by 0.3 per cent from the previous year to 72.6 billion baht (US$2.2 billion). The vast majority of that revenue stream comes from sales in its giant warehouses, which fell by 0.5 per cent to 68.0 billion baht ($2.1 billion), despite rising every so slightly in the fourth quarter. A little bit weirdly, the company claimed ‘sustainable’ sales growth in its presentation to investors, perhaps on the basis of steady growth in the preceding years. However, if it were not for new additions to the store fleet over the course of the last year, things would have been worse since same-store sales suffered a mini-implosion, falling by 4.0 per cent. After-tax profit edged up a percentage point to 6.5 billion baht ($197 million). The gross profit margin was also up slightly to 26.8 per cent, thanks partly to the expansion of HomePro’s private-label focus: it now has 25,000 items under 36 private-label brands. Another of the company’s smaller revenue streams is rental income from its popular Market Village shopping mall in the resort town of Hua Hin. The multilevel mall is anchored by a HomePro store and Lotus’s hypermarket. Rental income from this source, despite the continued improvement in tourism numbers throughout the last year, was down 1.5 per cent to 1.9 billion baht ($56 million). The company didn’t account for the decline. HomePro ended the year with 129 stores in Thailand and seven in Malaysia. Of the national store footprint in Thailand, 36 (28 per cent) of its superstores are in the all-important Greater Bangkok area. The plan is to have 12 more stores open by the end of this year. HomePro amps up its marketing Homepro is responding to the stagnating sales growth with promotions and marketing. It shifted its annual HomePro Expo and HomePro Fair marketing events out of exhibition centres and distributed them like fairy dust around its own store portfolio and online platform. It also conducted various promotions throughout the year to juice sales. The company is also amping up its pitch to B2B clients, such as the HoReCa segment (hotels, restaurants and cafes) and offices. A dedicated B2B site has been developed to target the business market. Sustainability initiatives HomePro is acutely aware of both its responsibilities and opportunities on the environmental front. The company has installed solar panels at 98 of its stores and introduced electric vehicles for deliveries. That’s not all: Weerapun Ungsumalee, the company’s managing director, said, “The Company’s approach [to sustainability] covers multiple aspects, including the Trade-In program; this provides customers with discounts on new purchases in exchange for old products, which the Company then proceeds to dismantle and dispose of properly. Furthermore, the Company has collaborated with its business partners to develop eco-friendly products (“Circular Products”), covering various categories, including appliances, tiles, shopping bags, and plastic storage. These products incorporate recycled materials sourced from the Trade-In program, supporting both a reduction in natural resource consumption and responsible waste management.” Thai Watsadu breathing down HomePro’s neck All very nice, but Thai Watsadu, the home improvement arm of Central Retail Corporation, is now breathing right down HomePro’s neck. Taking all of Central’s hardlines sales together amounts to 73 billion baht in the last year (compared with HomePro’s 68 billion), but that number is slightly muddiedby a few retail chains in Thailand and Vietnam that are not sold under the home improvement banner, for example, Power Buy, Office Mate, B2S and Nguyen Kim. Still, if you are willing to accept that these differently branded stores are essentially home improvement subcategories, then Central’s claim to beThailand’s leading home improvement retailer isn’t at all far-fetched. At the end of 2024, the Thai Watsadu chain had been extended by seven giant superstores to a fleet of 86, and four more are planned for opening this year. Meanwhile, Central is busy thinning down some of its underperforming hardlines stores among the aforementioned ancillary brands. Global House has problems too HomePro and Thai Watsadu don’t have the home improvement market all to themselves by any means. A third major player is Siam Global House, which is headquartered in the provincial capital of Roi Et, 500kms northeast of Bangkok, and its store portfolio is far-flung, extending throughout the Southeast Asia peninsula. The company notched up revenues of 33.0 billion baht ($1 billion) in 2024, which happens to be exactly the same as last year. Same-store sales were down by almost 5 per cent. The gross product margin was down a little, and net after-tax profit fell by 11.6 per cent to 2.4 billion baht ($71 million). Like HomePro, Siam Global House has responded to the competitive pressures with marketing initiatives and renovations but has also added seven stores to bring its portfolio to 90, very close to the number that Thai Watsadu has but with a lower percentage of units in the Bangkok metropolitan area. It also has 38 stores under various banners in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Indonesia. Consumer debt still a drag on performance Quarter after quarter, pretty much since the end of Covid, each of the leading home improvement companies has complained about the consumer debt problem that is inhibiting big-ticket purchases and delaying DIY projects. Certainly, this is playing a role in dragging down results, but that is not a problem likely to solve itself in short order. That means the total home improvement pie in Thailand will be growing only glacially, and with the sector leaders continuing to drive growth by adding stores, the crumbs falling to the rest of the industry players will get smaller.