Thailand PTTOR Cafe Amazon rolling overseas
Source：BangkokPost
From：Taiwan Trade Center, Bangkok
Update Time：2019/01/14
Thailand PTT Oil and Retail Business Plc (PTTOR), the oil retail and non-oil business unit of PTT Plc, is gearing up to expand Cafe Amazon branches and lubricant products overseas to increase higher-margin businesses.
The company is looking to expand into Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam as part of its regional strategy, said Wisarn Chawalitanon, senior executive vice-president of PTTOR.
The company has a presence in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and the Philippines, operating 223 Cafe Amazons and 225 petrol stations.
Mr Wisarn said it will only focus on Cafe Amazon branches in Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam because the three countries do not allow foreign investment in petrol stations.
"The cafes will be stand-alone branches in company-owned company-operated [COCO] and franchise forms," he said.
For Malaysia, Mr Wisarn said PTTOR is in talks with local companies to join Cafe Amazon through franchising.
In Vietnam, PTTOR has yet to conclude its business plan because it has to wait for legal issues to be decided concerning its trademark.
He said the cafes will operate using the COCO platform in Singapore, with three outlets in that country, expected to open in early 2019.
"The first branch in Singapore will use digital marketing because market sentiment is ripe, in terms of digital facilities and active buyers," Mr Wisarn said.
He said the Cafe Amazon branches overseas will have distribution channels for Thai snacks and bakeries from the local market, in line with PTT's plan to promote Thai products.
For PTTOR's existing business operation, it plans not only to expand new branches of petrol stations and non-oil businesses, but also to enhance business efficiency and look for new businesses, involving oil and gas distribution.
In Cambodia, PTTOR is in talks with local landlords for possible long-term land leases in order to establish a cooking gas business and wholesale operation as it aims to tap into high demand in that country.
PTTOR also plans to increase its Cafe Amazon branches to 190 from 150 in Cambodia, to 80 branches from 51 in Laos, to 15 branches from four in Myanmar, and to 20 branches from eight in the Philippines.
The cost of expansion is set at US$70,000 (2.31 million baht) per branch for locations at petrol stations, while there is a range of $150,000-300,000 is for stand-alone branches.
As of August, PTTOR has 2,557 branches of Cafe Amazon. Of those, 2,389 shops are in Thailand.
Source: BangkokPost
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1570634/cafe-amazon-rolling-overseas