“From a real estate developer to a Destination Developer” — this strategy is increasingly clear at Asset World Corp Public Company Limited (AWC), which is developing diverse projects that integrate retail, lifestyle, dining, entertainment, arts and culture, and tourism to create destinations that attract people from around the world.
Recently, AWC took a further step by partnering with Westfield Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) the global leader in developing and managing retail destinations under the Westfield brand. They announced a strategic partnership to bring in global expertise, partner networks, and experience to support AWC’s projects in Thailand and elevate them to compete on the world stage as destination developments.
Who is Westfield? How big are they? What is their formula for creating retail destinations that attract hundreds of millions of visits annually? More importantly, how will this global retail giant’s knowledge be leveraged to advance AWC’s projects in Thailand?
Westfield is a retail destination brand under Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW), a global real estate group specializing in developing and managing large-scale retail destinations in major cities across Europe and the United States.
Currently, URW owns 65 shopping centers in the U.S. and Europe, with 41 operating under the Westfield brand. The company’s network attracts over 950 million visits annually, and its asset portfolio is valued at approximately 49.5 billion euros.
What makes Westfield remarkable is not just the size of its malls, but its modern retail development approach: creating customer experiences, hosting large-scale events, and implementing destination marketing alongside strong global retail brand and partner networks. These elements play a key role in driving growth of leading shopping centers and generating economic and social value for all stakeholders.
Westfield has become a model of a shopping center as a platform where brands can create experiences with consumers by connecting everything together. It does not just see malls as spaces to lease to brands but transforms them into destinations where diverse groups come to spend time.
One example reflecting the success of this model is Westfield London, which spans 2.6 million square feet, houses over 460 stores and more than 750 brands, including over 80 restaurants, cafes, and bars from more than 25 countries. It also features spaces for art, performances, events, community activities, and public areas designed for people to gather and spend time together.
This partnership will combine AWC’s expertise in project development and destination creation with Westfield’s global knowledge in space design, retail partnership building, destination marketing, and international management standards to jointly develop AWC’s key projects.
There are three main projects: “Asiatique The Riverfront Destination” covering 224,000 square meters with an investment of over 22 billion baht. The goal is to elevate Asiatique into a top-tier destination integrating brands, dining, entertainment, culture, and activities infused with Thai identity. Next is the development of “Wong Nakhon Kasem Yaowarat” on 32,000 square meters, located in one of Bangkok’s strongest cultural and culinary neighborhoods; and Aquatique Pattaya, spanning 110,000 square meters, positioned by AWC as Pattaya’s flagship lifestyle destination.
The collaboration extends beyond design to cover key components of building retail destinations, incorporating global management expertise to enhance Thai projects in areas such as
Ricardo Lisgano, Managing Director of Global Partnerships at Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW), said URW will bring its global expertise in creating spaces and destinations—from building retail partnerships and destination marketing to customer experience—to support the development of Asiatique The Riverfront Destination, Wong Nakhon Kasem Yaowarat, and Aquatique. He emphasized supporting AWC’s vision to create internationally recognized new lifestyle destinations in Thailand.
Meanwhile, Wallapa Traisorat, Chief Executive Officer and President of Asset World Corp Public Company Limited (AWC), stated that this collaboration aligns with AWC’s Building Better Future mission and its commitment to long-term value growth. “AWC believes that partnering with Westfield URW, connecting global expertise, leading partner networks, and successful destination creation approaches in key cities worldwide, will help set new standards for lifestyle projects in Thailand. It also opens opportunities for future collaborations to generate long-term value for all stakeholders and drive Thailand toward becoming a global hub for tourism, lifestyle, and world-class experiences.”
Meanwhile,
Michael Harit, Head of Commercial Business Group at Asset World Corp Public Company Limited (AWC), added that bringing this expertise to Thailand is a significant opportunity. Combining URW’s global know-how with AWC’s deep understanding of culture, tourism, hospitality, service, and local communities will create unique experiences reflecting Thailand’s identity. “Under this vision, AWC plans to invest over 40 billion baht over the next five years in Asiatique The Riverfront Destination and Wong Nakhon Kasem Yaowarat, covering more than 260,000 square meters. Starting with Asiatique, we aim to develop it into an internationally recognized destination and a model for blending lifestyle experiences with Thailand’s cultural identity seamlessly.”
Why is this deal interesting for Thailand’s retail sector?
Where competition previously focused on who had larger spaces, more brands, or better locations, it is now shifting toward who can create experiences that attract people to travel to and spend more time in the area.
Additionally, as retail increasingly connects with food, entertainment, arts and culture, events, and tourism, malls are no longer just places to shop but become part of the tourism ecosystem, generating economic value for surrounding areas. This contributes to the larger concept of a “Destination Economy,” where value arises from attracting people worldwide who deliberately travel and participate in ongoing economic activities across the ecosystem.
Another point to watch is how far the strategic partnership between AWC and URW will develop. Currently, it is a strategic advisory collaboration, but there is openness for future cooperation under the Westfield brand. Thus, this deal may be the starting point to test how Westfield’s global know-how combined with AWC’s local identity and assets can create new types of destinations in Thailand.
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