A 7-Eleven store on Langsuan Road is typically this empty after the morning rush, at least until our afternoon snack runs begin. Photo: Coconuts Bangkok
CP All brushed off a boycott campaign against its ubiquitous 7-Eleven franchises that began today, saying consumers are free to make their own choices while playing down its market domination.
The proposed boycott of 7-Eleven stores from May 7 – 11 to protest CP All’s business practices seemed to get the mega-conglomerate’s attention, as it posted photos of crowds queued up to buy goods on its “We Are CP” Facebook page.
“We can only do our best to serve our customers such as providing the best products with best quality at the best price,” Managing Director Kosak Chairassameesak told Post Today. “When a company provides good products and service, everything else will follow. Customers make their own choices.”
Another 7-Eleven in the Sri Boon Ruang Building on Silom Road is still packed this morning despite the boycott. Photo: We Are CP
The campaign to stop buying from 7-Eleven stores May 7-11 emerged over concerns of its anti-competitive grip on the market and after a series of incidents landed the company in hot water, including perceptions it bullied and exploited smaller companies.
Getting the company to respond at all is a win for those encouraging the boycott campaign, which mostly seems to have happened by spontaneous word of mouth rather than any organized effort.
Supporters previously said they wanted to “teach the company a lesson.”
CP All is part of the Charoen Pokphand Group, Thailand’s largest corporation and one of the largest conglomerates in Asia, with holdings in agribusiness, telecommunications, retail centers, automobiles, real estate and commercial fishing, with a couple hundred subsidiary companies operating in China. It cleared THB1.55 trillion (USD46.5 billion) in 2013.
On its “We Are CP” Facebook page, the company said it’s wrong to see them as a corporate bully because they own only 1 percent of the nation’s convenience stores.
“CP do not have a policy to destroy the small retailers. The fact is there are 800,000 non-franchise convenience stores nationwide, while 7-Eleven has 8,000 branches,” the statement read.
It said mom-and-pop stores go out of business because “their children refuse to take over the business, or they can’t adapt to changes in the community and consumer behavior.”
It also denied owning everything and other common accusations.
“We are not good at everything. … We believe in the free trade. We don’t believe in a monopolistic business model,” it said.
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