The rebranding of Carrefour stores into the Big C banner has begun in earnest with the Suwinthawong site the first to get a new look.

Signs at the 10,000-square-metre Carrefour Suwinthawong were gradually changed to Big C both in-store and outside a week ago, but it officially opened under the Big C trademark yesterday.

A representative of the Big C at Suwinthawong said it chose the location first because Suwinthawong is a strategic location and sales at this branch rank in the top ten of all Carrefour branches. Moreover, there is no Big C branch in the area.

Apart from product signs and banners, the company has made some changes at the point-of-sale while maintaining the number of tenants at the plaza. The employees at the store will be transferred to Big C.

"After changing the name to Big C one week ago, feedback at the store has been satisfactory. Imported goods at some branches will not change," she said, adding the company will transform the remaining 33 Carrefour branches into Big C as quickly as possible.

Next up is the 2,000-square-metre Nong Chok Carrefour followed by Samrong. It expects to complete the store transformation by June. It has budgeted about 350 million baht for signage changes, excluding the marketing budget to rebrand its image.

An executive with Big C said Carrefour I Wish cardholders can still use it at all Big C branches until Big Card replacements are delivered.

Big C reported its revenue in 2010 rose by 3.2% to 70.23 billion baht, with a 0.6% rise in net profit to 2.88 billion. The store is optimistic about revenue as its Ratchadamri branch will reopen after fire damage from the riots on May 19, and it opened four new hypermarkets and Big C Juniors last year.

Big C shares closed unchanged on the Stock Exchange of Thailand yesterday at 76 baht, in trade worth 53.5 million baht.