Thanks for the comments on my earlier post titled “Thais Love Tesco”. Further to the ideas that have been raised, it is probably worth highlighting one important way that the Tesco Lotus juggernaut markets itself to potential customers.
Rather than shirking from the fight in areas where it faces some opposition, the company actively supports informative (and tourist friendly) signposting in many non-urban districts. This photograph is taken from a big map and information billboard at a prominent tourist site in the south. It is sponsored by Tesco Lotus.
Even at such a foreign dominated tourist site, the retail message has an obviously local target audience. Here it is expressed in one of the company’s slogans, “We exert ourselves for you”.
For struggling (and not so struggling) Thai workers is there anything more appealing than a business that makes life a bit easier? It is no wonder that Lotus, and its hypermarket competitors, are so far ahead of the many less efficient and more conservative retailers.
2 responses so far ↓
1 New Mandala » Every little helps…keep business on its toes // Jan 5, 2007 at 10:54 pm
[...] Back in early September - well before the coup and subsequent events began reshaping Thai politics - I wrote two short posts on growing opposition to the expansion agenda of Tesco and other foreign-owned “supercentres”. Tesco is an easy and obvious target for commercial (and, to some extent, popular) resentment: for anybody who is aggrieved by a whole raft of disparate economic and social changes. The hardline anti-Tesco forces are, to the best of my knowledge, marshaled by other retail interests who can’t stomach the success of the Lotuses and Carrefours of the world. [...]
2 pallop pinkmanee // Jun 20, 2008 at 5:40 pm
No doubt Tesco is a blessing to many Thai shoppers. What I see as one of their weak points is how their employees move about and talk without consideration for the peace and convenience of their customers. Especially in the South, many of these emloyees are crude and overbusinesslike. You would think you are there to beg for something from them instead of giving them patronage.
Leave a Comment
Please note: New Mandala encourages vigorous debate. However, for the moment we will only be publishing high-quality comments that make original contributions to discussion. There will, of course, still be space for pithy, humorous, eccentric and cheeky input. Short and sweet will usually trump long and involved. Repetitive ranting, unimaginative point-scoring and idle abuse will not be entertained. Comments which carry a real name are also more likely to be approved. Thank you for your ongoing interest and contributions.