Central to supply Jiffy store

       Central Retail Corporation, the country's leading retail chain, has signed an agreement on purchasing and product supply with PTT Retail Management (PTTRM),the operator of Jiffy convenience stores,to open a new market frontier and expand business in the future.
       Tos Chirathivat, CEO of CRC, said the partnership with PTTRM reflected its key strategy to expand its retail business through partnerships with strong companies.
       Central Food Retail (CFR), a CRC business unit and the operator of Tops supermarkets, will be responsible for the purchase and supply of a wide range of consumer products to all existing 146 Jiffy stores and future expansion in PTT gas stations nationwide.
       Under the three-year agreement, CFR will purchase and supply 60% of the 4,500 products available at Jiffy stores,which are valued at 2.3 billion baht per year. The strategic supply chain partnership supports the future growth of Jiffy. CFR will also supply and manage fresh products in the near future.
       Krisanapol Komolboon, managing director of PTTRM, said both firms shared the same goal of fulfilling customer needs with a wide range of goods and services.PTTRM used the CVX distribution service before this agreement."With the partnership with CRC, sales from highmargin, non-oil businesses, including Jiffy stores and Cafe' Amazon coffee houses, will contribute at least 30% to PTT, the parent firm of PTTRM, in the next two to three years, up from 15-20%currently," he said.
       Dr Krisanapol said the Service Level Agreement (SLA), which measures consistency in supplying products to Jiffy stores, increased significantly from 93%to 98% at present. Also, sales per Jiffy store increased to 2.26 million baht per month from 2.1 million earlier.
       Apart from forming a business partnership with CRC, PTTRM will team up with Central Marketing Group, a fashion distribution arm under the Central Group of Companies, to open fashion shops at PTT stations in tourist destinations.
       PTTRM itself would invest about 2 billion baht between this and next year to improve the front and back-office system, expanding the PTT Platinum station concept that was recognised as a premium brand for its good service quality and operating expense control.