Central Retail Corporation (CRC) said the acquisition of the Japanese chain includes a customer base of more than 900,000, land ownership and a ready-to-eat food processing center, according to Nation Thailand.
CRC said the center would expand its capacity to produce and develop prepared foods.
Central Food Retail, wholly owned by CRC, signed an agreement on Aug. 7, to buy all ordinary shares in AEON (Thailand), which operates MaxValu supermarkets in Thailand.
AEON (Thailand) has registered capital of 890 million baht (US$26.7 million). CRC said it would fund the acquisition with internal cash flow, but the cited information did not disclose the purchase price.
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A MaxValu store in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo via Google Maps/Lukasz Zbylut |
CRC plans to fold the supermarkets into CFR’s operations and convert every branch to Tops, aiming to develop the business and improve operating efficiency.
AEON established its business in Thailand in December 1984. The MaxValu brand entered the country in 2007.
AEON’s decision to sell its MaxValu minimart chain in Thailand underscores domestic conglomerates’ strong hold on Thai consumers, retail experts say. It also points to changing economic fortunes in neighboring Vietnam, where Aeon and other major Asian retailers are competing aggressively for a share of the rapidly growing middle-class market.
“Vietnam presents a different growth proposition,” Ben Phutphithak, senior analyst at Euromonitor, a global market research and data analytics company, told the South China Morning Post.
“Continued economic expansion, rising household incomes and a growing middle class create greater opportunities for modern retailers to expand alongside consumer spending.”