CP Axtra to roll out five Food chains across Makro and Lotus stores. Thai retailer CP Axtra partnered with Minor Food Group in October 2026 to introduce five restaurant brands across select Makro and Lotus stores. Under the corporate franchise agreement, CP Axtra will invest in and own the outlets, while Minor Food will manage operations across Dairy Queen, Swensen's, Gaga Cafe, Bonchon, and The Steak & More. Benchawan Ongsri, chief mall officer of CP Axtra, said the partnership deepens collaboration between the two companies under CP Axtra's Happy & Healthy Mall development strategy. How the corporate franchise framework works. This arrangement alters standard retail leasing. Instead of acting as a commercial landlord collecting tenant rent, CP Axtra commits capital expenditure directly into restaurant buildouts. Minor Food provides its operational workforce, ingredient supply chains, and management systems across each brand. Minor Food operates more than 3,000 restaurants across 25 countries. The group brings established operational protocols to the partnership. In turn, CP Axtra provides prime floor space and immediate customer footfall from its existing grocery shoppers. Changing commercial terms for mall footprint. Hypermarket operators rarely monetize secondary retail space through this structure. Traditional lease models leave landlords vulnerable to tenant turnover and vacant restaurant units when regional consumption slows. By purchasing franchise rights and paying Minor Food to manage the locations, CP Axtra captures dining sales revenue directly while controlling its tenant mix. For Minor Food, the framework secures access to high-footfall grocery properties without burdening its balance sheet with fit-out capital. CP Axtra absorbs the capital risk of store buildouts. Minor Food assumes the operational execution risk across the joint sites. Building out the Happy & Healthy Mall network. CP Axtra runs the wholesale chain Makro alongside the Lotus's supermarket and hypermarket network. The company has steadily remodeled existing properties into lifestyle-focused shopping centers designed to increase customer dwell time beyond routine grocery trips. Established fast-casual and dessert brands give CP Axtra dependable footfall anchors. Quick-service dessert concepts Dairy Queen and Swensen's capture incidental purchases from supermarket shoppers. Casual dining formats Bonchon and The Steak & More draw evening family trade. Next steps for store conversions. Rollout plans begin across high-potential Makro and Lotus's branches nationwide, prioritizing urban centers with verified footfall data before expanding into provincial hubs. Store opening schedules and initial site selections in Bangkok and key provincial centers will determine the pace of the joint expansion. Questions & answers. Q. Which restaurant brands are included in the partnership? A. The agreement covers five brands managed by Minor Food Group: Dairy Queen, Swensen's, Gaga Cafe, Bonchon, and The Steak & More. These concepts span quick-service dessert outlets aimed at incidental grocery shoppers and casual dining formats designed to attract evening family trade. Q. How does this corporate franchise model differ from a standard retail lease? Q. What strategic goal does CP Axtra aim to achieve through the expansion? Q. Where will the new restaurant outlets be opened first? Reader pulse Should hypermarket landlords own their restaurant tenants? 18,968 votes so far

Thailand’s CP Axtra Public Company Ltd is acquiring The Food Purveyor, which runs Village Grocer and Ben's Independent Grocer, for RM1.7 billion from private equity firm Navis Capital.