Villa Market

Post by **Joe61** » January 17, 2013, 7:08 pm

Does anyone know where Villa Market will open in Udon Thani? Was told in December, when I visited Villa Market Silom Soi 5, that Villa will open in Udon in the first half of 2013. Any information would be appreciated.

Joe61

Post by **pienmash** » January 17, 2013, 9:24 pm

Whilst in Bangers I spoke to Villas buyer in early December and he said there were plans to open 3 provincial Villa outlets during 2013 ,, the locations were still to be decided ,,,,,,,i recall Khon Kaen , Nong Khai , Udon and Khorat and Chang Mai being on the list along with a few other places ,,, will be interesting to see where they choose and what exact pricing will follow as i know how things panned out in Hua Hin when a villa opened there with ref to a business similar to CC in the town ..... indeed turning a negative into a positive paid off for Hua Hins version of mash !!

Time will tell ,,,as ever in LOS .

mash

Post by **Sport** » January 17, 2013, 11:36 pm

The quicker we get a Villa or Foodland store up here in Udon the better. A large range of western product's at a reasonable price.... meat, dairy and cheese, canned food, pastry, sea-food, spirits, etc etc. When I lived in Bangkok it was them or Central near Chit Lom that had my attention.

Post by **Joe61** » January 22, 2013, 8:15 am

Spoke with the manager of Villa Ari yesterday , and was told Villa will open in Udon Thani around June 2013 near Clock 5 Yak. I wonder what sort of parking will be available.

Joe61

Post by **merchant seaman** » January 22, 2013, 9:19 am

Tesco's and Big C in NaDee have all but cut out all the imported farang foods. Not enough demand? Don't know what Villa Market will bring that we don't already have, Tops, the first Tesco, Chern Chims, Papa Farang's, and a few other special shops. As far as price Villa Market Udon will have to charge more then their Bangkok store do to transportation charges to Udon. Carefour didn't last long after all the excitment of them coming to town died down. Will be interesting to see if Villa Market will make a difference.

Post by **trubrit** » January 22, 2013, 9:43 am

merchant seaman wrote:Tesco's and Big C in NaDee have all but cut out all the imported farang foods. Not enough demand? Don't know what Villa Market will bring that we don't already have, Tops, the first Tesco, Chern Chims, Papa Farang's, and a few other special shops. As far as price Villa Market Udon will have to charge more then their Bangkok store do to transportation charges to Udon. Carefour didn't last long after all the excitment of them coming to town died down. Will be interesting to see if Villa Market will make a difference.

The Carrefour closing in Udon was not due to local difficulties but a National decision to pull out of the entire Thai market, so it's reason for closing wouldn't apply to Villa.Mind you the new owners Big C don't seem to be exactly setting the place alight, especially noticeable in the support shops, with more empty spaces every time I go.

Post by **WhoUrDaddy** » January 22, 2013, 11:26 am

I'm sure they offer a lot more selection, and with their buying power, be competitive. Shipping will be offset by leasing costs. Another option is always good for the consumer. I would image a scaled down Vila Market, with their best sellers would make sense. Thought the Laos restaurateurs may prove me wrong.

Post by **Techland** » January 22, 2013, 5:56 pm

> The Carrefour closing in Udon was not due to local difficulties but a National decision to pull out of the entire Thai market

That might be the reason on paper, but IMHO the truth is that it lacked customers big time and did not make any profit at all.

Post by **merchant seaman** » January 22, 2013, 6:30 pm

Tesco in NaDee is a step above Big C in NaDee. Tops is most likely the best as far as farang products. Every one seems to be excited about Villa Market like they were about Carefour. Will just have to wait and see but I don't think you will see much change either in products available or price.

Post by **FrazeeDK** » January 22, 2013, 6:49 pm

shopped in Villa Lang Suan many times.. Found their imported farang foods for the most part quite pricey. But, they fill a gap for certain items here in Udon....

Post by **pompui** » January 25, 2013, 10:58 am

While waiting for all the El Charro products to arrive when the Villa Market eventually opens here,at least you can get the flour tortillas in the old Big C,priced at 82 Baht

Post by **fdimike** » January 25, 2013, 9:06 pm

You can contact Villa Market on line and give them a list of what you want. They will come back to you by email noting availability, size and price. You then confirm or reject the items. They will box it all up for shipment to you. The completed order will be shipped by bus to anywhere in Thailand. Payment is made via an ATM transfer to their bank account. I've used the service quite successfully a number of times. I understand they will no longer ship refrigerated items due to potential spoilage even when packed with dry ice.

Post by **pompui** » February 8, 2013, 2:28 pm

Used to go into the Sukhumvit branch every month so tended to notice that a lot of the products I buy up here in Udon are cheaper than they offered,even bottled imported beers.I hope they have done their homework well,must have been advised that there are plenty of big spending farangs in Udonsville the same as Bangers

I am prepared to spend money on cheeses and mexican products not readily available here but how many others will

Will pop into their store once it opens later this year and make a note pricewise,in the meantime when next in Bangers i will tour the aisles with pen and paper.

Prices much higher than other retail stores for imports,then to me, that means they are just taking a bigger profit

Anyways will look good on their website when they can say that they have a store in every main town in Thailand

fdmike,what is their cost to box goods up here,price on weight

Have to factor that in,cannot see them sending anything for less than 500 baht even if a small box

Post by **fdimike** » February 8, 2013, 3:00 pm

They do not base shipping on weight as far as I know because it goes by bus. It cost me 500THB for 1 large box of dry goods and 1 smaller styrofoam ice chest with cold stuff including dry ice. I'm fully aware and comfortable with knowing that the price of imported goods will be more expensive then that available locally. I've only had one bad encounter buying from the Villa Market. I ordered veal and what they sent me was not veal. They insisted it was veal and there was an enclosed tag from the supplier saying veal. I suspect Villa was duped by the supplier because they told me it was Thai veal after I questioned them about it. I know that the Thais do not produce veal and I told them so. It didn't seem to make a difference as the tag enclosed in the vacuum packed plastic bag said veal. It's still a buyer beware world when buying anything in Thailand.

Post by **Svein66** » February 9, 2013, 7:10 pm

Villa Market will open at Landmark Plaza, which opens on February 22nd. Don`t know if VM will open same time or at a later date. The Villa Market logo is on some of Landmark`s big signs around Udon.

Post by **pompui** » February 9, 2013, 7:23 pm

Good luck to them

,hope they know that poor farang live here

and reduce their prices accordingly $\:D/$ ,as said before,will be rechecking their prices soon in Bangers before back to the UK,to see what prices they feel are warranted for imported products.

Post by **American** » March 9, 2013, 11:19 pm

At the Tuk Com the other day, there are still no signs of an opening date, but I did peer behind the coverings and saw that it will be a good sized supermarket. It looked about the size of Tops at Central Plaza. They have finished the flooring and are painting and setting up shelving. It looks lie a good sign that it will open soon.

Post by **mak** » March 10, 2013, 7:47 am

March 24.

Post by **jingjai** » March 10, 2013, 1:59 pm

Let's just hope that Villa doesn't follow Tops ridiculous lead in regard to their late opening time. I still don't understand why Tops didn't put a early morning entrance, similar to: IE: McDonald's & Starbucks, at their Central Plaza location, and open at 09:00?
If you look here: http://www.villamarket.com/gb/store
All of Villa's current locations open between 06:00-09:00.

Post by **BigBubba** » March 10, 2013, 3:15 pm

jingjai wrote: If you look here: http://www.villamarket.com/gb/store

Careful with this link! I just got bells and whistles from my anti virus when I clicked on it.