Central Food Retail Company Limited (CFR) will reposition and re-brand its family of supermarkets in 2006 backed by an 800 million baht investment.

The company, which was one of the world's fastest growing supermarket operators in 2005, will unveil new formats and branding for its existing supermarkets as well as launch a new concept ? Tops Daily.

The existing family supermarkets, marketplace by Tops, Tops Supermarkets and City Market, will change to Tops Market, Tops Super and Tops Daily and each chain will be given a fresh, modern brand image.

CFR President Ian Pye says that the intention is by 2010 to almost double store sales to 30 billion baht and to increase share of the market.

"Our strategy is to accelerate new store growth and to upgrade 45 of our existing stores over the next 3 years , " says Mr Pye. "At the same time, internally, we will continue our policy of controlling costs and increasing our space efficiency to keep dailyvering competitive prices.

This year, CFR will open the 8,000 square-metre Central World Food Hall in August at a cost of Bt350 million and open between 15 and 20 new stores.

"We are targeting an increase of 15-20 per cent in sales growth in 2006. We have lots of new developments planned for this year which will clearly demonstrate that we are not only the leading supermarket, but the best food retailer in Thailand. Central Food Hall Chidlom is a world class store and we believe we are already one of the best food retailers in Asia and by 2010 we will be a world class food retailer," says Mr Pye.

The year 2006 marks the second year of a strategic transition program for Central Food Retail (CFR), placing the Tops supermarket brand as the leader in Thailand for quality products with an increased number of retail outlets and an image of friendly service in modern and convenient locations.

A highlight of the new strategy will be Tops Daily, a supermarket in a convenient location. These stores will offer a complete range while also providing a convenient place for a quick, proper meal. The initial plan is to open five of these stores this year and a further 15 in 2007.

The 800 million baht investment in repositioning the family of supermarkets is a result of solid performance and profit of 500 million baht in 2005.

"In 2005, we completed the first full year of transition," he says. "We achieved excellent growth in sales, market share and profitability. At the same time, we concentrated on building our team, and continuing to reduce our staff turnover."

In 2005, Central Food Retail managed to improve staff productivity by 12 percent while saving 6 per cent on energy costs with its energy management programme.

During 2005, CFR opened 15 new stores and carried out two major refits to existing stores. "We took on 3,000 new international products and achieved a 24 percent sales increase, following on from the 14 percent increase of 2004."

As a result of the growth strategy, CFR has taken a 10.2 percent share of the supermarket-hypermarket food and beverage sales sector. One huge success in 2005 was the launch of Central Food Hall Chidlom which set a new standard of food retailing in Thailand and immediately became recognised as a world class store. It was an instant success with an increase of 20 per cent in customer numbers and an increase in sales of 20 per cent. 40,000 customers shop at the store every week.

An increase in wines available and wine sales has been an important factor in the growth, CFR having created a new listing of 400 exclusive, directly imported wines, which drove wine sales upwards.

Connections with suppliers and landlords have also played a key role.

"We are working very closely with suppliers and landlords. Last year we visited 73 provinces and I have personally met most of the independent department store/ supermarket owners to explain our strategy for mutual benefit. The strength of the Tops brand has already substantially increased traffic flow to the department stores that we have opened in. This is win-win for Tops, landlords and of course our customers. We are now the preferred supermarket operator by many landlords.

"Much of our success has come from these face to face meetings because we like to demonstrate that it is the individual who counts in our business, and that we have the flexibility to meet specific demands," says Mr Pye.