CRC eyes tourism-driven growth in Thailand and Vietnam for retail expansion, says GlobalData

Thai retail company Central Retail Corporation (CRC) announced an investment of THB 28bn (US$ 826.6mn) in February to expand its presence in its core markets Thailand, Vietnam, and Italy in 2023. The investments come in as a response to the slow return of the travel and tourism sector to normalcy after the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the new investment, CRC targets to exploit the expected tourism-driven economic rebound in Thailand and Vietnam, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

According to GlobalData’s estimates, the Thailand and Vietnam economies are expected to show real GDP growth of 3.8% and 6.1% in 2023, respectively. A significant portion of their GDP is tied to tourism. Furthermore, the size of the retail market in Thailand is expected to grow by 7.7% to reach US$ 166.5bn (THB 5,889bn)…