By the time this issue of Hua Hin Today goes to print, Blúport, Hua Hin’s ultimate shopping, lifestyle and entertainment experience will be open for business and the Hua Hin retail scene will never be the same again.
The Liptapanlop family, sole owners of Proud Real Estate Co. Ltd., has long been big stakeholders in the development of Hua Hin. The company is also a partner with The Mall Group in the 4 billion THB Blúport Shopping Mall opening on 1st October with the concept title “The Enchanted Journey to the Port of Pleasure”. “The Blúport Hua Hin Resort Mall has been designed to blend in with the heritage and charm of this well-preserved dream destination architecturally and culturally”, says one family leader, Khun Suwat Liptapanlop. Hua Hin continues to increase its international appeal and sophistication with the recent development of new recreational, sporting, cultural and consumer venues with Blúport as the latest example. The opening of the Blúport Resort Mall signals yet another phase in this growth to be enjoyed by discerning residents and visitors.
Blúport: The Basics
- The Mall Group built the Blúport Hua Hin Resort Mall on 250,000 square metres of land between Sois 100 and 102 on Petchakasem Road Hua Hin in partnership with Proud Real Estate Co.
- Blúport is a 4 Billion THB development with 5 levels of construction and a retail area of 140,000 square metres.
- Car parking is accommodated with 3,500 parking bays. Hua Hin’s history, beaches and seaside provided inspiration for design themes throughout the Mall.
- Blúport combines shopping opportunities at a Department Store with over 1,000 leading fashion, lifestyle, beauty, sports and technology brands together with themed shopping ‘arcades’ and virtual villages with over 200 additional boutique retail outlets.
- Dining, produce markets and the more casual ‘grab and go’ offer every style of gastronomic opportunity.
- Kids are able to experience a virtual underwater interactive play area with ‘Whaley’ and his fishy friends.
- Six world-class cinemas including 1 VIP cinema with over 1,200 seats equipped with state-of-the-art technology.
- The Blú Concierge Service provides for reservation & bookings, international shipping, lost & found, VAT refunds and other customer support options.
Visiting Supaluck Umpujh; the Blúport Visionary
Supaluck Umpujh is Vice President of The Mall Group that owns Bangkok’s Siam Paragon and Emporium, The EmQuartier shopping complex and dubbed the ‘iron lady’ of retail in Thailand.
Our meeting was at ‘Belle Baan’ (French/ Thai – beautiful house), the gracious home of Khun Supaluck; set within a green leafy garden with many stone sculptures just a lane away from one of the busier Bangkok thoroughfares. Our meeting was with an equally gracious host driven by an artistic passion, genuine enthusiasm and determination. Khun Supaluck showed us an earlier photo of the Blúport site with a small house where she has fond memories of childhood family holidays.
The Blúport development is driven by her personal experiences in Hua Hin, as well as her commercial motivation. Khun Supaluck is a hands-on project manager, designer, interior decorator and concept developer. What can now be seen at Blúport is an extension of her style and perhaps an insight to her personality. Because of Khun Supaluck there are whimsical nautical themes with fun and colour as well as culture, style and practicality on show.
If you wear a blue and white sailor-suit you’ll fit in fine! Khun Supaluck is also behind an exhibition of water-painting by internationally renowned artists featuring a massive mural some 15 metres long which may be some sort of world record. The exhibition commences at Blúport from the opening day on 1st October with paintings available by auction. On the thornier issues of traffic management and other infrastructure needs, Khun Supaluck is informed, alert and ready with the solutions.
For example there has been a substantial land purchase behind Blúport to allow an expanded rear access and to ease main road congestion. This was a comfortable conversation rather than an interview with the driving force behind Blúport. Our thanks to Khun Supaluck for sharing her insights and infectious optimism.