Central Retail unites food businesses across Thailand, Vietnam under new CEO

By Hai Yen
Thu, March 26, 2026 | 12:38 pm GMT+7

Thailand’s Central Retail Corporation Public Company Limited (CRC) has announced the integration of its three flagship food business units, including Central Retail Vietnam, under the unified leadership of Central Retail Food Group.

According to CRC's announcement last week, Central Retail Vietnam, which operates GO! malls, GO! hypermarkets, mini go! stores, Tops Market, and Lan Chi mart, is merged with Central Food Retail Company Limited (operating retail brands including Tops, Tops Food Hall, Tops Daily, Tops Online, Tops Care, and MatsuKiyo) and Central Food Wholesale Company Limited (operating Go Wholesale).

A GO! mall in Vietnam. Photo courtesy of Central Retail.

A GO! mall in Vietnam. Photo courtesy of Central Retail.

Following the restructuring effective from March 1, Stephane Coum was appointed as CEO to oversee CRC’s entire food business portfolio.

Speaking of the restructuring, Suthisarn Chirathivat, CEO of CRC, said that the strategic integration of the three flagship food units under Central Retail Food Group is another milestone for CRC under its “new heights, next growth” strategy.

The food business is a vital growth engine for Central Retail, consistently driving growth across retail and wholesale formats in both Thailand and Vietnam, he stressed.

In the first nine months of 2025, Central Retail posted revenues of nearly THB35.48 billion ($1.09 billion) in Vietnam, down 6.6% year-on-year due to exchange rate fluctuations.

The total Vietnam revenues included THB31.6 billion ($975.18 million) from food products, THB7 million ($216,080) from fashion products, and THB3.88 billion ($119.77 million) from hardline products such as home appliances and electronic items.

According to CRC's three-year strategy, capital expenditure for Vietnam will double compared with the previous plan, supporting the rollout of 10-12 new GO! shopping malls and 23-25 go! supermarkets over the next three years.

Central Retail is targeting annual growth of more than 10% in the market. The goals represent a significant upgrade from its earlier targets of opening 4-6 malls, 12-15 supermarkets, and achieving 5-6% growth.

The retailer currently operates 330 stores across 26 provinces and cities in Vietnam.

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