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Central Group
กลุ่มเซ็นทรัล

Company type	Family-owned holding company
Industry	Retail, Property development, Brand management, Hospitality, Food and beverage, Digital lifestyle
Founded	1947
Founder	Tiang Chirathivat, Samrit Chirathivat
Headquarters	Bangkok, Thailand
Area served	Asia Indonesia Japan Malaysia Maldives Sri Lanka Thailand Vietnam Europe Denmark Germany Ireland Italy Netherlands Switzerland United Kingdom
Key people	Tos Chirathivat, Executive Chairman and CEO
Products	Shopping centers, department stores, restaurants, hotels.
Number of employees	80,000
Subsidiaries	Central Pattana PLC (SET: CPN) Central Plaza Hotel PLC (SET: CENTEL) Central Retail Corporation PLC (SET: CRC)
Website	CentralGroup.com

Central Group is a Thai multinational conglomerate consisting of subsidiaries in retail, property development, brand management, hospitality, and food and beverage sectors.

History

Founder Tiang emigrated from Hainan Island to Bangkok in 1925. He set up his first shop in the Thon Buri district on the outskirts of Bangkok across the Chao Phraya River from the city center. He moved across the Chao Phraya River to a location near the grand Oriental Hotel (now the Mandarin Oriental), where he opened a store with his eldest son, Samrit, in 1947. In 1956, the family opened Central Department Store, the biggest department store in Thailand at that time, in Wang Burapa district, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok. The company's property development arm, Central Pattana, was founded in 1980, and opened its first shopping centre, CentralPlaza Ladprao in Chatuchak District, Bangkok, in 1983. Besides expansion through physical presence in the Bangkok retail space, Central Group has in recent years built an online presence among ASEAN e-tailers and a strong presence of luxury department store collection in Europe.

Key business line

Malls and commercial properties

Further information: Central Pattana

Central Group has substantial operations in developing Thai retail and commercial properties, and currently holds the largest market share of net leasable area in Thailand. Besides retail, Central Group has also developed offices, co-working spaces and residential projects.

Name	Opening	Total Project GFA	Location
Central Ladprao	December, 1982	310,000	Bangkok
Central Ramindra	November, 1993	86,000	Bangkok
Central Pinklao	March, 1995	370,000	Bangkok
Central Marina	July, 1995	70,000	Pattaya
Central Chiangmai Airport	March, 1996	250,000	Chiang Mai
Central Rama III	October, 1997	188,000	Bangkok
Central Bangna	December, 2001	500,000	Bangkok
Central Rama II	December, 2002	273,000	Bangkok
CentralWorld	December, 2002	830,000	Bangkok
Central Rattanathibet	December, 2003	140,000	Nonthaburi
Central Chaengwattana	November, 2008	310,000	Nonthaburi
Central Pattaya	January, 2009	210,000	Pattaya
Central Udon	April, 2009	250,000	Udon Thani
Central Chonburi	May, 2009	156,000	Chonburi
Central Khonkaen	December, 2009	200,000	Khon Kaen
Central Chiangrai	March, 2011	110,000	Chiang Rai
Central Phitsanulok	October, 2011	100,000	Phitsanulok
Central Rama IX	December, 2011	214,000	Bangkok
Central Suratthani	October, 2012	130,000	Surat Thani
Central Lampang	November, 2012	110,000	Lampang
Central Ubon	April, 2013	186,284	Ubon Ratchathani
Central Chiangmai	November, 2013	260,000	Chiang Mai
Central Hatyai	December, 2013	295,000	Songkhla
Central Samui	March, 2014	76,000	Ko Samui
Central Embassy (Mixed Use Development)	May, 2014	1,000,000+	Bangkok
Central Salaya	August, 2014	185,500	Nakhon Pathom
Central Rayong	May, 2015	155,000	Rayong
Central WestGate	August, 2015	352,000	Nonthaburi
Central EastVille	October, 2015	90,000	Bangkok
Central Nakhon Si	July, 2016	125,000	Nakhon Si Thammarat
Central Korat	November, 2017	233,000	Nakhon Ratchasima
Central Mahachai	November, 2017	131,250	Samut Sakhon
Central Phuket – Floresta	September, 2018	300,000	Phuket
Central i-City	March, 2019	259,000	Shah Alam, Malaysia
Central Village Luxury Outlet	August, 2019	80,000	Samut Prakan
Central Si Racha	October, 2021	140,000	Chonburi
Central Ayutthaya	November, 2021	160,000	Ayutthaya
The Esplanade Ratchada	August, 2021	105,000	Bangkok
Megacity Bangna	August, 2021	500,000	Samut Prakan
Central Chanthaburi	May, 2022	92,000	Chanthaburi
Marche Thonglor	March, 2023	62,000	Bangkok
Central WestVille	November, 2023	93,000	Nonthaburi
Central Nakhon Sawan	January, 2024	133,300	Nakhon Sawan
Central Nakhon Pathom	March, 2024	126,000	Nakhon Pathom
Central Krabi	2025	46,500	Krabi

Central i-City, despite managed by CPN, is the only mall that didn't feature Central Department Store or any Central Group retail stores.

Retail and brands

Retail & Brands is Central Group’s most significant business with investments in Europe and Asia.

Fashion: Department stores, lifestyle centers, lifestyle & fashion brands

Hardline: Home décor & construction, electronics, office supplies, books & stationery

Food: Supermarkets and convenience stores

Chains	Country	Branches
Central Department Store	Thailand	22 (In 2019, Zen Department Store was rebranded as Central)
Central Department Store	Indonesia	1 (Opened first at Grand Indonesia in 2014, then opened its second branch at Neo Soho in 2016, but Neo Soho branch closed down from February 18. 2019 due to low sales.)
Robinson Department Store (Robins in Vietnam)	Thailand	50
Robinson Department Store (Robins in Vietnam)	Vietnam	2
La Rinascente	Italy	9
Illum	Denmark	1 (Copenhagen)
Alsterhaus	Germany	1 (Hamburg)
KaDeWe		1 (Berlin)
Oberpollinger		1 (Munich)
Globus	Switzerland	7
Selfridges	England	4
Brown Thomas	Ireland	5 (6 including BT2 Blanchardstown)
Arnotts	Ireland	1 (Dublin)
De Bijenkorf	Netherlands	7

^ In partnership with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund

Hospitality

Central Group owns and manages visitor accommodation at all major Thai tourist destinations and around the world under own banners as well as international brands. Hotels cover every segment from luxury to economy. Central’s own brands comprise Centara Reserve, Centara Grand, Centara Boutique Collection, Centara, Centra by Centara and Cosi, while internationally-branded hotels include Park Hyatt Bangkok and Hilton Pattaya. In Japan, Central Group is a co-investor in StayFactory Hotel Group, whose brands include Hotel Hillarys, Hotel Relief, and Hotel Stork. In Switzerland, Central Group has also comprised Central Hotel Zurich company and Globus supermarket.

Central Group has also pioneered restaurant chains in Thailand, and operates well-known local, regional, and international food brands such as Mister Donut, KFC, Auntie Anne’s, Pepper Lunch, Chabuton, The Terrace, Yoshinoya, Ootoya, Tenya, Katsuya and Fezt.

Financial Services & FinTech

One of Central Group's aspirations towards the New Central New Economy strategy is to create convenience for both merchants and consumers with financial services and Fintech, with the ultimate goal of a cashless society in Thailand.

Financial Services & Fintech categories:

Credit : The1 credit card, sales finance, personal loans

Payment : gift cards, e-payments, e-wallets

Insurance brokerage : motor, health, personal accident, property & casualty, group life