Ice age among globe holders: Thais rallied when Benko entered the room in Zurich

However, they reappeared in the meeting room after Benko left on his private jet. The Thais are angry because they feel they were duped by the Austrians, and probably frustrated because they believed in their colorful business partner, Benko, for too long. Insiders reported that the investor is now persona non grata for Central Group boss Tos Chirathivat and his team.

He drove the Merkez Group managers completely crazy because he had not been seen for weeks and had to learn unpleasant news about his business partners from the newspapers, such as bank debts, bankruptcies, foreclosures, and tax debts. Says the insider: “The relationship has completely fallen apart today.”

Benko ignored Thais

Benko and Chirathivat: You have been co-investors of Globus Group since 2020, but there are two worlds doing business with each other. Here is Benko, the real estate agent, the upstart in white sneakers, who prefers to take photos with political celebrities in Vienna. With the Signa Group, he built a house of cards that collapsed with a crash when interest rates rose.

There is Tos Chirathivat, the head of a secretive family business with roots in China. The Central Group boss relies on discretion; There are insufficient photographs or interviews. The Chirathivat clan is one of Asia’s richest and most respected business families; People live in isolation in detached villas on the former site of the British embassy in central Bangkok.

Chirathivats are smart retailers that have been growing for years with department stores, malls and retail chains in Thailand, China, Vietnam and, in the last few years, Europe. They are said to be secretly happy that Benko is now stuck in his own megalomania and that his various companies, including the Globus Group, are in an orderly process of tutelage because they will soon be rid of their hated business partners. And finally they will be able to implement their strategies in Europe on their own.

In fact, they had wanted to attack Globus for a long time, but the bankruptcies at Signa and the difficult structure of the company delayed the deal. Benko is also said to have rejected or ignored every buyout offer from Thais.

No turning back for Thais

The Zurich district court gave the fighting Globus owners until April 14; After this date, a solution should be on the table for the department store group. There is a risk of bankruptcy if an agreement is not reached. However, as many sources say, we are far from this. The course must be determined in February or March at the latest. “This means the Thais take over, there is no alternative,” says one insider. Another says: “You invested a lot of money in Globus and you don’t want to lose it.”

According to the research, the Thais are aiming to take over the entire Globus Group, in particular: They want to completely take over the trading business, of which they currently own half. However, they also aim to take over the real estate sector, in which they own a 50 percent stake. Third-party investors in real estate, such as Swiss Life, Switzerland’s largest private real estate owner, have also been discussed for some time. However, the presence of another investor does not pose a problem, at least for now.

A full takeover would easily cost several hundred million; this is an amount Central Group can manage. Thai people are said to invest around 1 billion francs in growth every year. The aim is to create a luxury department store group in Europe with brands Globus (Switzerland), La Rinascente (Italy), Selfridges (Great Britain) and possibly KaDeWe, under the auspices of department store professional André Maeder.

With the complete takeover of Globus, Thais’ work really begins. Globus Group has been in the red for years; We’re talking about a total in the mid-double-digit range. Globus, under the management of its former owner Migros Group, is said to have generated single-digit million revenue. Globus boss Franco Savastano announced a few weeks ago on the Tele Züri television channel that it would be red-listed for another two to three years.

Terrible rent in Zurich

The reason for this is the closure of branches due to renovation works and the investments that Globus had to undertake. St. The branch in St. Gallen had been under renovation for months, the branch in Basel was a construction site, the branch in Bellevue Zurich would not open until autumn 2025, and the women’s department at the Bahnhofstrasse Zurich branch was closed for six months.

There are also huge rents. The flagship on Zurich Bahnhofstrasse illustrates the dilemma: under Migros the rent was 14 million, but with the new owners René Benko and the Central Group this rent was increased step by step; Today it is said to be over 22 million. And the estimated store turnover is 140 million. This calculation does not work because the maximum tolerable rent share in the industry is 10 percent of sales. Specifically, this will not be 22 million, but a maximum of 14 million.

The aggressive rental policy bears Benko’s signature; because real estate investors were always willing to maximize rents so that they could upgrade their properties and get mortgages from banks for further investment. He applied this business model abroad as well: He determined the Kaufhof Group’s rental share at 33 percent of sales. A number no store in the world can carry.

Thais’ sporty walk

It makes sense that Central Group boss Tas Chirathivat wants to land Globus Group as quickly as possible and starts with the costs. This will be a hussar ride because at the same time sales are expected to increase from 550 million today to 800 million. Additionally, not all locations, including the Bern location, can be made profitable with a luxury or premium strategy.

Anyone who has worked with Thais also knows that they have a sporty approach when it comes to doing business, have no problems with contradictions, and have very limited openness to outside advice. They work hierarchically; decisions are made solely by the boss and his six-member board of directors. This is also a special feature of only the closest family members. All of them were educated at top US universities and have been working for Central Group for decades. The motto of the game is costume: If you want to have a say in the Chinese-Thai clan, you must contribute financially. And deliver.