Department stores and luxury goods companies are planning measures to revive business this year if the anti-government protests drag on.
Protesters shop for clothing and shoes at CentralWorld on Tuesday. THANARAK KHOONTON
The retailers reported a big decline in sales from stores in the Ratchaprasong area and Siam Square during the first three days of the Bangkok shutdown.
The stores saw a fall-off in customers for fashion, shoes and other luxury items, while sales at fashion shops and department stores in the central area dropped by 50% or more.
Phaibul Kanokvatanawan, chief executive of The Mall Group, said sales at all of the group's retail branches have been cut in half in recent days as locals stayed home and tourist numbers dwindled.
"We lost more than 200 million baht in three days," he said.
"We gained from the food business, but that cannot offset the sharp drop in sales in our department stores, particularly of cosmetics."
The company will stick to its business plan this year including the Chinese New Year celebration near the end of this month.
But there are no big marketing campaigns planned during the political unrest.
"Many customers have delayed their spending, and we don't have any special sales events planned to stimulate purchases," Mr Phaibul said. "We plan to reduce costs by 15% or 1 billion baht baht this year for a healthy bottom line."
Supawan Patananiti, the marketing manager at AA Footwear Co, distributor of the Italian shoe brand Geox, expects sales to show a drop of at least 50% in the first three days of the Bangkok shutdown, as more than 60% of sales come from foreign tourists.
Geox shoe shops are in Siam Discovery, Siam Paragon, CentralWorld and Gaysorn. Sales from the four shops represent more than 30% of the local total.
"We will wait and see the situation at the end of this week," said Ms Supawan. "We plan to move some shoe stock to other Geox branches in suburban areas."
The company expects to increase Geox sales by 10% this year.
At the H&M shop in CentralWorld, an assistant manager said daily sales fell to 200,000 baht during the first three days of the shutdown compared with 3 million baht on a typical day due to the disappearance of foreign tourists.
Zara, a popular fashion brand from Spain, also saw a huge sales drop as the anti-government protests fanned out.
Both fashion companies have asked staff to take annual leave during the rallies.
DKSH (Thailand), the distributor of Clark shoes, said sales at its CentralWorld shop fell to 30,000 baht a day compared with 50,000 baht before the protests.
Chai Srivikorn, president of the Ratchaprasong Square Trade Association (RSTA), said nearly all operators in the shopping district have resumed business after some took a holiday due to the shutdown.
The RSTA and the protesters have agreed to clear roadways so that office workers and visitors access their buildings easily.
Some 1,700 guards are in place to protect visitors, with 1,500 closed-circuit TVs installed to allow surveillance of the Ratchaprasong area.