Business
Tesco shopping online

PHUKET: Leading domestic hypermarket chain Tesco Lotus last week launched online grocery shopping and home delivery services for its customers in Bangkok.
Asked if the retail giant had plans to launch such services in Phuket, Ms Salinla Seehaphan, Corporate Affairs Director, revealed that: “Our plan is to offer a convenient online grocery shopping service to all of our customers in Thailand, starting in Bangkok before the service is rolled out to other big cities around the country.”
Initially established as a Joint Venture between UK-based Tesco and local retailer chain Lotus, (which was founded under the CP Group, but later sold), Tesco Lotus is currently operated by Bangkok based firm, Ek-Chai Distribution System Co Ltd.
According to a report in The Nation, the retail giant has already invested about 300 million baht in the development of its online shopping business in the Kingdom, with such funds allocated towards upgrading its IT systems, as well as stock management and related equipment, including the purchase of 30 delivery vans.
Commenting on the challenges and opportunities for the online shopping market, Ms Salinla commented: “Tesco Lotus is committed to innovation to meet the changing needs and lifestyles of today’s consumers.
“We will combine online technology with our retail expertise to provide a great online shopping experience for customers.
“In today’s hectic world our customers need more help to make their lives easier – an ‘extra pair of hands’ to do the shopping for them.
“Tesco Lotus is ready to do just that – have specially trained personal shoppers to pick the best products and deliver them to customers at the time customers choose.”
According to Tesco Lotus, overall internet penetration in Thailand is currently about 30%, up from 27.3% last year. However, in urban cities like Bangkok, the estimated rate is as high as 50% and about 25% in Chiang Mai and other northern provinces.
Meanwhile, the company said that more than 90% of people living in Thai-land’s urban areas had used smart phones.
Tesco Lotus CEO John Christie said that online shopping in Thailand, however, was quite small, accounting for less than 1% of total retail sales in Thailand.
In South Korea, online shopping accounted for 10% of total retail sales, and up to 12% of total retail market in the UK.
Tesco has operated its online grocery home shopping service in the UK for 12 years and online shopping business now accounts for about 4% of its total sales in UK.
Mr Christie aid that Thailand is the 7th country in the world for the firm to launch online shopping services, after the UK, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Ireland, South Korea, and Malaysia.
He said that Tesco had applied the same IT platform used at its online shopping service in many markets around the world to Thailand. It has, however, brought something new to online shopping in Thailand.
Mr Christie said that five Tesco Lotus stores in Bangkok – Rama II, Rama IV, Min Buri, Bangkapi, and Chaeng Wattana – were promoted as hubs for the home delivery of its online shopping service.
Mr Christie said that Tesco Lotus softly launched the grocery home shopping service at its Min Buri branch to test the system and trained its’personal shoppers’, who will be
professionally trained for selecting products purchased by its customers online.
He said that more than 20,000 product items had been bought in the online service, including fresh and non-food products. About 30% of them are fresh products.
Tesco Lotus currently operates about 148 hypermarkets, together with 1,100 Express stores across Thailand, including Phuket.
— The Nation / Phuket Gazette
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Business
The social media giants in battle with ‘old’ media and world governments | VIDEO

“The rules signal greater willingness by countries around the world to rein in big tech firms such as Google, Facebook and Twitter that the governments fear have become too powerful with little accountability.”
India has issued strict new rules for Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms just weeks after the Indian government attempted to pressure Twitter to take down social media accounts it deemed, well, anti social.
The rules require any social media company to create three roles within India… a “compliance officer” who ensures they follow local laws; a “grievance officer” who addresses complaints from Indian social media users; and a “contact person” who can actually be contacted by lawyers and other aggrieved Indian parties… 24/7.
The companies are also being made to publish a compliance report each month with details about how many complaints they’ve received and the action they took.
They’ll also be required to remove ‘some’ types of content including “full or partial nudity,” any “sexual act” or “impersonations including morphed images”
The democratisation of the news model, with social media as its catalyst, will continue to baffle traditional media and governments who used to enjoy a level of control over what stories get told.
The battles of Google and Facebook, with the governments of India and Australia will be followed in plenty of other countries as well.
At the root of all discussions will be the difference between what governments THINK social media is all about and the reality about how quickly the media landscape has changed. You’ll get to read about it first, on a social media platform… probably on the screen you’re watching this news story right now.
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Business
Turbulence ahead for Thailand’s aviation industry | VIDEO

When the airlines, in particular, were asking the government to put their hands in their pockets for some relief funding in August last year, it was genuinely thought that international tourists would be coming back for the high season in December and January. At the very least local tourists and expats would head back to the skies over the traditional holiday break. And surely the Chinese would be back for Chinese New Year?
As we know now, none of that happened. A resurge in cases started just south of Bangkok on December 20 last year, just before Christmas, kicking off another round of restrictions, pretty much killing off any possibility of a high season ‘bump’ for the tourist industry. Airlines slashed flights from their schedule, and hotels, which had dusted off their reception desks for the surge of tourists, shut their doors again.
Domestically, the hotel business saw 6 million room nights in the government’s latest stimulus campaign fully redeemed. But the air ticket quota of 2 million seats still has over 1.3 million seats unused. Local tourists mostly skipped flights and opted for destinations within driving distance of their homes.
As for international tourism… well that still seems months or years away, even now.
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Business
Domestic air passenger numbers double those of January

Passenger numbers on domestic flights within Thailand have doubled within a month, rising from 4,000 in January to over 10,000 this month. Having nearly recovered to pre-pandemic levels, domestic travel plummeted once more when Covid-19 resurfaced late last year.
Apirat Chaiwongnoi from the Department of Airports says 15 of Thailand’s 29 airports are now operating domestic flights, with more expected to follow. He believes the aviation sector will continue to recover further in the coming 6 months, bolstered by the national vaccine rollout.
Around 120 domestic flights a day are now operating, which is twice the number that were operating at the lowest point in the crisis. Prior to the resurgence of the virus in December, domestic passenger numbers had recovered to 30,000 – 40,000 a day, around 80% of pre-pandemic numbers.
The DoA says airports must continue to adhere to the Covid-19 hygiene measures put in place by the Health Ministry and the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand.
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
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