Central Group

Central Group is a Thai multinational conglomerate founded by Tiang and Samrit Chirathivat in 1947, and still privately owned by the Chirathivat family as of 2025^[update]. Its publicly traded subsidiaries include Central Retail, Central Pattana (commercial real estate development), and Central Plaza Hotel (hospitality group and restaurant operator). Its privately held subsidiaries operate several European department stores, including those acquired from the former KaDeWe Group and Selfridges Group, and financial services.

Central Group

Native name	กลุ่มเซ็นทรัล
Company type	Privately held
Industry	Retail property development brand management hospitality food and beverage digital lifestyle
Founded	1947; 78 years ago (1947)
Founder	Tiang Chirathivat Samrit Chirathivat
Headquarters	Bangkok , Thailand
Areas served	Asia Indonesia Japan Malaysia Maldives Sri Lanka Thailand Vietnam Europe Denmark Germany Ireland Italy Netherlands Switzerland United Kingdom
Key people	Tos Chirathivat (executive chairman and CEO)
Products	Shopping centers department stores restaurants hotels
Owner	Chirathivat family
Number of employees	80,000 (2022)
Subsidiaries	Central Retail Central Pattana Central Plaza Hotel
Website	centralgroup.com
Footnotes / references [1]

History

Founder Tiang emigrated from Hainan Island to Bangkok in 1925. He set up his first shop in the Thon Buri district on the outskirts of Bangkok across the Chao Phraya River from the city center. He moved across the Chao Phraya River to a location near the grand Oriental Hotel (now the Mandarin Oriental), where he opened a store with his eldest son, Samrit, in 1947.^[2] In 1956, the family opened Central Department Store, the biggest department store in Thailand at that time, in Wang Burapa district, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok. The company's property development arm, Central Pattana, was founded in 1980, and opened its first shopping centre, CentralPlaza Ladprao in Chatuchak District, Bangkok, in 1983. Besides expansion through physical presence in the Bangkok retail space, Central Group has in recent years built an online presence among ASEAN e-tailers and a strong presence of luxury department store collection in Europe.^{[citation needed]}

Public subsidiaries

Central Retail

List of Central Retail department stores

Name	Year founded	Notes
Big C	1993
Central Department Store	1927	One location in Indonesia[3][4]
Go!
Lanchi Mart
Robinson Department Store	1979	Acquired by Central in 1995
Tops Supermarket	1996
Robins	2014	Vietnamese rebranding of Robinsons Department Store
Zen	1989	Rebranded to Central in 2019

Central Pattana

Main article: Central Pattana

List of Central Pattana properties

City	Name	Year opened	Gross floor area
Ayutthaya	Central Ayutthaya	2021	160,000 m2 (1,700,000 sq ft)
Bangkok	Central Bangna	2001	500,000 m2 (5,400,000 sq ft)
	Central EastVille	2015	90,000 m2 (970,000 sq ft)
	Central Embassy	2014	1,000,000 m2 (11,000,000 sq ft)
	Central Ladprao	1982	310,000 m2 (3,300,000 sq ft)
	Central Pinklao	1995	370,000 m2 (4,000,000 sq ft)
	Central Rama II	2002	273,000 m2 (2,940,000 sq ft)
	Central Rama IX	2011	214,000 m2 (2,300,000 sq ft)
	Central Rama III	1997	188,000 m2 (2,020,000 sq ft)
	Central Ramindra	1993	86,000 m2 (930,000 sq ft)
	CentralWorld	2002	830,000 m2 (8,900,000 sq ft)
	The Esplanade Ratchada	2021	105,000 m2 (1,130,000 sq ft)
	Marche Thonglor	2023	62,000 m2 (670,000 sq ft)
Chanthaburi	Central Chanthaburi	2022	92,000 m2 (990,000 sq ft)
Chiang Mai	Central Chiangmai Airport	1996	250,000 m2 (2,700,000 sq ft)
	Central Chiangmai	2013	260,000 m2 (2,800,000 sq ft)
Chiang Rai	Central Chiangrai	2011	110,000 m2 (1,200,000 sq ft)
Chonburi	Central Chonburi	2009	156,000 m2 (1,680,000 sq ft)
	Central Si Racha	2021	140,000 m2 (1,500,000 sq ft)
Khon Kaen	Central Khonkaen	2009	200,000 m2 (2,200,000 sq ft)
	Central Khonkaen Campus	2026	67,000 m2 (720,000 sq ft)
Ko Samui	Central Samui	2014	76,000 m2 (820,000 sq ft)
Krabi	Central Krabi	2025	85,000 m2 (910,000 sq ft)
Lampang	Central Lampang	2012	110,000 m2 (1,200,000 sq ft)
Nakhon Pathom	Central Salaya	2014	185,500 m2 (1,997,000 sq ft)
	Central Nakhon Pathom	2024	126,000 m2 (1,360,000 sq ft)
Nakhon Ratchasima	Central Korat	2017	233,000 m2 (2,510,000 sq ft)
Nakhon Sawan	Central Nakhon Sawan	2024	133,300 m2 (1,435,000 sq ft)
Nakhon Si Thammarat	Central Nakhon Si	2016	125,000 m2 (1,350,000 sq ft)
Nonthaburi	Central Chaengwattana	2008	310,000 m2 (3,300,000 sq ft)
	Central NorthVille	2003	210,000 m2 (2,300,000 sq ft)
	Central WestGate	2015	352,000 m2 (3,790,000 sq ft)
	Central WestVille	2023	93,000 m2 (1,000,000 sq ft)
Pattaya	Central Marina	1995	70,000 m2 (750,000 sq ft)
	Central Pattaya	2009	210,000 m2 (2,300,000 sq ft)
Phitsanulok	Central Phitsanulok	2011	100,000 m2 (1,100,000 sq ft)
Phuket	Central Phuket	2018	400,000 m2 (4,300,000 sq ft)
Rayong	Central Rayong	2015	155,000 m2 (1,670,000 sq ft)
Samut Prakan	Central Village Luxury Outlet	2019	80,000 m2 (860,000 sq ft)
	Megacity Bangna	2021	500,000 m2 (5,400,000 sq ft)
Samut Sakhon	Central Mahachai	2017	131,250 m2 (1,412,800 sq ft)
Shah Alam, Malaysia	Central i-City[a]	2019	259,000 m2 (2,790,000 sq ft)
Songkhla	Central Hatyai	2013	295,000 m2 (3,180,000 sq ft)
Surat Thani	Central Suratthani	2012	130,000 m2 (1,400,000 sq ft)
Ubon Ratchathani	Central Ubon	2013	186,284 m2 (2,005,140 sq ft)
Udon Thani	Central Udon	2009	250,000 m2 (2,700,000 sq ft)

1. Central i-City is the only CPN-owned mall that does not feature Central Department Store or any Central Group retail stores.

Central Plaza Hotel

Central Group owns and manages visitor accommodation at all major Thai tourist destinations and around the world under own banners as well as international brands. Hotels cover every segment from luxury to economy. Central’s own brands comprise Centara Reserve, Centara Grand, Centara Boutique Collection, Centara, Centra by Centara and Cosi, while internationally branded hotels include Park Hyatt Bangkok and Hilton Pattaya. In the Maldives, Centara Grand is opening its fourth location on February 1, 2025. In Japan, Central Group is a co-investor in StayFactory Hotel Group, whose brands include Hotel Hillarys, Hotel Relief, and Hotel Stork. In Switzerland, Central Group has also comprised Central Hotel Zurich company and Globus supermarket.

Central Group has also pioneered restaurant chains in Thailand, and operates well-known local, regional, and international food brands such as Mister Donut, KFC, Auntie Anne’s, Pepper Lunch, Chabuton, The Terrace, Yoshinoya, Ootoya, Tenya, Katsuya and Fezt.^[5]

Private subsidiaries

European luxury stores

List of Central Group department stores in Europe

Country	Name	Year founded	Year acquired	Notes
Denmark	Illum	1891	2013
Germany	Alsterhaus	1912	2015
	Kaufhaus des Westens	1907	2015
	Oberpollinger	1905	2015
Italy	La Rinascente	1865	2011
Ireland	Arnotts	1843	2022	Joint venture with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund
	Brown Thomas	1848	1983	Joint venture with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund
Netherlands	De Bijenkorf	1870	2022	Joint venture with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund
Switzerland	Globus	1907	2020
United Kingdom	Selfridges	1908	2022	Joint venture with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund

Financial services

One of Central Group's aspirations towards the New Central New Economy strategy is to create convenience for both merchants and consumers with financial services and Fintech, with the ultimate goal of a cashless society in Thailand.

• Credit – The1 credit card, sales finance, personal loans
• Payment – gift cards, e-payments, e-wallets
• Insurance brokerage – motor, health, personal accident, property & casualty, group life ^[6]

Gallery

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  Central Embassy, Pathum Wan, Bangkok