Tesco Lotus counters protests against Phuket Town project

PHUKET: Thailand’s leading retailer Tesco Lotus has issued a corporate statement in response to the more than 500 local traders, business owners and residents in Phuket Town who protested on Thursday against its plan to build a large shopping mall on Bangkok Road.

The statement reads: “Tesco Lotus has been operating in Thailand for 18 years, delivering excellent value for our customers and actively contributing to local communities where we operate.

“We have helped customers lower their cost of living through low price products and promotional campaigns, offered business opportunities to over 5,000 suppliers who sell their products in our stores, created over 40,000 full-time jobs nationwide and helped local communities through active staff volunteering of over 2.3 million hours last year.

“We serve a large number of customers each week, including small retailers who can buy our products in bulk to sell at a healthy margin.

“We always ensure that any proposal to open a new store complies with the relevant local and national regulations. For the planned project, we have gathered feedback from the community and conducted an environmental impact assessment which will be shared with the local community.

“We will continue to engage all local stakeholders to ensure that any action we take will best serve the people of Phuket.

Tesco Lotus also used the opportunity to remind Phuket residents about its efforts to reduce the use of plastic bags on the island:

“Tesco Lotus is continuing its campaign to reduce plastic bags in Phuket, to educate customers about the environment and give away cloth bags instead of plastic bags to customers at Tesco Lotus Thalang and Phuket Town stores from August 17 to 19.

“The campaign is part of Tesco Lotus’ commitment to conserving the environment. These include many campaigns in Phuket, such as producing 30,000 cloth bags, supporting environmental training for young people, and a forthcoming beach-cleaning activity by Tesco Lotus staff at Surin Beach on August 23.”

Tesco remains one of Thailand’s most successful retailers, announcing in its annual report 2011 a revenue of 140.84 billion baht.