Bangkok - TOPS revealed today its successful performance for the first half of 2005 with 30% growth and increased market share. The company is currently celebrating its 9th Anniversary and has reported that more than two million customers have obtained its SPOT Rewards Card.

Mr. Ian Pye, President of Central Food Retail Co., Ltd, operating TOPS Supermarket, marketplace and City Market by TOPS, said "Our company has continued to grow by 30 % in the first half of the year compared with the same period last year. Furthermore, we have also achieved growth in our market share in the first and second quarters of this year."

"We continue to expand our range of high quality products from Thailand and overseas, that are high quality and exclusive, we have continued to develop and build the relationship enhancement program with our customers with 80% of our customers using the SPOT Rewards Card. We have also opened 6 new branches to fulfill our customers' demand to site our stores in more locations and have also arranged many activities throughout the year in TOPS Supermarket and marketplace by TOPS such as Thai Fruit Festivals, the Amazing Thai Longan festival, Tastes of Australia, and Tastes of the States, which have been very successful and helped us to achieve our goal for the first half of this year."

"For the second half of the year 2005, we have scheduled the opening of 10 new branches at the Saint Louis branch in July 27, 2005 and the Versailles Charan-sanitwong branch in August 3, 2005. We expect that by the end of the year, TOPS will have 90 branches in total all over the country, including the re-launching of Chidlom Food Hall by the end of this year,"
Mr. Pye added.

"We are strengthening our brand by enhancing product variety, quality, and supporting Thai quality products, by building channels for them to easily reach customers. We will also increasingly source imported products such as wine and other consumer products - including the recently launched successful Waitrose products from England and new products from countries such as Australia, Japan, and United States of America. We will launch new store concepts in order to refresh the TOPS' brand together with re-branding marketplace by TOPS, which we are now developing our new concept for Central World in year 2006," said Mr. Pye.