Is there a future for Carrefour in Udon ?

> I have the same doubts about the future of McDonald's..We were there today and there were 3 other customers between noon and 1 PM...Every time we are there, we see a few farangs and very few Thais.

You overlooked that the whole shopping complex is not yet operating. If so there will be more people stopping by for a lunch.

Went to Carrefour this morning,there at 9am alongwith 3 other customers.I think the management seriously need to get their act together regarding cheeses, as has beem mentioned before,empty shelves,no camembert,brie ionly from the tin,one emmantel to choose from and no blue cheese.So if anybody was thinking of going today to stock up,do not bother,am sure if the management cannot sort out the supply chain for the store then they surely could never organize a pissup in a brewery!

I mentioned the dearth of customers in Carrefour and the new Lotus to a friend of mine. His eyes lit up as he told me about a trip he and his father (Chinese) just took to Loei. Apparently, the father hadn't been along that road in quite some time. When he saw Carrefour, Lotus, and Ngeesoon all lined up, he commented to his son, "Why would anyone build a business on the death highway?" He was referring to the Chinese and Christian cemeteries up the road from those 3 stores.
Of course, I'd never put those parts of the equation together.....but this is Thailand....the country that held an exocism in the new airport to improve business (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8351952.stm).

If they don't stock up their freshware anymore, then there is no reason to go there anymore, I'll have to cope with Big-C (noisy, full, but reliable) and Tops. And Nobi's, but I buy there anyway.
Would be a shame though, just happy to be able to buy nice things and gone already...
easy gained...

I am so sorry for asking such a basic question. But, I can not quite figure out where Carrefour is on the map of Udon. I read in a previous post that I may be able to pick up some non-alcoholic beer there and would like to do so, but I don't know the lay out of the city very well.

Carrefour is off the grid on Udon Map. If you are headed towards the main air port exit from the ring road, you just continue on the ring road as if you were going to Nong Bua Lam Phu or to the Khon Kaen turn off. You will see the Carrefour sign on your right as you are headed south and will have to make a U-turn at the next traffic lights to access the entrance to the store.

Thank you so much for very through directions. The help is much appreciated.

Many years ago when I first came to udon there was talk of a carreefour being built, now we have it and what a potmess that is, we also have a NEW tesco Lotus and one keeps asking the question WHY??
Carrefour certainly does ahave a fairly good selection of cheeses and some drinkable wines, but then 6 years ago we did not have the vast selection of foreign foods we have now, so seeing Carrefour in BKK was wonderful.

The post asked initially is their a future for carrefour , I think yes there was but not together with a new Tesco and a Bigger Issun supermarket and their locations suck as well.

So I think that one if not two might just have bitten off more than they can economically manage under the current finacnial climate.

I think this underscores my other post on the McDonald's opening thread. Connecting the dots to include these huge investments by Big Money, there is a pattern happening in Udon. IMHO, it's being prepped to be THE place for foreigners to move when they are ready to settle down away from the monger cities. Where else would the money to support all these investments come from?

So all this investment is due exclusively to the half of one percent of the population in Udon Thani that isn't Thai. Where do you imagine the money supporting these investments is coming from? Let me guess ... old-age pensions and beer bars...

Amazing. Are you using a Crayon while connecting those dots?

My observations is I think they misread the community, yes lots of expats. But, for the most part we are long time residents, they have a few items you can't find elsewhere at a lower cost. To find the right mix of product here would take a genius, we have people from all over the world.

Many of us eat Thai food for the most part.

Why would we need another Lotus still haven't got a clue on that, both are still operating.

The Chinese market I can see that, they have a huge following and always have. But, no parking or room for expansion at the store downtown. Long term investment that will pay off/ Look at Lotus and Carefour most of the items in stock can be purchased at Nissan at a heck of a lot lower cost.

The supporting operations are exactly the same thing you can find in the other large markets here, one exception the Santa Fe restaurant, I believe that is the name of it. Remind me of a class Mexican food operation as the name imply's, no Mexican food go figure. Nothing in the Menu you can't find elsewhere.

Maybe the city will grow that way and then they will have something. The only significant change to the products available was McDonalds, definetly expensive for Thai's. Personally about once a year would be plenty for me.

In the end we are for the most part we are not tourist and adapted long before they showed up. I just hope they don't put the small operations out of business that stepped up and provided for the expat community.

The economic impact of foreigners on Udon Thani (city and province) is relatively small.
Udon has a population of roughly 143K in the city, 247K in the province.

If there are 5,000 foreigners, that's only two or three percent of the total. On individual basis perhaps a higher impact proportionally, but not overall. I'd be surprised if city planners gave an inordinate amount of consideration to this segment of the population.

Texpat where did you get your population figures?

http://population.mongabay.com/populati ... udon-thani

and

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

Both are 2-year-old ballpark wags but close enough. Anybody know how many foreigners are in Udon? For permanent residents, 5K might be too generous.

We spend an average of $300 per month in supermarkets and markets. We probably spend 125 of that in Neesoon, 125 in the local market in Nongwahsaw and other markets, and 50 in places like Lotus/Makro. The beef, chicken, pork, and veggies we buy at the market are fresher and cheaper. It's the same stuff as the finest restaurants in Udon use, so it's good enough for us.