity
of it s community malls is
customization strategy. There is
n o c o m m o n p l a n f o r a l l
community malls, one strategy
may work in one place, while
others may require a different
strategy. It is certainly all about
localization and studying the
residential population in the
target area.
The concept, design and tenant
mix of the community mall should
match the class and lifestyles of
the community it is serving.
Despite reaching the mature
stage, a leading player in the
industry confirms there is still
r o o m f o r g r o w t h i n t h e
community malls market.
The key in such an industry is
innovation and mix community
malls format that cater to
consumers convenience and
exceed their expectations by
offering a multidimensional
experience while at the same time
matching the needs of the
residents in that catchment area.
The ABAC polls concluded that
that consumers have positive
attitude towards community malls
because of its superior design
and it has better location than big
retailers. A concept that is certain
to steal the market share from
big retailers, it has already
changed the lifestyle of Thais.
Indeed a dramatic shift as it
changes shopping experience
from being indoor to outdoor. The
developers are now targeting
more tourists to increase their
customer traffic. In the future
community malls will not only
s e r v e t h e r e s i d e n t i n t h e
community area, but will be a
tourist destination welcoming
AEC era.
IN A NUTSHELL
Altogether, community malls are
everywhere! Along the lines of the
BTS, the city areas, near old
residential areas, new residential
areas, building around housing
projects that are yet to be
completed, as a condominium
f a c i l i t y, w i t h i n u n i v e r s i t y
campuses and even outskirts of
Bangkok! Yet there is still room
for more, Why?
The key success factor to
e n t e r i n g t h i s m a r k e t i s
convenience, design, atmosphere
and multidimensional experience
that match or even better exceed
consumer expectations! One food
for thought?
A new community mall that is
about to open will include a
Cinema. Imagine having a cinema
and pub or a bar within walking
distance to your home.
ABOUT AUTHORS
Godchapan Suthisopapan is a full-
t i m e B u s i n e s s A n a l y s t a t
Canvassco with a strong passion
on retail business landscape. She
works with clients in the retail
i n d u s t r y , h e l p s t h e m t o
understand innovative retail
business models and retail
customers behaviors.
Godchapan is specialized in in-
depth discussion and qualitative
analysis. She also works with
client from agriculture industry
for B2B market research. Feel
free to contact her at
gsuthisopapan@canvassco.com
Navneet Madan is a full-time
Senior Project Manager at
Canvassco. She is a young
m a r k e t i n g e n t h u s i a s t w h o
performs the role of Business
Consultant, Project Manager and
Part-time Writer. She has over
five years experience in content
marketing specifically for mobile
and digital data management.
Navneet is also a copy editor who
takes boring topic and turn it into
story-telling content. Feel free to
contact her at
nmadan@canvassco.com
© Canvassco 6
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