Thailand’s Big C Supercenter, the retail unit of Berli Jucker (BJC), has been aggressively expanding its store network, but no part of the company is fattening up faster than its play in the country’s vast mom-and-pop sector: its network of traditional shops that have signed up to collaborate with the giant retailer under a concept called ‘Donjai’ has exploded to over 4,000 in only the second year since it was quietly introduced. There are literally hundreds of thousands of small indepen
pendent grocery shops in Thailand, many of them without inventory management systems and occupying spaces that are distinctly lacking in glamour and décor. Enter the Donjai concept. For an investment reported to be in the area of 250,000 Thai baht, roughly split between Big C and the shop owner, the shop gets an upgrade that often includes a modern POS system or alternative…
