Mall Fever : Phuket wants More ( Phuket News )
by Aparna Raut Desai
That malls are a great place to be would be attested by pretty much any number of Phuket residents you care to ask. There's nothing like the sanctuary of a great big air-conditioned oasis on a scorching hot Phuket day. Some enter and would probably never leave, if not for irate and bemused security personnel ushering them out at the end of a gloriously hedonistic few hours. There's something about the sheer volume of space, swirling masses of people that you are nevertheless detached from, and the convenience of finding pretty much anything you fancy- and a lot you wouldn't expect- up an escalator, down a floor or round a square. On Phuket, hundreds find their way to their favourite mall every week, sometimes everyday. Some are lured by low prices and discounts, others are attracted to quality and still others to absurdly extravagant price tags. Different shelves for different selves, but generally speaking, Phuketians have embraced malls with the felicity of a union between sticky rice and mango. They simply go together. A plethora of malls have sprung up over the last decade or so, with Central Festival and Jungceylon, more recent additions to the scene -- the latter having only thrown open its doors this year -- dwarfing many others that were already in place.The fabulously sabai-sabai Thai motto blends seamlessly with the comfort and convenience offered at colossal shopping stops. In a survey conducted by the Phuket Post, covering 200 odd locals and tourists in Patong, Phuket city, Kata, Karon, Kamala and Cherng Talay, an impressive 24% admitted that they visit a mall daily. 28% said they made weekly visits to malls, and 42% are to be found heading the mall way atleast once a month. An overwhelming 66% said they thought Phuket's malls were “excellent”, with only a small group of 14% insisting they are not as good as those in bigger cities around the world and a tiny fraction of 2% putting them down as “terrible”.One member of this last rather minuscule group reasoned that Phuket has just about enough of malls, and it would perhaps be a better idea to build universities and other educational institutions to promote learning among the younger generation.Which brings us to a rather pertinent but not a very pursued consideration: just how many malls are too many? Given the popularity of the superstore, there is no question that it is here to stay. But how many more do we want ...need...or indeed, are able to cope with? The construction of a Tesco Lotus store at Cherng Talay was in the eye of a recent storm, until the sudden lull, accompanied by the opening of the store. While those that virulently opposed the store did so mainly on the basis of doubts about the legal authorisation of the project, an essential part of their argument against the construction was the effect it may have on local businesses.Demonstrators argued that opening a big store in the heart of a residential area would eventually affect the sales of little stores and shops run by locals.Indeed, coming back to the survey conducted by the Post, 32% of the participants said they shop a great deals less at stores than they did before malls came along. 26% said they only visited small stores in emergencies. Together they constitute more than half of the total number of shoppers interviewed. 42% said they shopped at smaller stores as much as before.As for smaller stores themselves, a large number of erstwhile mom-and-pop stores have shed their Thai names and personalities to don the smart, crisp appearance and modus operandi of chain store marts. There is a certain change happening on the retail face of Phuket, and it's happening fast. However, it's a noteworthy fact that the local stores that have not yet changed their warm and local style of running things are holding on steadfastly and are a long way away from losing heart...or, as they report, business.“Yes, malls are popular,” says the owner of a grocery store in a suburb of Phuket city. “But people in the area sill prefer to come to my shop, as the service is personal and they enjoy chatting and exchanging pleasantries. They could never find that in a mall. “The sense of community keeps people coming here,” he said. “We have people who do their shopping with friends so that they can share what they couldn't afford alone.”It's exactly the kind of warm, communal kinship that would be lost if stores and neighbourhoods like this were on their way out. The beautifully Thai traits of sharing and caring between neighbours and friends could be threatened by the advent of competitive, consumerist want-it-all attitudes that now plague many areas in the developed world.The key word, as for most other considerations, is balance. And it is of course as elusive a notion here as anywhere else. Where do you draw the line? And who draws it? How do we find that delicate balance between modern convenience and social traditions? Certainly, the arguments for development are strong. Perhaps even more persuasive than convenience, is the case for employment. Malls do, without a doubt, provide employment and even opportunity for a great number of people. In Phuket, it's not just the service staff employed in the thousands at various outlets that need to be taken into account, there are also various SMEs that set up shop on the properties. A walk through Big C, Lotus, Central or Jungceylon will feature sightings of not only branded stores, but a plethora of little local stalls selling anything from spices to dried fruit, trinkets to silk, handicrafts to cheap sunglasses.As Khun Songphol Pongrapeeporn, General Manager Marketing Activities of Central Festival Phuket told the Phuket Post, Central Festival employs more than 1,000 working at the various outlets there. “One mall employs the equivalent of 3 hotels, in terms of numbers. Malls are important to the economy of Phuket not just for employment but also for SMEs and other businesses.” Khun Kijja , the General Manager of Index Living Mall Phuket, also emphasises the importance of malls to Phuket's economy. “The demand for consumer goods in Phuket has increased every year,” he said. “And as we know, Phuket is a tourist destination. Millions of people from around the world come to visit Phuket and we have to make sure that their needs are met as well. Prior the opening of the Index mall on Phuket, we had many customers from Phuket that wanted more choice than they had on the island. They chose to buy what they needed at our branches in Bangkok and had them delivered to Phuket. We opened the Index Malls on Phuket to satisfy the demands of the customers, so they can get want they want right here and do not have to travel to Bangkok.”Many of the people we interviewed in areas that do not currently have malls, including Kamala and Kata-Karon, cited travel as a reason for the need for more malls on Phuket. “We like to shop at malls, and if we had malls in our own areas, we wouldn't have to drive all the way to Patong or Phuket city,” they chimed. “We don't want to drive through all that traffic.” Indeed, some interviewees thought that having more malls spread across the state would reduce the congestion on the roads. Which brings us back, again, to the delicate question of balance. People want comforts and they want conveniences. In the rush for development and modernisation, it is often the traditional and the simple that is lost without a trace. Like the controversial proposed changes to the FBA, another bill mooted by the military government that met with vigorous opposition was a retail law, which proposed restrictions on the construction of supermarts and big stores to help reduce competition for traditional retail outlets.For now, the picture is rosy. The few malls and super stores on the island are doing a roaring trade, especially with the advent of the High Season. Locals and tourists alike are delighted with the huge complexes and the entertainment they offer. Local stores, even if in diminished numbers, are still commanding a faithful following.For the sake of culture and the beautiful simple ways that are still alive on the island, we hope that sooner rather than later, those responsible will come up with a definitive and realistic boundary on exactly how many malls are too many, so that Phuket, both modern and traditional may be allowed to coexist in harmony, without either facet threatening the existence of the other.
Reporting by Witchureerat Kunprom, Chutima Sridasatang and Sunisa Nuntharak
