In Conversation with Tanit Chearavanont: Remaking Makro for the Modern Retail Era

On stage at the Forbes Under 30 Summit Asia 2025, one session featured a discussion with Tanit Chearavanont, Group Chief Wholesale Business Officer of CP AXTRA. He spoke candidly about the challenges facing new-generation leaders tasked with steering one of Asia’s most storied organizations – the Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group), which has a history spanning more than 100 years.

From a young man who was once determined to forge his own path outside the family business to becoming a key leader navigating Makro, a 36-year-old wholesale business, through the waves of Digital Disruption—how did he do it?

Leaving the World of Finance to Transform Wholesale

“To be honest... when I was in high school and going on to college, I really did not want to work for the family business.”

His career began in investment banking, a demanding role with grueling hours often lasting until two or three in the morning. The turning point came during a simple conversation with his grandfather, who asked, “Why don't you take all that energy you're using to work so hard and use it for our group's business?”

Those words made him pause and think, and a few weeks later, he resigned and returned to start a new path at CP Group.

“I thought to myself, 'Oh, okay, most likely I'll be in this business unit for maybe two, three years, and then I'll rotate somewhere else.'... A lot of people externally assume that it's all planned, it's all succession planning, but I can tell you that it's baptism by fire.”

A ‘Do or Die’ Mandate

When Tanit stepped into a leadership role, he confronted a stark reality: Makro, a traditional wholesale business, faced an existential risk. At the time, e-commerce accounted for less than 3% of its total sales.

Tanit described it as a “Do or Die” moment, pointing to examples in the Thai market where companies failed to adapt and disappeared – such as the once-iconic VCD store ‘Mangpong’ (Scorpion), once a listed company but now barely remembered.

This was the starting point for Tanit's mission to transform Makro into the number one E-commerce platform for consumer goods. In just two and a half years, the team engineered a dramatic leap in e-commerce, driving it from 3% to 30% of sales, supported by a ten-fold expansion of its delivery fleet, from 400 to 4,000 vehicles.

Physical stores also underwent a major facelift. “They looked antiquated,” Tanit admitted. Stores were modernized to create a more contemporary, appealing atmosphere, improving the in-store customer experience.

The transformation extended to product selection. Tanit personally reviews nearly 100 new products every week, using data from Nielsen, Euromonitor, and even social media, to ensure Makro’s offerings stay aligned with customer demand.

Technology is Easier to Change Than People

For Tanit, the toughest challenge wasn’t technology – it's managing people and shifting mindsets.

He explained that when implementing rapid change in a 36-year-old company, “I don't think everyone is going to buy into that idea... there's always going to be difficulty with the old guard.”

To break down barriers and accelerate execution, Tanit made a bold move: he merged the Core Tech team, which managed the legacy ERP system, with the Digital Tech team, which oversaw e-commerce.

The logic was simple: “If a customer orders 10 items, but the backend system doesn't deduct stock in real-time, it creates catastrophic downstream problems.” By unifying the teams, they adopted an Agile framework, organizing teams into ‘Squads’ to manage projects end-to-end, which massively accelerated development.

AI Must Start with Data Literacy

“Before we even talk about AI, we need to talk about the organization first... If your employees don't access data that often, let's say Power BI... but they're not actually using it, even if I introduce AI, it's no use.”

Rather than rushing to implement AI, Tanit emphasized building a foundation of Data Literacy for all employees. Only then, he said, would AI deliver real value.

Interestingly, Makro is also developing its own proprietary AI and has already started developing and patenting two models:

1. AI for Thai language search: Due to the complexity of the Thai language, this AI helps improve product search accuracy.
2. AI for learning customer behavior: The system remembers the purchasing behavior of each customer to deliver more relevant search results on repeat visits.

Offline Stores Aren't Disappearing

Tanit believes the future of retail isn't a binary choice between online or offline, but about creating a seamless Omni-Channel experience.

I feel that most consumers are exhibiting omni-channel behavior.

On one occasion, Tanit and his team traveled to Udon Thani, a major city in Thailand's northeast. He went “undercover” as a delivery driver, even driving the truck himself. He wanted to stress-test the logistics system, identify ground-level problems and opportunities, and talk to customers directly to truly understand their behaviors and needs.

What he discovered was an insight more valuable than any spreadsheet: visceral confirmation that modern customers are truly Omni-Channel. Customers told him they love ordering frequently used products online for convenience but, at the same time, still enjoy visiting the Makro store to browse and discover new, interesting products.

This insight reinforced Makro's dual focus: developing a world-class UI/UX for its digital platform while simultaneously modernizing its physical stores to be more appealing.

When asked about balancing respect for a 100-year-old organization's legacy with driving the future, Tanit gave an insightful answer: adapting to the times is how you honor the legacy.

“In the past, we always said, ‘the big fish eats small fish,’ right? But today, in this generation, I can tell you that small fish, fast fish can eat all fish... And if the group can adapt and survive in this environment, then in return, you are actually honoring the company's legacy.”

Based on the session: “In Conversation with Tanit Chearavanont” session at the Forbes Under 30 Summit Asia 2025.