Thai downtown mall considers duty-free shop

Lorna Strickland

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Thai downtown shopping mall Gaysorn Plaza has revealed plans to open a duty-free shop

Downtown retail centre Gaysorn Plaza in Bangkok is considering opening a duty-free shop at its shopping complex to attract international tourists. The shop will aim to capitalise on a recent rule change on the purchase of duty-free goods outside international airports and ports.

Gaysorn Plaza's management holding company G.S Property Management chairman Charn Srivikorn said: "Our team is studying the feasibility of opening a duty-free shop. We're now in discussions with our tenants, who are international brand owners. However, the government is in the process of reducing import duty on fashion products, which might defeat the purpose of setting up a duty-free shop at the mall."

If the move goes ahead the store is expected to open by December and will necessitate the setting up of a duty-free warehouse and logistics system.

During the first nine months of this year, the number of customers purchasing at Gaysorn Plaza increased by 11% year on year to 3.89m. Sales for the first half were up by 7.5%. G.S. Property Management has said it will spend Bt110m ($2.68m) on renovation works at Gaysorn Plaza next year.