Thai retail giant Big C Supercenter has acquired Cambodian convenience store chain KiwiMart through its Cambodian subsidiary to strengthen its retail business in the neighbouring country.
Big C Supercentre (Cambodia) Pte Ltd reached an agreement last week to acquire KiwiMart Cambodia, according to Big C Supercentre adviser Gary Hardy.
The acquisition became effective May 17, but the value of the transaction was not disclosed.
“The acquisition of KiwiMart marks an important opportunity for Big C and its parent company, Berli Jucker, to expand its business in the Asean region, including Cambodia,” he said.
With this deal, Big C will own 18 KiwiMart stores in Cambodia, of which 17 are in Phnom Penh and one in Kampot province.
Big C has been in Cambodia since 2019, opening its first Big C hypermarket in Poipet with a total area of 8,000 square metres.
Currently, Big C operates two branches in Cambodia: one is a Big C Mini branch and the other is a Big C Hypermarket branch.
KiwiMart was established in 2017 as a 24-hour convenience store, selling a wide range of products including French, Thai and local brands to both domestic and international customers.
“Big C realised an opportunity to expand its business across Cambodia through online and offline platforms and make our products more accessible to Cambodian consumers,” he said.
Aswin Techachareonvicul, chief executive officer of Big C Supercentre, said Big C plans to continue expanding its branches in the country to increase the purchasing power of Cambodian consumers.
The company expects its expansion in Cambodia will create job opportunities for up to 1,200 locals over the next few years.
In March, Big C’s parent company Berli Jukkah announced plans to invest 60-70 billion baht in its five-year business plan from 2022 to 2026 to double the size of its modern retail operations across Southeast Asia and double its sales to 270 billion baht.
About 12-14 billion baht will be allocated annually over the next five years as the company plans to develop an ASEAN trading platform, a customer data platform, a supplier management platform and a product and service development platform to expand its business and maintain sales and profits.
Of the total budget, 70% will support retail, while 30% will go to packaging, consumer goods and healthcare businesses.
The company plans to open 2,091 modern retail stores across Southeast Asia during this period, increasing the number of modern retail stores to 3,739 from the current 1,648.
Cambodia Investment Management (CIM) acted as advisor to Kiwi on the transaction. Bangkok Post
- tag: Big C Supercenter, Kiwi Mart