Big C

Hello everyone,
My name is Zoey, I am doing a research on shopping centers in Udon Thani.
I really need some information which you guys can definitely help me a lot.
So help me, please please
Can you please give me some information on Big C center? Is it located in the CBD of Udon Thani? What are its advantages (such as location, tenant mix..) and disadvantages?
Is the level of competition in its neigbourhood high?
And, is there any shopping center in Udon Thani called Big U?
Thank you very much in advanced. Please help.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_C

I am not sure that I would describe the Big C building in Udon Thani as a shopping complex. It is, basically a supermarket on the first floor plus a few retail units & retail units on the ground floor. Tesco & Carrefour (who have now been taken over by the owners of Big C) have very similar styled units in Udon also. The UD Town or Centra Complex are far more what I would think of as shopping complexes rather than the Supermarket + idea.
The Big C unit suffers from the fact that the building is now quite old. It is approx. 4 kilometres from the centre of Udon Thani & rather under the shadow of the over pass - which does little to add to the impression of a quality location.
I would think that the huge majority of people that shop come in their own private vehicles, so immediate competition in the area is probably of little importance - although Macro are about 1 kilometre away. The competition is really anywhere else in Udon Thani.
The site has a large area of undercover parking. This gives it a considerably advantage over the other supermarkets in the wet season, although the Complex also has undercover parking.
The quality of its fresh products is variable. The fish & meat area are not especially attractive although they do sometimes have low cost offers. They sell a reasonable amount of imported products, although probably currently the smallest selection of these products of anywhere in Udon.
From a personal stand point Big C would probably be one of the last places that I would currently go looking for grocery produce. However they do sometimes have very attractive offers on electrical equipment.
Some of the smaller retail units have built up a good reputation as well.
Amour is certainly the place that I would go first to get an electrical item repaired.
The Bank branches are handy because they are usually quieter than those in town & have the easy undercover parking.
I often used to visit the Svensons Ice cream place there (as I used to live nearby) but that has now closed.

Good post Bob
I had no idea that Big C had taken over Tesco's?
I must admit that shopping at Big C is becoming quite expensive excepting some special offers. Imported goods have rocketed in price considering the strong Baht which should make them cheaper.
Macro seems better value although even their prices are rapidly rising.
The big fruit and vegetable market close to Macro is much, much cheaper and they do have a good variety. Gone are the days when it was a cheap country as I think we all have to watch the pennies or cents in our pockets.
My UK pension has decreased in real terms by 38% add to that inflation it's probably about 50% dearer to live in Thailand than it was when I first came 6 years ago.
I went back to the UK this year and found that Tesco goods were mainly a lot cheaper than Thailand. Cereals were half the price as here and other everyday items such as bread,butter, milk and cheese were cheaper.
I suppose Thailand's attitude is " Make Hay while the sun shines".
I think that many members felt that the Thai economy could not sustain it's growth. It certainly has and IMO will continue to do so whilst Western countries suffer with their own economic problems.
I keep threatening myself to leave Thailand but just look at the weather back home Brrrrrrr!!!
I'm not sure if I could appreciate those rather large ladies in the UK prancing about in their jogging suits

No, not Tesco, Carrefour - sorry for the confusion Lepi.

zoey245 wrote:Can you please give me some information on Big C center? Is it located in the CBD of Udon Thani? What are its advantages (such as location, tenant mix..) and disadvantages?
Is the level of competition in its neigbourhood high?
And, is there any shopping center in Udon Thani called Big U?

Big C have a website that may be of some help to you ... http://www.bigc.co.th/en/stores/bigc/udonthani/

Give Khun Kao a call or send her an email (details on the website page), she is the Manager of Big C in Udon, and (I know ) she is very friendly and I think she would be most helpful. As are her management assistants. Best time to talk to them are during a party when they are all mao mak mak

Big U? Not that I know of but maybe it's coming!

Thank you very very much. Can you guys please answer these questions?
Which smaller retail units have built up a good reputation?
Which district/area is the CBD of Udon Thani?
And my boss is interested in Outlet Mall too, which goods are sold on its each floor?

BobHelm wrote:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_C
From a personal stand point Big C would probably be one of the last places that I would currently go looking for grocery produce. However they do sometimes have very attractive offers on electrical equipment.
Some of the smaller retail units have built up a good reputation as well.
Amour is certainly the place that I would go first to get an electrical item repaired.

I am unsure what you mean by CBD.
If you mean a centralised area where all shopping units are concentrated, then there is no such thing. There are a number of different areas that attempt to be that. Once the new Centra Complex is finished then I would think that it & the nearby UD Town will have the largest available selection in one place. Big C would probably not figure in a reply if you asked most people that question.
Sorry I am not going to list every shop in the Big C building & write a report on it. I have given you my overall impressions & opinions about the place & that is as far as I am willing to go - unless a large amount of baht is going to find its way into my hand.
I am sorry that have never been to the Outlet Mall, & I guess I probably never will, the concept & type of goods it sells really do not appeal to me.

Hi,
Bob, the Tescos just of the ring road, near Carr. has ample undercover car and disabled car parking. A lot of people still don't know this and I have never seen it more than half full. Beware of the speed bumps in it, they are not clearly marked. People still use the car park in the front of the building. Even in rain, don't know why as it has signs showing how to get to it. Still it gives the man with the big umbrella a job. To me the park looks a lot bigger than the Big C. one.

Hi Zoey 245, I read your posts and came across the one that said 'My boss wants to know about the outlet mall'
Can I this if your 'Boss' wants to know about the outlet mall, then he/she can get in their car and fiond out, I find it amazing that someone who wishes to find out about an outlet mall is seeking farang information when it would appear that you are Thai and probably your boss, so why do you not either visit or ring up the place you want to know about.
if you wanted to know about these stores from a foreigner in regards to its sevice,goods etc then I am sure we would help but as for finding out about shopping in Udon and its centralisation or lack of it, is something that can be advised I am sure by the municipality or even the chamber of commerce, I am sure .
Big 'C' has won the Carrefor franchise and paid for it , as for shopping experience in any of the places you mention it is entirely subjective.

So Zoey I suggest you use your fingers to do the walking and ascertain by other means the information you require.

Hey guys,
Thank you very much for answering my questions.
I don't live in Thailand and I really want to visit Udon Thani, the place is so beautiful as I see in the Internet. I'm working for a garment company outside Thailand, we plan to open a shop in Udon Thani.
So, thanks BobHelm and others. Very nice to get to know all of you.

Ah OK zoey...a little bit more information from you makes it easier to possibly answer your questions in a more meaningful way.
There are really four distinct sales area for garments in Udon Thani.
Firstly there is the 'cheap & cheerful' end of the business. A great many privately owned stalls sell cheap clothing in the 'Night Market (also sometimes called Centre Point) & in UD Town (there are a number of other places too), these are situated right in the centre of the City. There is also a large area called Bo Bay which is situated next to the Global House site which sells both to retailers & private individuals. The items tend to be very low cost & also quite low quality & often are 'look alikes' of famous brands.
Secondly the 3 large Supermarkets all sell their own ranges of clothing. These are also very cost competitive, but the quality is also of a reasonable standard. With the exception of 1 branch of Tesco (which is in UD Town) all these are on or near the ring road that surrounds Udon.
Thirdly there are the 'brand name' outlets. I would say that these are currently centred on the Centra Complex & The Outlet Mall. Centra is currently being massively redeveloped & expanded. When completed it will be a huge shopping centre. If it keeps the format of the existing unit then it will have a large variety of clothing stores within it, ranging from top Western brand names to areas where lower priced items are available. I am unsure of the financial viability of these brand stores. The list prices of the items tend to be excessive (you could buy 10 cheap & cheerful tee-shirts for the price of 1 there) & they are all usually running sales which advertise 50%-705 off list price. The thing that they did used to have going for them was that they often carried the larger sizes of items, whereas the lower range stores did not. However, the supermarket chains have also started to stock the large sizes.
Fourthly there is a large second hand clothing business.

Zoey, the fountain circle area has many garment and clothing material shops. There's also a large range of wholesale clothing shops in this area.

Also a new 3 storey mini shopping mall called Downtown Fashion Plaza' has recently opened nearby. This may be an ideal area for your type of business.

coming-soon-downtown-plaza-udon-thani-t15637.html

If you are looking to open a garment company (assuming a retail shop), you probably would not want to put it in Big C. That building is pretty dilapidated and it is frequented by the lower class shoppers. Robinson's (aka Central Plaza) has the most foot traffic, but parking is lousy and that building is also somewhat run-down.

Udon Town Center is the up-and-coming place for the middle and upper class shoppers. It's at the center of town. Parking is currently lousy, but that may improve as the area continues to develop. If I were going to set up shop in the downtown area, it would be there.

Outside the city center there is the Index Shopping Mall area right on Ring Road (NE section). That is almost entirely upscale by Thai standards and a typical bi-level modern strip mall by western standards. Ample and easy parking, but its location makes it the sort of place you would go because THAT is where you want to go. No incidental foot traffic there.

If I were setting up shop outside the city, I would certainly do it at the new Lotus or Carrfour shopping centers. It would get foot traffic from those doing daily shopping, parking is great, and there are a lot of new projects planned for the area. Retail, residential, and transportation projects will be opening up over the coming years nearby. It's location is near major roadway junctions and easily accessible traffic-wise from Ring-Road and the inner-city areas.

Just my two-satang. Cheers!

Central is the best place for a business to do well but the rent for a unit is very expensive.
Next would be UD Town....up and coming area,quite nice.One or two clothes places there but nothing major yet.Rent would be cheaper here and,in the future,could be a better option than Central.
Forget Retail Outlet....on the ring road and not so many customers.
Also forget Big C.....delapidated building 3kms out of town.....not much there.
So I'd say either Central or UD Town.....depends what cash you have available to put into your business.
Good Luck,whatever you decide.

OMG, you guys are awesome. Big thanks to all.
I tried to call Big C and Central Plaza yesterday, but their employees' English are bad, I have never spoken as slow as I did to them, so I can't get the rental rate
Dublin Tony, do you have the rent for a unit for these shops?