CP Axtra's Go Fresh Mini-Supermarkets Drive Thai Retail

CP Axtra has significantly expanded its Go Fresh mini-supermarket chain while halting new supermarket and hypermarket openings over the past three years. The company, which owns the Lotus’s chain of hypermarkets, supermarkets, and Go Fresh stores in Thailand, grew its Go Fresh count by 77 to 2,173. During the same period, it opened no new supermarkets, keeping the total at 178, and added just three hypermarkets for a total of 228.

Mini-supermarkets gain traction in Thailand’s underserved areas

Mini-supermarkets are spreading rapidly in rural Thailand, offering localized assortments and convenience where larger formats are not viable. In the south of Sisaket province, the town of Duan Yai, with a population of around 5,000, illustrates the demand. The nearest 7-Eleven is about 10km west in Bu Sung, a town of about 10,000. In Thailand, a town getting its first 7-Eleven, affectionately shortened to 'seven', earns bragging rights over neighbouring villages without one.

These mini-supermarkets are expanded and more sophisticated versions of convenience stores. Newer units tend to be larger, sometimes up to 400sqm. They offer exceptional convenience. Hyper-local merchandising is a key feature. They carry less brand redundancy and use small package sizes to fit more stock-keeping units in less space. From the retail chain’s standpoint, they lend themselves to franchising, which simplifies the store-level operating model. Economically viable locations for large-format supermarkets and hypermarkets are mostly taken. Mini-supermarkets, with their lower property costs than mall-based hypermarkets, are spreading like wildfire in the countryside of Southeast Asia.

Competitors scale mini-formats amid shifting retail landscape

Retailers across Thailand and Southeast Asia are expanding mini-supermarket networks as large-format saturation limits further growth. CP Axtra falls under the CP All group, which holds the sole licence to operate 7-Eleven stores in Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos. CP All opened more than 200 7-Eleven stores in the latest quarter alone. Over the past three years, the number of 7-Elevens increased by 2,070 to well over 16,000. 7-Eleven’s specialities are prepared meals, a large health and beauty selection, and everyday household items.

Central Retail had 511 Tops Daily small-format grocery stores by mid-2024 following acquisition and rebranding of Familymart. By mid-year, the count was up to 562, a net gain of more than 50 stores. Its portfolio of full-sized supermarkets increased modestly from 167 to 172. The company also operates Robinson Lifestyle malls and Tops Plazas. Its sibling company, Central Pattana, is Thailand’s largest mall owner.

Big C has fewer hypermarkets and supermarkets than it did three years ago. Its Big C Mini units, however, increased by 80 to just over 1,550. The company also signed up nearly 33,000 independent shops to its Donjai network. Under this model, up-front investment is about US$8,000 shared between the shop owner and Big C. The network provides local demographic insights and a modern point-of-sale system, which requires an additional monthly fee to maintain. Shop owners must purchase about 50% of their inventory from Big C.

This trend extends beyond Thailand. In Malaysia, mini-supermarket chains like 99 Speedmart and 7-Eleven are now almost ubiquitous. In the Philippines, SM Retail operates Alfamart mini-supermarket formats. Over a three-year period since mid-2023, SM Retail opened five hypermarkets, four supermarkets, and more than 800 Alfamart mini-supermarkets. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven’s Philippine store count rose by more than 1,100 to 4,650. These formats serve as everyday convenience options in dense residential neighbourhoods and in underserved regional areas with little or no modern retail. Hundreds of thousands of independent general stores still operate across Thailand, presenting a vast potential market for modernization and affiliation. CP Axtra’s Go Fresh store count now stands at 2,173.