Lotus progress?

Post by **jorwik** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 7:15 am

Hi everybody. I'm soon coming back for a 7 months stay in HH. Anyone know when the big Lotus will open?

Post by **Guess** » Fri Sep 16, 2005 2:46 am

Yes,

It will open on January 21 2488. Luckily I will already have moved somewhere else by then.

Post by **jorwik** » Fri Sep 16, 2005 5:41 am

It will be nice to buy fresh meat...

Post by **The Appletree** » Sat Sep 17, 2005 9:41 pm

Last news I heard was 1st of March....

Post by **Guess** » Sun Sep 18, 2005 1:59 am

You can buy fresh meat in Hua Hin without having to visit a large farang superstore.

Problem is (according to my meat eating friends) that it is too fresh and should be hung longer.

I can identify with this as I have always been well hung and have got through life admirably.

I noticed that nobody has mentioned what year the opening will be, however knowing how things develop in this region, I would think March next year may be accurate.

Post by **Norseman** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 8:20 am

I hear rumours saying that the Tesco Lotus will open shortly. (10 days).
True?

Post by **lomuamart** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 8:27 am

Norseman wrote:I hear rumours saying that the Tesco Lotus will open shortly. (10 days).
True?

Not sure, but passed by at the weekend and it's well on it's way.
10 days might be optimistic?

JW · Post by JW » Tue Feb 07, 2006 12:27 pm

Tesco Lotus will be open before the end of February, the sign out front says 13 days from now, give them a few to get sorted inside i guess then full steam ahead for a proper choice in good meats (hung well long enough for anyone!), cheese and all the goodies we have trouble getting now.

Post by **machersjohn** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 2:26 pm

The opening is being advertised for the 18th of this month. Looking forward to having a browse but i don't think it will be slanted to the farang cumminity . It has to be borne in mind that 99% of their custom will be thai and as such the goods they will carry will reflect the biggest customer base.

Post by **Burger** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 6:17 pm

Looking forward to it from a food shopping point of view, hopefully now we can do the shopping without the need to visit three shops and a market.
Plus the bowling alley, cinema and new restaurants will be a big plus for the town for many.

Will the two main meat/pie outlets in town be selling their products in the Tesco ? Guess that's a question Mike can answer ?

Burger

Post by **lomuamart** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 6:56 pm

machersjohn wrote:The opening is being advertised for the 18th of this month. Looking forward to having a browse but i don't think it will be slanted to the farang cumminity . It has to be borne in mind that 99% of their custom will be thai and as such the goods they will carry will reflect the biggest customer base.

That's a good point and I've heard it before. It'll be interesting to see the stock range.
If you think about it and they cater mainly for Thais, shopping wise, then I can't really see where the market is for them other than at weekends with the BKK crowd. They can get it all up there anyway. The "normal" locals will continue to shop at the Mall or the other one I can't spell that opened over the railway line.

Post by **PeteC** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 7:13 pm

I really don't want to throw cold water on all the excitement but....? The Tesco(s) over here cater more to the Thai housewife shopper than to the farang. As far as cuts of meat are concerned, you may see a lot of fish, chicken, very thin pork chops and a variety of other meat (pieces) suitable for the Thai cooking pot. In the the deep frozen section you may see from time to time imported USDA and Australian steaks and New Zealand legs of lamb. You will find some European cheeses, but not a large selection. Fresh baked bread is available sometimes. Usually French Bread. A lot of sweets, and I have to say their filled donuts are better than anywhere else. As far as food is concerned for the farang palate, hope for a Carrefour as they do it right..like a minnie Harrods.

Household goods, Tesco is king. Plastic things for every need and desire for kitchen, bathroom and every room in between. Clothes, so, so. Baby items/food/formula/diapers, good stock of everything. Appliances OK, both large and small, but here Big C has the best selection of things like washing machines, water coolers etc. Electronics some, but again, Carrefoue excels in that area here. Hardware, I would say Tesco is better than Carrefour (they sell F bulbs but no starters?!?)

Interested to know how my evaluation stacks up against what is opening your end. Let us know. Thanks. Pete

Post by **PeteC** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 7:55 pm

Forgot to mention this about the "super stores" which will have you chuckling the first time you see it...followed by severe frustration. All have between 20 and 30 check out lanes but, even during peak hours only 6-10 are open. At times, you may stand in line longer than it took you to do your shopping. If you did a big shopping for 1-2 weeks worth of food etc., you have perishables that need to get home and under refrigeration ASAP. I've seen the supervisors open additional lanes a few times but only after some faranges had to get really rude. Unfortunate, but at times this is the only thing that wakes these people up. Many frowns from the Thai shoppers but what the hell!, they benefited also by more lanes being opened. OK, no sweat, let the farangs be rude, blame us. Pete

Post by **machersjohn** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 8:25 pm

That's interesting prc . My friend goes to Bangkok often and is extolling the virtues of Carrefore. He is bringing back excellent steaks and many farang goods . He tells me it is worth travelling up just to stock the larder.

I usually takee a taxi for the day and do Foodland and Villa market . I stock up on rabbit, beef ,lamb and some canned stuff. I have to say that most of the canned stuff is now available here in Hua Hin . I have found that the meats are still considerably cheaper in Bangkok.

Post by **PeteC** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 9:19 pm

In late November the Bangkok Post had a few articles indicating that Tesco was getting ready to sell all of their Thai stores to Carrefour (fore?). Have not seen anything since. Perhaps stayed tuned. Pete