Klang Plaza

Klang Plaza is a locally established department-store and shopping-mall business based in Nakhon Ratchasima, the major urban center commonly known as Korat in northeastern Thailand. Its history began in 1958, when local businessman Paisarn Manasilp opened Klang Wittaya, a book and stationery shop. That original retail activity remains part of the business, giving Klang Plaza an unusually clear connection between its early stationery-and-books roots and its later department-store format. The company developed around a neighborhood-oriented retail model. Rather than positioning itself solely as a destination mall, Klang Plaza has emphasized practical goods and services that can be reached by residents from surrounding city neighborhoods. Its reported focus includes supermarkets, books and stationery, information technology, sporting goods, restaurants, food centers, entertainment, and other everyday shopping services. The business uses the motto "The Korat Department Store," linking the brand to its home city and regional identity. Klang Plaza Asadang, established in 1976, represented a major expansion of the concept. At the time of its opening, it was described as the largest shopping mall in northeastern Thailand. The outlet included a food center, a children's play area, a supermarket, a bookstore, and a range of food and beverage tenants. Its listed tenants and services have included KFC and Dunkin' Donuts, alongside Klang-operated retail facilities. Klang Plaza Jomsurang followed in 1991. Located in the city center approximately 100 meters from the Thao Suranaree Monument, the nine-floor outlet expanded the brand's assortment and leisure offer. Its facilities have included a basement supermarket, a bookstore, an information-technology center, a food center, IT City, B2S, Supersports, a Bangkok Bank branch, franchise restaurants, an indoor amusement park, karaoke, a BB gun range, and bowling. The site also provides parking for more than 400 cars, making it both a central shopping location and a broader entertainment venue. Reference material describes Klang Plaza as operating three outlets and planning a fourth location near the railway station. The available material does not establish the opening date, final configuration, or current operating status of that proposed outlet. The company is best understood as a regional Thai retail brand rather than a nationwide or internationally scaled chain. Its differentiation rests on local familiarity, a long operating history, a concentration on books, stationery, supermarkets, and practical household shopping, and the integration of food and entertainment services within city-based properties.

Klang Plaza's documented history begins in 1958 in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. Local businessman Paisarn Manasilp started the business through Klang Wittaya, a shop specializing in books and stationery. The shop established the commercial identity from which the later Klang Plaza retail operation developed, and it is reported to remain in operation. This origin is important to the brand's character: books, stationery, and other practical goods were not secondary additions but part of its first known retail activity. The business later moved into a larger department-store and shopping-mall format. Klang Plaza's stated concept centers on serving Korat residents with accessible urban retail. Its stores are intended to be within walking distance of city neighborhoods where possible, while also combining everyday shopping with food and leisure services. The company has been associated particularly with supermarkets and stationery supplies, while its properties have also accommodated bookstores, technology retailers, sporting-goods stores, banks, restaurants, and entertainment venues. The first specifically identified mall outlet is Klang Plaza Asadang, founded in 1976. Contemporary descriptions characterized it as the largest shopping mall in northeastern Thailand at that time. The property included a large food center and a children's play park, indicating that Klang Plaza was already combining retail with family-oriented leisure. Its reported facilities included a Klang Supermarket, a Klang Bookstore, the Asadang Food Center, KFC, and Dunkin' Donuts. The outlet helped establish the brand as a recognizable local department-store destination rather than simply an expanded stationery retailer. In 1991, Klang Plaza opened its Jomsurang outlet in central Nakhon Ratchasima. The store stands close to the Thao Suranaree Monument, a prominent city landmark, and was described as a nine-floor property with parking for more than 400 cars. At the time, it was also characterized as the largest shopping mall in the northeastern region. Its vertical format enabled the company to broaden its offer substantially. Reported facilities included a basement supermarket; a bookstore on the third floor; an IT center; a food center; IT City; B2S; Supersports; a Bangkok Bank branch; and multiple franchise restaurants. Jomsurang also demonstrates the brand's expansion into entertainment. The outlet has been described as containing an indoor amusement park and karaoke on the sixth floor, together with a BB gun range and bowling on the eighth floor. These uses positioned the property as a mixed retail and recreation complex serving both routine shopping and social or family outings. Reference material describes Klang Plaza as having three outlets and constructing a fourth near the railway station. The available source does not provide a definitive opening date for the proposed railway-area location, nor does it identify a corporate parent, public listing, ownership structure, or detailed executive succession. Accordingly, the documented history supports a picture of a long-standing, locally controlled retail brand that evolved from a 1958 book-and-stationery store into a multi-outlet department-store and mall operator. Its historical continuity comes from retaining the Klang Wittaya book and stationery connection while adding supermarkets, shopping departments, food courts, branded tenants, banking, technology, sporting goods, and entertainment.

• 1991

  Klang Plaza Jomsurang opens

  [1]Klang Plazaen.wikipedia.org

  The nine-floor Jomsurang store opens in central Nakhon Ratchasima near the Thao Suranaree Monument, adding expanded retail, dining, technology, banking, and entertainment facilities.

• 1976

  Klang Plaza Asadang is founded

  [1]Klang Plazaen.wikipedia.org

  The Asadang outlet opens and is described as the largest shopping mall in northeastern Thailand at the time, with retail, food, and children's leisure facilities.

• 1958

  Klang Wittaya opens

  [1]Klang Plazaen.wikipedia.org

  Paisarn Manasilp begins the business in Nakhon Ratchasima with a book and stationery store called Klang Wittaya.

• Fourth outlet planned near the railway station

  [1]Klang Plazaen.wikipedia.org

  Reference material reports construction of a fourth Klang Plaza location near the railway station, but does not specify its opening date or final operating status.

A locally embedded Korat department-store and shopping-mall brand focused on convenient neighborhood access, practical retail categories, books and stationery, supermarkets, food services, and family entertainment.

• Books and stationery · 1958

  Klang Wittaya

  The original book and stationery business from which Klang Plaza developed. Established in 1958, Klang Wittaya represents the brand's longest-documented retail connection and remains associated with its continuing focus on educational, office, and paper goods.

• Supermarket

  Klang Supermarket

  A supermarket format operated within Klang Plaza properties. Supermarkets are among the company's core retail categories and support its neighborhood-oriented positioning by providing routine grocery and household shopping alongside department-store services.

• Books and stationery

  Klang Bookstore

  Bookstore facilities located within Klang Plaza malls, including the Asadang and Jomsurang outlets. They extend the original Klang Wittaya book-and-stationery heritage into the company's larger shopping-center format.

• Food court

  Klang Plaza Food Centers

  Food-center facilities associated with Klang Plaza outlets, including the basement food center at Asadang and the Jomsurang Food Center. These areas complement supermarket and department-store shopping with inexpensive, convenient dining.

• Shopping mall and leisure services

  Klang Plaza shopping-mall services

  The broader property offer combines retail departments with restaurants, branded food outlets, banking, technology retail, sporting goods, children's activities, amusement facilities, karaoke, bowling, and other leisure uses. The exact tenant mix varies by outlet and over time.

1. 1Klang Plazaen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Klang Plaza official websiteklangplaza.com