Central Group
The Central Group of Companies or Central Holding is a family-owned conglomerate holding company in Thailand that is involved in merchandising, real estate, retailing, hospitality and restaurants. Among its subsidiaries are Central Pattana and the Central Retail Corporation. Its current CEO is Tos Chirathivat, grandson of the company founder. Its chief rival is The Mall Group, which owns Siam Paragon and The Emporium and several suburban shopping centres.
is the chief executive officer of the Central Group
Founder Tiang emigrated from Hainan Island to Bangkok in 1925. Most other Chinese immigrants started businesses in Chinatown, Bangkok. He set up his first shop in the Thonburi 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, where he opened a store with his eldest son, Samrit, in 1947. In 1956, the family opened Thailand's first department store in Chinatown. In 1957, Tiang's son, Samrit Chirathivat, opened the first Central Department Store in Wangburapha, 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 1982. Besides expansion through physical presence in the Bangkok retail space, Central Group has in recent years built an online presence among ASEAN e-tailers.
Major subsidiaries
- CPN real property development and malls management: CentralPlaza, CentralFestival, and CentralWorld.
- CDG, legally named Central Retail Corporation operates its department and retail stores: Central Department Store, Robinson Department Store, CRC Sports, La Rinascente, ILLUM, Alsterhaus, KaDeWe, and Oberpollinger. Central Embassy, a shopping center next to Central Chidlom, is also operated by CDG.
- CHR operates more than 40 hotels and resorts and private residences in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Maldives, and Sri Lanka.
- CRG food franchises in Thailand: Mister Donut, KFC, Auntie Anne's, Pepper Lunch, Chabuton, Cold Stone, Ryu Shabu Shabu, The Terrace, Yoshinoya, Ootoya, Tenya, and Katsuya.
- CFG offers fresh, grocery and household merchandise in multiple food retail formats to suit customer segment's needs. The format include Central Food Hall, Tops Market, Tops SUPERSTORE, Tops daily, Tops Superkoom, Eathai, Central Wine Cellar, Segafredo, Tops Shop Online, and FamilyMart. The business unit also bought Matsumoto Kiyoshi, Japan's number 1 drugstore.
- CHG home and electric appliances store: , Baan and Beyond, and Thai Watsadu.
- CMG high-end fashion imports such as: Casio watches, G-Shock, and Mango clothing.
- * CMG-MY operates popular fashion brands such as: John Master, KIKO, Baby KIKO, Trudy & teddy and Schwarzenbach
- CGVN operates central brands in Vietnam, Nguyenkim Shopping Center, BigC Vietnam, Lanchi Mart, LOOKKOOL, HOME MART, Robins, Delala, Supersports Vietnam, and B2S.
- COL books, stationery, and office store. It operates central group's e-commerce system and applications: B2S, OfficeMate, and Cenergy Innovation.
Malls
CPN">Central Pattana">CPN Malls
| Name | Opening | Floor area | Location |
| Central Lardprao | April, 1983 | Bangkok | |
| CentralPlaza Ramindra | November, 1993 | Bangkok | |
| CentralPlaza Pinklao | March, 1995 | Bangkok | |
| Central Marina | July, 1995 | Chonburi | |
| Central Chiangmai Airport | March, 1996 | Chiang Mai | |
| CentralPlaza Rama III | October, 1997 | Bangkok | |
| CentralPlaza Bangna | December, 2001 | Bangkok | |
| Central Rama II | December, 2002 | Bangkok | |
| CentralWorld | December, 2002 | Bangkok | |
| CentralPlaza Rattanathibet | December, 2003 | Nonthaburi | |
| Central Phuket - Festival | September, 2004 | Phuket | |
| Central Chaengwattana | November, 2008 | Nonthaburi | |
| Central Pattaya Beach | January, 2009 | Pattaya | |
| Central Udon Thani | April, 2009 | Udon Thani | |
| Central Chonburi | May, 2009 | Chonburi | |
| Central Khon Kaen | December, 2009 | Khon Kaen | |
| Central Chiangrai | March, 2011 | Chiang Rai | |
| CentralPlaza Phitsanulok | October, 2011 | Phitsanulok | |
| Central Grand | December, 2011 | Bangkok | |
| Central Suratthani | October, 2012 | Surat Thani | |
| CentralPlaza Lampang | November, 2012 | Lampang | |
| CentralPlaza Ubonratchathani | April, 2013 | Ubon Ratchathani | |
| Central Chiangmai Festival | November, 2013 | Chiang Mai | |
| Central Hatyai | December, 2013 | Songkhla | |
| CentralFestival Samui | March, 2014 | Ko Samui | |
| CentralPlaza Salaya | August, 2014 | Nakhon Pathom | |
| CentralPlaza Rayong | May, 2015 | Rayong | |
| CentralPlaza WestGate | August, 2015 | Nonthaburi | |
| CentralFestival EastVille | October, 2015 | Bangkok | |
| CentralPlaza Nakhon Si Thammarat | July, 2016 | Nakhon Si Thammarat | |
| CentralPlaza Nakhon Ratchasima | November, 2017 | Nakhon Ratchasima | |
| CentralPlaza Mahachai | November, 2017 | Samut Sakhon | |
| Central Phuket - Floresta | September, 2018 | Phuket | |
| Central i-City* | March, 2019 | Shah Alam, Malaysia | |
| Central Village Luxury Outlet | August, 2019 | Samut Prakan | |
| CentralPlaza Ayutthaya | 2021 | Ayutthaya | |
| CentralPlaza Siracha | 2021 | Chonburi | |
| CentralPlaza Chanthaburi | 2022 | Chanthaburi |
Department stores
All chains are operated by Central Department Store Group| Chains | Country | Branches |
| Central Department Store | Thailand | 22 |
| Central Department Store | Indonesia | 1 |
| Robinson Department Store | Thailand | 44 |
| Robinson Department Store | Vietnam | 2 |
| Rinascente | Italy | 9 |
| Illum* | Denmark | 1 |
| Alsterhaus* | Germany | 1 |
| KaDeWe* | Germany | 1 |
| Oberpollinger* | Germany | 1 |
| Globus* | Switzerland | 13 |
- in partnership with Signa Holding
Philanthropy
In 2020, Central Group donated 68 million USD to help Thai people during Covid-19 pandemic.
; Vietnam
In 2017, Central Group presented gifts to 3,600 disadvantaged children.
In 2020, Central Group donated 70,000 medical masks and 9,000 anti-drop glasses to two leading hospitals in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, National Hospital of Tropical Diseases Hanoi and National Hospital of Tropical Diseases Ho Chi Minh. Central Group presented 4 medical rooms for negative pressure isolation treatment, isolation support, and treatment of Covid-19 patients.