SPC Samlip enters Thai bakery market

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Business

Mon, October 2, 2023 | 22:52

Companies

SPC Samlip enters Thai bakery market

Posted : 2023-03-06 16:56

Updated : 2023-03-06 17:07

From left, SPC Samlip CEO Hwang Jong-hyun, SPC Group Executive Vice President Hur Hee-soo, Makro Thailand CEO Tanit Chearavanont and Makro Business Group CEO Saowaluck Thithapant pose during a memorandum of understanding signing ceremony held at a hotel in Seoul, March 2. Courtesy of SPC Group,

By Kim Jae-heun

SPC Samlip signed a memorandum of understanding with Siam Makro, a retail affiliate of Thailand's biggest conglomerate CP Group, to enter the Southeast Asian country's bakery market, the company said Monday.

It is the company's first partnership deal with a foreign company to seek overseas business. SPC Samlip and Siam Makro are considering the establishment of a joint venture to produce and distribute Korean bakery products in Thailand.

"Under the agreement, we will begin our bakery business in Thailand and expand it further in the Southeast Asian market. We will also promote the excellence of Korean baked goods in Thailand based on our business experience that has led the domestic market in Korea," an SPC official said.

SPC Samlip will start with a consignment operation of its bakery business in Siam Makro's in-store retail channels in Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries. It also plans to provide its know-how in the bakery business particularly in the areas of product development and quality management.

Furthermore, the company will cooperate with CP Group in various businesses such as bio and information technology based on its 70 years of research and development in fermentation-oriented microbial field and digital innovation.

Siam Makro operates 150 warehouse-type Makro stores and 2,500 Lotus large retail stores across Thailand. Its annual sales in 2022 showed 17.6 trillion won ($13.5 billion). The company is operating 10 Makro stores outside of Thailand in Cambodia, India, China and Myanmar. It is also running food retail and export businesses in Asia.

Siam Makro's mother company CP Group operates in 21 countries around the world in eight business fields among including food, retail, media and information technology. It currently operates 13,000 7-Eleven convenience stores in Thailand. As of 2021, the conglomerate's revenue reached 87 trillion won.

jhkim@koreatimes.co.kr