From Siam Piwat’s game-changing success towards a new “Above the Ocean” strategy, rising above all changes and moving forward with stability and sustainability

Throughout over 63 years of business in Thailand, Siam Piwat has overcome all sorts of crises especially at Siam – the fiercest battlefield of commerce and much more. Siam Piwat has been able to lead its partners and retailers out of each plight through the years. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, in which it was no less impacted than any other business, the Company parlayed the extensive experience it had amassed over the years into a toolset that enabled it to triumph over the crisis with grace.

While steering a business through hardships is already in a challenge for an executive in and of itself, changing the game to future-proof the business is an even bigger challenge. Yet, Siam Piwat Group’s chief Chadatip Chutrakul has proven herself as a leader time and again, having helped the business swiftly regain profitability when hit by a crisis, including the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

Ms. Chadatip Chutrakul, Chief Executive Officer of Siam Piwat Group, a leading real estate and retail developer, the owner and operator of world-renowned properties, such as Siam Paragon, Siam Center, and Siam Discovery, and a joint venture partner of ICONSIAM and Siam Premium Outlets Bangkok, said that the COVID crisis has been a great learning experience. Thanks to the experience it has gained from previous crises, coupled with a decisive move to quickly restructure the organization, Siam Piwat has been able not only to cope with the challenge but also generate more revenue in the first nine months of 2022 than in the same period of 2019, pre-COVID level despite the absence of foreign tourists.

Through the years, Siam Piwat’s mission is not to bethe number one in terms of the number of shopping centers or the largest market share in terms of area. Rather, Siam Piwat adopts a four-pronged Top-of-Mind strategy to ensure its resilience. The strategy consists of the following:

1.Top-of-mind among people: Siam Piwat seeks to establish top-of-mind awareness not only among Thai people but across the world. This goal is well within reach as Siam Paragon is the sixth most checked-in place in the world on Facebook and the world’s most checked-in location on Instagram, not to mention that all Siam Piwat’s shopping centers have been voted by tourists in various countries as their favorite destinations.

2.Top-of-mind among retailers: Siam Piwat is committed to its duty of ensuring the continuous success of ten thousand retailers across its shopping centers. As a testament, Siam Piwat has successfully generated astounding foot traffic, bringing in over 100 million visitors per year, more than 25 million of whom are tourists. Thanks to this, many brands with branches in Siam Piwat’s properties have achieved the country’s top sales, while international brands have similarly been able to push their sales into the world’s top 10.

3.Top-of-mind among business partners: Siam Piwat’s shopping centers not only sell products but also serve as a branding platform. Through the years, Siam Piwat has fostered relationships with various partners and joined hand with both government agencies and private sector to develop new business models to co-create and deliver to customers experiences beyond expectations.

4.Top-of-mind in the world: As shopping centers serve as magnets that strengthen Thailand’s position as a shopping paradise and its ability to attract visitors from across the globe, Siam Piwat strives to build properties that can rival other major projects around the world in order to earn acceptance across the global shopping mall business and curate a positive reputation for Thailand. Siam Piwat’s shopping centers have won over 40 top awards across various categories from world-class organizations – a phenomenal achievement thus far unattained by any other shopping center in Thailand or Asia.

“We do not have shopping centers in different provinces or nationwide; we have only four shopping malls and one luxury outlet mall, but all of them have been named winners at a global level by various world-class organizations and associations for, among others, innovation and design, revolutionizing the retail industry, marketing and generating world-class experiences, best support for SMEs, green leadership, sustainable development, and developing the world’s most desired destinations. All of these awards underline Thai people’s capacity, and today, many shopping center developers from different countries are seeking to come and learn from us.”

“Our business goal is not just profit. We seek to build relationships with retailers and partners that transcend time. A life reward for our employees is getting to create a second home for our customers and fulfilling their wishes and experiences to the best of our ability in every situation as well as creating a platform that fosters success for our retailers and partners. Thanks to these strategies and missions, we have been able to grow our sales by five times over the past seven years and increased the number of our subsidiaries from 32 to 48. Even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we were able to launch Siam Premium Outlets Bangkok, Thailand’s first-ever luxury outlet mall, in mid-2021 and successfully developed a new digital platform ONESIAM SuperApp in only 13 months,” said Ms. Chadatip Chutrakul.

While many organizations are still grappling with post-covid challenges, Siam Piwat has already drawn up new strategies.

Siam Piwat’s CEO added that 10 years ago, the company foresaw a possible disruption from digital evolution and thus began to shift its strategies for every shopping center towards creating value, developing fresh experiences that would speak to people, and fostering emotional engagement through emotional marketing. Siam Piwat also initiated a digital transformation internally as well as completed its data bank development in early 2022. Thanks to these efforts, the company was well-equipped to handle the COVID-19 pandemic and able to quickly develop a digital platform to serve its customers. Moving forward, Siam Piwat is looking to change the game with the concept Rise Above and Beyond, where it creates new strategies that will enable it to rise beyond all of its previous achievements, rise above all changes in the world, positive or otherwise, and ultimately rise above all challenges.

Siam Piwat’s next step is to shift from the Blue Ocean Strategy to the Above the Ocean Strategy, where it rises above all changes, takes a step back and views the business in a new context, tears down all old limitations, and innovates new things from its existing value without any limitations. Under this new strategy, Siam Piwat will operate without competitors and work hand in hand with partners to build an ecosystem to amplify its success and sustainability and create a world without frontiers filled with opportunities in every dimension.

Siam Piwat’s next move under the Above the Ocean Strategy is to expand its value creation initiatives into a universe of value by:

1.Creating a sharing economy through ONESIAM SuperApp and VIZ COINS

2.Co-creating experiences beyond expectations both through physical and digital platforms to expand the offerings and cater to global citizens

3.Collaborating to win by creating an ecosystem of success in collaboration with existing 50 partners across 13 industries

4.Fostering sustainable value in every process to create mutual growth for all involved, as well as the public, the environment, and economy; redefining and pioneering new businesses whether in the form of products, services, or platforms to create access to a better quality of life without leaving anyone behind; as well as contributing to restoring the environment and passing on a better world to posterity.

“Siam Piwat’s Above the Ocean Strategy will enable us to foster mutual growth sustainable with every sector, create a positive net impact for the public and the environment, and play a part in helping Thailand achieve greatness on the global stage, concluded Chadatip.”