What happened to Bluport?

[Motyduke]

Maybe not the good place for this topic. Feel free to move it.

i went to bluport and was surprised how little traffic there was at the shops and restaurants. At the entrance it's still fine but if you go upstairs, everything is deserted and a large number of shops are empty or closed. I discussed with a saleswoman who told me that it was hopeless and that there was no plan to boost business. She even told me that she had heard of rumors of closure.

In any case, compared to Market Village, we can estimate that attendance is largely divided by 3 or 4. Do you have any explanation for such a failure? Even in the department store , some shelves are empty. For example, a famous brand of watches is just replaced by some pots of flowers, just for decoration !!!

[Big Boy]

I think it opened and soon developed a reputation for being expensive. My wallet develops a cold sweat every time I go there. Just my opinion, but I could not afford to shop there on my pension. However, it is a beautiful store.

[Motyduke]

I think it opened and soon developed a reputation for being expensive. My wallet develops a cold sweat every time I go there. Just my opinion, but I could not afford to shop there on my pension. However, it is a beautiful store.

Maybe you are right.

[bigston]

Dont go there often but every time we do , the same comments and observations come to mind
its the kind of "complex " geared up to service a town twice the size of HH , with a population fairly flush with spending power, not, a lot of locals , retirees, and tourists that aren't going to or want to spend money there.
having spent 20 or so years in retail management, im surprised it was even built, and expected to flourish.....

[hhinner]

It'll be fine when the Chinese arrive en masse.

My wife likes to look in Uniqlo and H&M now and again. But that's about it.

[KhunLA]

I'll stop in for a munch, the kebab lady, and spicy fruit salad, and that's about it. If I see a 2 for 1 beef steak at GM, that looks good, I'll have 'U Hunt We Cook', prep it for me, and a nice munch.

Hit Gourmet Market if out of something that Makro doesn't carry. They occasionally have some food items on sale, which I'll stock up on, since only get there about once a month, if that.

Went to Market Village last time, and parking is a pain, so won't be returning.

[caller]

I regularly shop at Gourmet Market in Bluport, but I despair of how poor it has become compared to their supermarkets in Bkk. The difference being that it's not actually operated by the Mall Group anymore, who actually own Gourmet Market, which you will find in their Malls in Bkk - Siam Paragon etc.

Instead, some sort of agreement is in place, for the Mall outlets in Bluport, to continue operating, even though The Mall Group pulled out of the joint venture that Bluport was, a few years ago.

So if they pulled the plug on those outlets - GM, Power Mall, Sports Mall, The 2 floors of the Dept. Store, then that really would be that, as there would be nothing left!

In the meantime, there is constant tinkering with the empty basement, but nothing ever seems to get finished, I too noticed that Seiko had disappeared from the so called watch galleria, and in Power Mall they only sell 4 brands of TV's!

Mr Vana Nava is the sole owner of Bluport now, or was, or at least a business of his is involved and I guess it's up to them to decide what they want to do with it.

[handdrummer]

Bluport, generally, has better quality fresh vegetables than other markets, but the prices are outrages. We go there for my 90 day parole report and then eat something, usually at Wine Connection.
Occasionally something is on sale that I need and I'll buy it. Walking shoes was the last thing I bought, about a year ago.
I find it a confusing place to walk around. Not well organised.

[derek60]

I love BluPort. I think its customer profile was more skewed to foreigners so suffered more during the pandemic. I hope it will recover.

[caller]

I love BluPort. I think its customer profile was more skewed to foreigners so suffered more during the pandemic. I hope it will recover.

And wealthy Bangkokians. Plus a 'wealthy catchment' area North and south of Hua Hin.

[STEVE G]

The thing that always amazed me about Bluport is that they managed to make such a huge building feel claustrophobic.
At least MV has some open space and a bit of natural light, Bluport feels subterranean to me.

[Scout]

I find it a confusing place to walk around. Not well organised.

I agree ! And it certainly doesn’t help that for some unfathomable reason they chose to number the floors in a very strange way. The bottom floor (the one above the basement) is labeled G for ground, I guess. The next one up, normally labeled the “2nd floor” is instead labeled the “1st floor”. Very strange and confusing and not at all aligned with the naming convention used everywhere else I’ve ever been in Thailand ( or the US ).

[Dannie Boy]

I find it a confusing place to walk around. Not well organised.

I agree ! And it certainly doesn’t help that for some unfathomable reason they chose to number the floors in a very strange way. The bottom floor (the one above the basement) is labeled G for ground, I guess. The next one up, normally labeled the “2nd floor” is instead labeled the “1st floor”. Very strange and confusing and not at all aligned with the naming convention used everywhere else I’ve ever been in Thailand ( or the US ).

Looks like they’ve followed convention from the UK where, if there’s a basement, the one above, normally entered from street level would be ground, and then the floors above, 1st, 2nd etc.

[HHTel]

Market Village originally followed the UK plan although I think it's since changed to the US format.

It appears that most countries, especially British colonies or ex colonies use the term 'Ground floor'. India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Malaysia and most of Europe use the term. The street level floor being the 1st floor is mainly used in the US, Russia and China.