Index Living Mall rolls out Little Walk concept
Village-style project built on limited land
Index Living Mall Co, a furniture and home decor chain, is introducing a second community mall brand as part of its retail expansion plan.
The Little Walk, located in Bang Na district near Thainakarin Hospital, will open in the next 1-2 months. The 100-million-baht mall has retail space of 4,500 square metres. The mall will have 20-30 outlets including a supermarket, coffee shops and restaurants, which have been designed under the village concept.
It is the company’s second community mall concept which does not contain an Index Living Mall outlet. If the project is successful, it will be used as a business model to develop on limited land while the Walk, the company’s first community mall brand, will be geared toward more crowded communities.
The company will continue to open 2-4 branches of the Walk and Index Living Mall per year, depending on the economic situation and market potential.
All of t hese plans are expected to boost Index Living Mall’s sales to reach 10 billion baht, said f ounder Pisith Pattamasattayasonthi.
Meanwhile, The Little Walk has been placed under the responsibility of Mr Pisith’s third child, Ekalak Pattamasattayasonthi.
“I have transferred the day-to-day business management to my children because they are active and have fresh ideas,” Mr Pisith said. “I’ve never thought I was Superman and I believe in them. I taught them to be bold in making decisions. Don’t be afraid to do something wrong, otherwise our business won’t grow.”
Apart from the domestic market, the company is putting more effort into expanding its business abroad by using the Index Living Mall brand to penetrate the Asean market.
“We’ve embarked on the mission of becoming the number one or two brand in every market we expand into, both at home and abroad,” Mr Pisith said.
Currently, there are 27 Index Living Mall branches and three community malls under the Walk concept in Thailand. The company also has Index Living Mall branches in Malaysia and Vietnam. Index Living Mall is studying the feasibility of expanding into Cambodia, the Philippines and Indonesia.
Until now, Mr Pisith said Index Living Mall is likely to rank among the top three furniture and decorative item store chains in Asean.
Index started its furniture business two decades ago by exporting to the global market. With fierce competition from Chinese furniture makers, it decided to sell its products via retail channels. After facing high rents from shopping complexes, the company created its own retail channel by opening its first Index Living Mall store in Pattaya.
Apart from furniture, the company has also expanded its product portfolio to decorative items under its own design. Since then, its business has gradually improved, with sales reaching 10 billion baht last year.
Apart from furniture and decorative items, Index Living Mall also provides home service solutions to customers and has its own electrical appliance store chain under the Power One brand.
The company also distributes upmarket imported furniture brands. Export sales account for 5% of Index Living Mall’s total sales.
“We’re now a leading brand in Asean and we hope to one day become a global brand,” Mr Pisith said.