“At the moment we’re cleaning up the area,” said SuperCheap MD Boonsom Anancharoonwong today (November 13) after meeting with Governor Maitree Intusut at Phuket Provincial Hall.
“We’re planning to start rebuilding at the beginning of next year, and will reopen around mid-2014. The cost will be about B100 million.”
That amount may appear large, but Mr Boonsom said that Supercheap’s annual revenue is between B4 and 5 billion.
“We came here today to say thank you to Phuket and to all the authorities involved for helping us during and since the fire.”
In the talks, Gov Maitree expressed concern for the wellbeing of SuperCheap’s employees. “We’re eager and ready to assist if anyone is having trouble getting a job after the fire, though so far there don’t seem to be any problems,” he said.
He also urged SuperCheap’s owners to make plans to minimise disruption of traffic during the reconstruction, and to be more prepared in future for disasters.
Mr Boonsom assured him that the company would have people on standby 24 hours a day, and an improved security system.
Funds for the rebuilding will come from insurance, Mr Boonsom said. “We’re insured and the insurance also covers damage of other houses nearby.
“We’re planning to rebuild to an [open air] design similar to the last one but with stronger materials. It will be two single-storey connected buildings, but with many more entrances and exits.”
Asked about the effect of the fire on the company’s finances, Mr Boonsom said, “Total company revenue dropped 30 per cent, but our minimarts are selling more since the fire.
“We’re still operating [in tents] in the parking lot, selling fresh meat, seafood, vegetables and other necessities but sales of larger items such as white goods and furniture will have to wait until after the reconstruction.”
The “cheapest store in town” model will continue, he said. “We watch the details, we minimise all unnecessary cost, and we train our department managers to manage their sections as if they were their own stores.
“Our aim is to achieve 10 per cent profit growth every year at every store. If profits grow more than that, we will use it to help keep prices down.”