![Index Living Mall undertakes major revamp of 'Phuket Branch' Aim to be No. 1 in furniture & home decoration - Largest and best in South](/img/files/20230825/iqbea0e5678854f5c8e311eb451113b32f.jpg)
Index Living Mall undertakes major revamp of 'Phuket Branch' Aim to be No. 1 in furniture & home decoration - Largest and best in South, Linked to tourism revival, boosting real estate, home decoration growth
Index Living Mall Public Company Limited (ILM) initiated the major renovation of "Index Living Mall Phuket Branch" after 19 years of operation and is preparing to promote"ENJOY A NEW EXPERIENCE IN PHUKET?.MORE THAN EVER" towards being the largest and newest destination in Southern Thailand for home lovers and home decoration business group to emphasize the Company's No.1 position in furniture, household items and home decoration. A total budget of more than 70 million baht has been earmarked to transform the 11,642 square meters of floor area to ensure the fulfillment of household needs for all people. The newly innovated store has a bright and modern environment, ease of navigation for shoppers and is replete with every lifestyle solution. Be ready to savor five special experiences ? at the newest and biggest store, to support the tourism sector and the real estate business that are continuously growing. This is in line with the development strategy of Phuket Province to become the center of tourism, education, service innovation with international standard along with sustainable development. This improvement is expected to drive sales growth by 30 percent in the first year following this innovation.
Miss Kridchanok Patamasatayasonthi, Managing Director of Index Living Mall Public Company Limited (ILM), revealed that the Company has put in place a strategic plan to drive Index Living Mall to become the lifestyle mall of the future through "ENJOY A NEW EXPERIENCE IN PHUKET?.MORE THAN EVER" to provide complete lifestyles housing solutions through the investment of more than 70 million baht on the most significant renovation of Index Living Mall Phuket Branch in the past 19 years, in order to become the No.1, best and largest furniture in Southern Thailand! It is also set to become the new destination for home lovers and business groups who love to decorate, so they can: "DISCOVER A NEW DESTINATION, THE BIGGEST SELECTION OF HOME DESTINATION, ACCESSORIES, MATTRESSES, SOFAS & FURNITURE ETC. FOR YOUR HOME" The renovated Index Living Mall can accommodate all needs while fully supporting the tourism industry and other economic sectors, including hotels & resorts, villas, offices, restaurants, etc. The magnificently transformed store is set for official opening on August 24.
Index Living Mall Phuket Branch is transforming over 7,900 square meters of shopfloor into five newest and largest special shopping experiences, namely:
Ms. Kridchanok said Index Living Mall Phuket Branch is considered the Top 3 among tourist-frequented stores that has the potential to grow continuously. After serving customers for the past 19 years, the Company has recently decided to transform and to adjust the renovation plan for the branch and to fully add product brands to fulfill every desire, so as to become the No.1 destination as the largest and best furniture store in the South, and to support the economic growth in all dimensions in line with Phuket Province development plan: "To be the center for tourism, education, service innovation at the international standard level and sustainable development". These include striving for excellence in tourism, developing into a center for health and medical services, becoming an economic center to support international MICE (Meeting, Incentive, Convention, Exhibition) events, developing into a center of international education at the ASEAN level, including developing into a modern Smart City in all aspects, etc.
Currently, there are positive signs from the continuously improving tourism situation in Phuket. It was found that in the first half of 2023 more than 6 million of both Thai and foreign tourists visited Phuket to experience the natural beauty of the magnificent seascape, and Phuket's unique architecture and culture. Ranked No.1 among foreign tourists were Russians with 387,329 people, followed by India with 116,181 people. Russian tourists on average stay from 3 months to 1 year mostly in luxury and super-luxury hotels. Moreover, Russian tourists with high purchasing power also choose to buy properties such as condominiums, villas, units in low-rise projects and even yachts. At present, real estate projects in Phuket has been growing three times as fast, and half of real estate reservations have purportedly been made by Russian tourists. More popular areas include Laguna and Layan in Cherng Talay Sub-district, Khao Kad in Wichit Sub-district, and areas in Chalong and Rawai Sub-districts. From the aforementioned factors, Phuket Province has become a tourist city where foreign customers have made the highest number of transfers of condominium units, followed by Chonburi and Chiang Mai, respectively. This corresponds with information from the Real Estate Information Center (REIC) that indicated that Phuket is the province that has launched the highest number of residential projects with 4,550 units offered for sale, followed by Songkhla Province with 3,650 units, Surat Thani Province with 2,800 units and Nakhon Si Thammarat Province with 1,900 units. Where strictly condominiums are concerned, Phuket remains the province with the most new project launches with 3,690 units being offered for sale, accounting for 80 percent of the number of condominium units that are offered for sale in all four provinces as named above.
The demand for real estate continues to grow both for actual residences and for investment by those who recognize the growth opportunities arising from the recovery of the tourism business and the accompanying potentials in various areas, such as convenient transportation both by air and road that can easily connect to Phang Nga and Krabi provinces.
"The company is, therefore, using this opportunity to further leverage 'Index Living Mall Phuket' to become a landmark for home lovers that combines all needs for furniture, home appliances, home decorations and all electrical appliances in one convenient place. We expect to be able to drive sales growth of 30 percent in the first year after the store makeover. We also place great importance on providing a good environment to reinforce our determination to carry out sustainable business operations, using clean energy solar rooftop installation with an investment budget of more than 10.6 million baht. The system has an electricity generating capacity of 467 KW and is expected to produce approximately 654,491 kW of electricity. This system will be up and running in Q4/2023," Ms Kridchanok added.