Zen (department store)

Defunct Thai department store chain

ZEN Department Store
เซน ดีพาร์ทเมนท์ สโตร์; 先

Company type| Private
Industry| Retail
Genre| Department store
Founded| 1989
Founder| Central Group
Defunct| 2019
Fate| Folded into Central
Headquarters| Pathum Wan, Bangkok, Thailand
Owner| Central Group
Zen department store, Bangkok Zen level 1 entrance

ZEN (Thai: เซน ดีพาร์ทเมนท์ สโตร์; Simplified Chinese: 先; Pinyin: Xiān) was a chain of two Thai luxury department stores owned by the Central Group, with branches in Thailand and China. The final store was rebranded as Central Department Store in 2019.

## Overview

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ZEN was launched in 1989 as an anchor tenant of the CentralWorld shopping mall in the Pathum Wan District of Bangkok, Thailand.[1]

A second branch was opened in April 2011 in Shenyang, China, as part of the Central Group's planned 18 billion baht expansion into the country.[2] This branch closed in 2013.[3]

In 2018, three floors of the Zen department store in Bangkok were renovated, with a new beauty zone being introduced on the first floor. The fourth and fifth floors, encompassing 11,000 square meters, were remodeled to accommodate 300 new brands and fashion shops.[4]

In 2019, the remaining location in Bangkok was renamed Central Department Store, bringing an end to the ZEN brand.[5]

## Branches

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### Bangkok

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* Ratchaprasong (CentralWorld) – rebranded in 2019
* Srinagarindra (Seacon Square) – rebranded to Robinson

### China

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* Shenyang – opened 2011,[6] closed 2013[7]

## See also

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* The Mall Group

## References

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1. ^ "Zen Department Store ... Bangkok's Fashion". ryt9.com (in Thai). Retrieved 11 September 2020.
2. ^ "First Zen store part of B18-billion CRC push in China". 21 December 2010. Retrieved 1 March 2023 – via PressReader.
3. ^ "Central looks at opportunities beyond China". 11 May 2020. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
4. ^ "ZEN dedicates two newly-revamped floors to men's and unisex fashion". TimeOut. 14 March 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
5. ^ "Billion-baht Central@CentralWorld ready for action". Bangkok Post. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
6. ^ "Central-Zen Department Store Shenyang – Project References-Projects-UNIQUE". unique.org.cn. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
7. ^ "Central gives up on China". Inside Retail Asia. 12 May 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2020.