Setting Up Shop in Bangkok

“ Bangkok has changed tremendously. The city is transforming incredibly fast,” says Cyrille Vigneron, Cartier chair of culture and philanthropy, speaking from the 35th floor of the recently reopened Dusit Thani hotel in Bangkok with the sprawling city’s skyline in the backdrop.

Cartier chose Bangkok to host the ceremony celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Cartier Women’s Initiative in June. Kiyo Taga-Witkin, Cartier Women’s Initiative director, lived in Bangkok when she was in high school and during her first years of university. “When I lived here, it was very chaotic. I loved it so much, and I won’t trade those years for anything. But when I come back now, decades later, I see how much the city has transformed, in terms of infrastructure, hospitality. In many ways, it feels like a country I hardly recognize. The innovation and reinvention of the city — and the country as a whole — is a big part of what makes it so attractive to us,” she says.

Amal Clooney, Cyrille Vigneron, Yanina Novitskaya, Kiyo Taga-Witkin and the 2026 awardees on the stage of the ceremony for the Cartier Women's Initiative in Bangkok.

Cartier isn’t the only luxury brand drawn to Bangkok. Alaïa, Moncler, Zimmermann, Patek Philippe, and Richard Mille have all opened stores in the city since January 2026. Earlier this year, Louis Vuitton launched its month-long hotel-inspired pop-up in Bangkok. This came after both Louis Vuitton and Dior opened stores in Bangkok in 2024, LV The Place Bangkok and Dior Gold House, with a street-level presence in a retail landscape where nearly all stores are situated within malls.

Luxury hospitality has been in expansion mode. Many luxury hotel groups were underrepresented in Bangkok and decided to address this during the post-pandemic boom. Also, many luxury hotels are part of mixed-use real-estate developments, as they add a sense of prestige, attract international visitors, and ultimately support existing retail spaces. For example, the Dusit Thani that reopened in 2024 is part of Dusit Central Park, combining hospitality, retail space, offices, and residences under one roof.

Aman arrived in 2025. Capella Bangkok, which opened in 2020, earned the World’s Best Hotel title in 2024, from global hospitality ranking organization The World’s 50 Best. A Langham hotel is soon to open in the city’s historic Custom House, and Bangkok’s Mandarin Oriental underwent a renovation ahead of its 150th anniversary this year.

Luxury is cottoning on to more opportunities in Asia. Thailand is the third largest economy of Southeast Asian countries by GDP, after Indonesia and Singapore but before Vietnam (although Vietnam’s GDP is projected to grow by 7.1% in 2026, per the International Monetary Fund). Thailand recorded GDP growth of 2.1% in 2025, according to IMF estimates, slowing from 2.5% in 2024. Growth is expected to moderate further to 1.6% in 2026. The IMF cites trade policy uncertainty, constrained credit growth, a slower rebound in foreign tourist arrivals, and global financial market volatility among contributing factors. But Thailand’s Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking (JSCCIB) has just raised its forecast for the country’s 2026 economic growth to up to 2%, on the back of government stimulus measures.

Thailand had 32.8 million inbound arrivals in 2025, down 7.6% compared with 2024. Bangkok itself has a metropolitan population of 11.5 million inhabitants. Visitor arrivals in the capital’s airports in 2025 mostly came from China (albeit having dropped significantly), India, Russia, Vietnam and South Korea, according to the Association of Thai Travel Agents.

In a report titled Thailand Global Cities Retail Guide 2026, Cushman & Wakefield cites geopolitical uncertainty, the slowing economy in Mainland China, and increased competition from neighboring Asian destinations among factors impacting the recovery to pre-covid tourism levels

“From a general economic standpoint, we’re really moving away from the tiger [or fast-growing] economy to more of a stabilized maturity, where we’re not growing GDP as quickly as we would like, but it’s because we’re 20-30 years into a developed economy,” says Greg Condon, head of retail and hospitality at Cushman & Wakefield Thailand. “So it is slowing in some regards, but the luxury demand is not slowing at the same rates. It still stands above the rest.”

Despite GDP growth slowing in Thailand, luxury retail opportunities remain strong, fueled by rising demand from high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) and Gen Z, alongside expansion in hospitality and wellness.

Thailand’s personal luxury goods market grew from THB 64 billion ($1.94 billion) in retail value in 2020 to THB 91.4 billion ($2.77 billion) in 2025, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.4% between 2020 and 2025, according to Euromonitor International. It’s expected to reach THB 117.1 billion ($3.55 billion) in 2029, with a CAGR between 2025 and 2029 slowing to 6.4%, according to Euromonitor’s projections.

With a young, affluent and highly connected consumer from Thailand and other parts of Asia who’s willing to spend, more luxury brands are expected to land in Bangkok. Here’s how to get it right.

Bangkok is very much a mall-oriented city. “A lot of it comes down to climate, to comfort,” says Cushman & Wakefield’s Condon. “Over half the year can be uncomfortably hot with unpredictable rains, so certainly the comfort and consistency of indoor and air-conditioned retail accommodation have led to it becoming the third place for the domestic market. In many respects, there’s home, the office and the shopping mall, which offers a comfortable destination between the two for shopping, entertainment, socializing, and dining. So that’s where everybody needs to be.”

Three mall operators — Siwat Piwat, Central Group, and The Mall Group — dominate the luxury landscape and compete in enticing global luxury brands to set up shop. Condon notes that these companies are also beginning to diversify their offerings, by looking to brands coming out of China, South Korea, and Japan.

Key luxury shopping malls include Siam Paragon, IconSiam, Central Embassy, and EmQuartier. For the past 20 years, Siam Paragon shopping mall has remained a dominant luxury retail destination. Under Siam Piwat’s stewardship, it has continued to grow and was among the first to introduce multi-level duplex and triplex stores for brands. IconSiam is also a Siam Piwat development. “It was seen as a very bold move when they started developing a mall of that scale on the other side of the river.  But it’s been a resounding success even through Covid. It’s become a tourism and retail beacon for what Southeast Asia can do now in terms of its luxury offering,” Condon says.

Central Embassy was opened by the Central Group in 2014. “It was a little bit underattended initially, but has found its footing. It now has a Park Hyatt attached to it, and underwent a bit of a diversification to improve footfall — it’s since stabilized as being the luxury flagship offering,” Condon says. (Central Group also operates department stores in Thailand such as Central Department Store, as well as internationally with a network of flagship department stores such as Selfridges in the UK, Rinascente in Italy, KaDeWe in Germany, and Illum in Denmark.)

One Bangkok is a sprawling real estate project designed to create an urban district combining workplaces, homes, hotels, retail, and public spaces. “It opened to fanfare and much excitement, but the general public perception is that it’s still opening up and evolving,” Condon says. “The entire One Bangkok precinct is still evolving. The hotels and office buildings are still opening. It’s not a two-year play, it’s a 10-year play, so luxury brands are just biding their time until the project starts to approach its full capacity before they open up their own boutiques.”

Luxury brands must continually raise the bar when it comes to engaging Bangkok’s VICs. “Competition is intense, and clients today expect more than products — they seek access, connection, and experiences that feel genuinely exceptional,” says Naphaporn “Lek” Bodiratnangkura, a fourth-generation member of the family behind Nai Lert Group. (Aman partnered with Nai Lert Group to open Aman Nai Lert Bangkok in 2025.) Through her work hosting private dinners and bespoke events for luxury houses and their top clients, Bodiratnangkura operates at the intersection of luxury hospitality, culture, and client engagement. “I wear two hats,” she says. “I understand luxury both from the perspective of the client and the business.”

Gen Z, in particular, shows potential. According to Condon, the rise in Thailand’s HNWI population, coupled with Gen Z’s deeply embedded digital behaviors, creates a strong overlap between these demographics.

“Bangkok is fast cementing its position as Southeast Asia’s lifestyle capital, powered by Gen Z’s demand for connection and a generational wealth transfer,” says Sona Aggarwal, managing director of retail sales and strategy for Asia-Pacific at Cushman & Wakefield. “A new wave of affluent consumers — increasingly women — are driving demand for longevity, wellness, leisure, high‑quality dining, and luxury retail. Bangkok is benefiting from both trends. Food exploration, entertainment, and cultural immersion are fueling inbound tourism and year‑on‑year spend, creating a dynamic retail ecosystem across food and beverage, fashion, hospitality, and wellness. What Seoul and Tokyo are to North Asia, Bangkok is becoming to the Southeast.”

Thai celebrities increasingly wield global influence, led by Lisa, the Thai international superstar who fronts the Amazing Thailand tourism campaign. Her presence is impossible to miss, appearing on giant billboards from the airport to the city and throughout Bangkok’s Skytrain. Other prominent figures include Nattawin Wattanagitiphat (better known as Apo), Jeff Satur, and Kimberley Anne Woltemas.