So the acquisition added sites where it would have been difficult to build big anymore. Kudatara Nagaviroj, director of corporate image at Big C, describes the scene as a “mini city.” Big C now operates such hypermarkets in 50 out of the country’s 76 provinces.Ĭarrefour had 43 Thai stores, prominently in Bangkok and the big cities, while previously most Big C stores were in the provinces. Some grab a Big Mac at the giant McDonald’s, some visit a bank branch, others stock their carts with bargain goods, while some just simply have a date at the coffee shop. On an average afternoon Big C on Rajdamri is filled with a good mix of locals and tourists. (Casino Guichard is itself a complex entity, with its results ultimately consolidated under the French company Finatis, which is on the Forbes Global 2000 list.) Casino and related parties now hold 60% of the shares. The Chirathivats had to sell much of Big C to Casino Group of France in 1999, after the Asian financial crisis.
