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Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group is tightening its grip on Malaysian retail — and this time, it’s going upmarket.
CP Axtra Public Company Ltd, the retail arm of the Thai conglomerate, has announced the acquisition of The Food Purveyor — the company behind Village Grocer, Ben’s Independent Grocer, The Food Merchant, BSC Fine Foods, and Pasaraya OTK — for RM1.66 billion from private equity firm Navis Capital.
The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, pending regulatory approvals.
CP Group, one of the world’s largest conglomerates, is no stranger to Malaysian grocery shelves.
A Strategic Play for Premium Locations
The conglomerate acquired Lotus’s, formerly Tesco Malaysia, back in 2020 and has since grown it to 70 stores nationwide.
With The Food Purveyor now in its sights, CP Group would control retail touchpoints across virtually every income bracket in the country — from Lotus’s hypermarkets serving everyday shoppers to Village Grocer’s premium aisles catering to high-income urban consumers.
CP Axtra has been candid about its strategy.
The company said the acquisition gives it immediate access to “prime, high-income locations in the city” that its Lotus’s hypermarket format simply cannot reach — locations already secured by established players through long-term mall leases.
In short, CP Group is not just buying stores.
It is buying access.
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50 Stores, RM1.66 Billion — and Growing
The deal comes as CP Group accelerates its Southeast Asian expansion amid softer consumer sentiment in its home market of Thailand.
Malaysia, with its growing middle class and resilient premium grocery segment, presents a compelling growth runway.
The Food Purveyor brings 50 outlets to the table — 34 Village Grocer stores, six Ben’s Independent Grocer supermarkets, six ultra-premium The Food Merchant outlets, one BSC Fine Foods store, and three Pasaraya OTK locations.
At RM1.66 billion, the portfolio is valued at roughly RM33 million per outlet on average
Malaysia’s premium grocery segment has clearly become a magnet for foreign capital.
In 2022, Grab Holdings acquired a majority stake in Jaya Grocer in a deal valued at up to RM1.8 billion.
Malaysia’s two largest premium grocery chains are now set to be operated by foreign conglomerates — one Thai, one Singaporean.
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Parts of this story have been sourced from The Edge.
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