News Forum - Shopping mall in Chiang Mai goes dark, couldn’t afford 20 million baht power bill

[Thaiger]

Tenants and staff were in shock after a shopping mall in Chiang Mai suddenly announced temporary closure due to economic fallout from Covid-19. Or is it economic mismanagement? Thai media have reported that the centre had more than 20 million baht in debt from electricity bills and had to close immediately because they were unable to pay the bill. Today, the shopping centre Promenada Chiang Mai sent an official letter to each tenant and store that the shopping centre would temporarily close from today onwards. Thai media reported that each store staff was shocked as they hadn’t received any alert […]

The story Shopping mall in Chiang Mai goes dark, couldn’t afford 20 million baht power bill as seen on Thaiger News.

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[a3tsw]

2 hours ago, Thaiger said:

Thai media reported that each store staff was shocked as they hadn’t received any alert

I guess that , that occurred before they cut the supply.

[HolyCowCm]

We just had two take home pizzas from Dukes on Tuesday night. I actually really like this mall but it does need a little help. 

[KaptainRob]

4 minutes ago, HolyCowCm said:

We just had two take home pizzas from Dukes on Tuesday night. I actually really like this mall but it does need a little help. 

Promenada was doomed from it's inception.  Poor location too far out of the town centre; poor design with no anchor tenancy, attached hotel or residence towers; and a Euro management company from a dubious background.

CNX Immigration kept Prom alive for several years and drew customers for grocery shopping at Riimping, a farang-import-Villa market type store, and to eat at Wine Connection or The Dukes.  Immigrations move to new premises was the final nail in a covid-assisted death for Promenada.

I feel sorry for Cha Ching electrical and Rimping, 2 excellent retailers, and I would hope an eventual buyer will rejuvenate the Prom with a hotel/convention centre or residential development.  The buildings could likely take added floors or extensions as foundation work was quite extensive.

San Kampaeng residents will have to travel a bit further to shop, you too HCCm, and I'm sure the empty spaces in Central's malls will soon be filled.

[CMTH]

The amount of businesses and staff impacted by this is mind boggling; the losses, improvement’s to stores, restaurants, to individuals; this literally bankrupts everyone involved. This is obviously due to gross incompetence; 4 months of unpaid PEA bills amounts to people’s lives being decimated. How is this even possible…? Where is government intervention in Chiang Mai? Sure, the mall may be bankrupt, but the independent businesses aren’t…

[HolyCowCm]

2 hours ago, KaptainRob said:

Promenada was doomed from it's inception.  Poor location too far out of the town centre; poor design with no anchor tenancy, attached hotel or residence towers; and a Euro management company from a dubious background.

CNX Immigration kept Prom alive for several years and drew customers for grocery shopping at Riimping, a farang-import-Villa market type store, and to eat at Wine Connection or The Dukes.  Immigrations move to new premises was the final nail in a covid-assisted death for Promenada.

I feel sorry for Cha Ching electrical and Rimping, 2 excellent retailers, and I would hope an eventual buyer will rejuvenate the Prom with a hotel/convention centre or residential development.  The buildings could likely take added floors or extensions as foundation work was quite extensive.

San Kampaeng residents will have to travel a bit further to shop, you too HCCm, and I'm sure the empty spaces in Central's malls will soon be filled.

I liked it as an alternative every so often go to and that Dukes was my favorite. Even movies were ok there. It was great when it first opened flowing with people but that eventually dwindled which became the death of the food court.
There is still Big C right there that I primarily go to in that area and then the other Rimping by the steel bridge which was always my main place to visit. 
For shopping we flip around and even use Thai open markets. I as just thinking it is a shame that it didn’t quite make it but that was a no brainer to know it was just a matter of time before it goes bye bye. 
Ih, and I liked the occasional visit to Toys R Us too. 
I always thought that air conditioning at that place with those high non insulated roofs would have to be a money pit. 
Anyway, I hope someone or some group gets it and builds it up the right way. 

[PapayaBokBok]

Start to convert it for the hiso chinese return!

free shuttles from nimman every 20 mins

Ideas for the revamp

Snail white shop--Latex pillows---medicine--chocolate---mama cups---fish sticks---seaweed chips---Durian shop----mango shop----massage by sexy ladyboys for the men---overpriced massage for the ladies-starbucks

Nike shop--adidas---NY Yankee caps ---big sunglasses---sundresses---tom yum goong--and of course..

The all you can eat seafood buffet and shrimp bar!    problem solved---now just get the chinese back...

[KaptainRob]

7 hours ago, HolyCowCm said:

I liked the occasional visit to Toys R Us too. 

I'd forgotten their original tenure, Uniglo eventually went in that space IIRC and they later bailed out. The cinema wasn't a big enough drawcord but helped a few of the restaurants survive, though most pulled out or went bust.

 

7 hours ago, PapayaBokBok said:

Start to convert it for the hiso chinese return!

The Prom had been seeking capital investment for 3 years or more and like certain major hotels, never attracted Chinese money for some reason.  Though it might, one day see conversion to suit that market although it would require a tourist hotel conversion on one side to create a captive market for any retail outlets.  Theres plenty of scope for redevelopment but I'll not hold my breath waiting.

[cockneyboy]

9 hours ago, CMTH said:

The amount of businesses and staff impacted by this is mind boggling; the losses, improvement’s to stores, restaurants, to individuals; this literally bankrupts everyone involved. This is obviously due to gross incompetence; 4 months of unpaid PEA bills amounts to people’s lives being decimated. How is this even possible…? Where is government intervention in Chiang Mai? Sure, the mall may be bankrupt, but the independent businesses aren’t…

the bold type is not nice for my eyes

 

[Dada]

13 hours ago, CMTH said:

The amount of businesses and staff impacted by this is mind boggling; the losses, improvement’s to stores, restaurants, to individuals; this literally bankrupts everyone involved. This is obviously due to gross incompetence; 4 months of unpaid PEA bills amounts to people’s lives being decimated. How is this even possible…? Where is government intervention in Chiang Mai? Sure, the mall may be bankrupt, but the independent businesses aren’t…

This..

I would expect that the merchants like Rimping and SF Cinema will sue Promenada and PEA. I have the impression that mall was run by an incompetent management from the get-go. Possibly even on purpose? Someone got their money and now devalues the whole property for his friend to take over for a penny.

Some 400 independent Dutch investors lost (part of) their life savings investing in the Promenada project. A shady construct. 40.000.000 euro gone somewhere else... https://www-quotenet-nl.translate.goog/zakelijk/a34450416/hoe-harry-mens-kijkers-euro40-miljoen-verloren-in-een-thais-winkelcentrum/

Edited May 6, 2022 by Dada

[KaptainRob]

21 minutes ago, Dada said:

Some 400 independent Dutch investors lost (part of) their life savings investing in the Promenada project. A shady construct. 40.000.000 euro gone somewhere else... 

That was the story which emerged even before Prom opened.  

[Dada]

8 minutes ago, KaptainRob said:

That was the story which emerged even before Prom opened.  

True, it was mismanaged from the start. A soft-opening, unsigned rental contracts, lame marketing or lack there of, treatment of merchants, ... dodgy company, dodgy project. Probably someone got a lot richer from the whole fiasco, while many lost a lot, not limited to Thailand as you can see.

[Dada]

From khaosod: "a famous shopping center worth more than 2,900 million baht", so half of it came from The Netherlands. They should hang a Dutch flag in front to sooth the wounds.

 

ps corrected link (I hope...) 

https://www-quotenet-nl.translate.goog/zakelijk/a34450416/hoe-harry-mens-kijkers-euro40-miljoen-verloren-in-een-thais-winkelcentrum/?_x_tr_sl=nl&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp

Edited May 6, 2022 by Dada

[AdvocatusDiaboli]

17 hours ago, KaptainRob said:

CNX Immigration kept Prom alive for several years

Any word on CNX Immigration move back to Main office near airport for 90 day reporting?

[KaptainRob]

47 minutes ago, AdvocatusDiaboli said:

Any word on CNX Immigration move back to Main office near airport for 90 day reporting?

The drive-thru service at Airport has been in operation for almost a year and takes anything between 2 to 10 minutes depending on traffic.  I doubt the now defunct Prom service will relocate elsewhere.

[AdvocatusDiaboli]

10 minutes ago, KaptainRob said:

The drive-thru service

And walk thru?

[HolyCowCm]

7 hours ago, KaptainRob said:

15 hours ago, HolyCowCm said:

I liked the occasional visit to Toys R Us too. 

I'd forgotten their original tenure, Uniglo eventually went in that space IIRC and they later bailed out. The cinema wasn't a big enough drawcord but helped a few of the restaurants survive, though most pulled out or went bust.

I remember Uniglo there and sub recently it went to a Korea clothing outlet? Problem with that area is it can be a traffic h3ll at certain times of the day to get out of there and that is how I would judge if I would go there by car or just forget it. That made it really inconvenient, and the other problem would be that parking would either be full at special event times there and so one would have to walk from the way far outside parking lot (no one would do), or then too many spaces from no vistitors. Also the separation of the two area having to walk outside doors to get walk the ramp to get to the other was inconvenient. They would need to join those to be indoor walking side to side.

There were a few condo units that sprouted up across the street and kitty corner, but I will say you are correct, it would need forced hotel and tourist to make it work.

Anyway let's see what happens. Maya is the next to go bust in my opinion. That place doesn't do anything for me or my family.

[KaptainRob]

36 minutes ago, AdvocatusDiaboli said:

And walk thru?

I use the new online system, before that only the drive thru but others do walk in.

[Noble_Design]

4 hours ago, Dada said:

From khaosod: "a famous shopping center worth more than 2,900 million baht", so half of it came from The Netherlands. They should hang a Dutch flag in front to sooth the wounds.

ps corrected link (I hope...) 

https://www-quotenet-nl.translate.goog/zakelijk/a34450416/hoe-harry-mens-kijkers-euro40-miljoen-verloren-in-een-thais-winkelcentrum/?_x_tr_sl=nl&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp

The Dutch should take over that mall, turn it into a De Wallen so that CM could have it's own version of Nana Entertainment complex!

[PapayaBokBok]

8 hours ago, AdvocatusDiaboli said:

And walk thru?

i saw a dude walk thru it last visit--is outside pull up left side of bldg

[HolyCowCm]

Well if all else fails, it might be pretty easy to turn it into a low security stay prison and have a section to cover longer term jail holds. Men on oneside and females on the other. Make it for the middle class and higher society ones that can afford to pay the fee(s), and then it may become a huge money maker.