Siam Royal View residents will no doubt be delighted with the news that Tesco will be opening in Koh Chang. It has been reported that within the next month or so, the international supermarket giant’s Thai subsidiary, Tesco Lotus, will be opening three shops on the island’s west coast. The arrival of Tesco’s will add a greater degree of choice to Koh Chang’s grocery shopping.
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The news has been greeted with great excitement by local residents, both Thai and international, in the expectation that the presence of Tesco on Koh Chang will lower prices of groceries and every day products. The news has been somewhat less enthusiastically received by the island’s other provision retailers who fear that Tesco supermarkets on Koh Chang will damage the virtual monopoly and high margins from which they have benefitted for many years. {timg title:=”Tesco Lotus” thumb:=”images/stories/srv/blog/small/tesco.jpg” img:=”images/stories/srv/blog/big/tesco.jpg” gal:=”gallery-content”} Residents of Siam Royal View will be especially delighted that Klong Son village has apparently been chosen as the location for one of the three stores. The close proximity of a well-stocked supermarket within an easy walk of their homes is yet another positive addition to the range of amenities at Siam Royal View. |
The two other locations for the Koh Chang Tesco stores are reported as being Coconut Plaza, Chai Chet and a location on Klong Prao. Due to the island’s size, the stores will not be the giant hypermarkets found in major cities on the mainland. Instead, all three of the outlets on Koh Chang will be Tesco Lotus Express stores. There are nearly 200 of these smaller supermarkets in Thailand and while they will carry a smaller selection of the company’s product inventory, they will provide for most people’s daily needs. Most Tesco Lotus Express shops carry a good range of household products, fresh fruit and vegetables, canned and bottled goods as well as offering meat and fish selections. As yet there has been no announcement of the opening dates for any of the stores, but it has been suggested that they could be open within a matter of weeks. |
