Four decades after it opened in Manhattan’s SoHo district, Dean & DeLuca has proved such a hit in Bangkok that a Thai firm today announced it has bought the premium food seller.

Pace Development Corp., a developer of high-end, mixed-use projects such as the nearly completed Mahanakorn, today announced that it will acquire all of the brand’s global business and assets for THB4.6 billion (USD$140 million) from Dean & DeLuca Holdings, Inc.

“We want to capitalise on the global convergence of super-premium mixed-use property development and lifestyle brands,” said Pace CEO Sorapoj Techakraisri in a news release. “The best margins in the business of premium property development of the future is in offering customers a lifestyle — not just bricks and mortar. People want a total delivered environment where they feel good about living.”

Dean & DeLuca opened its biggest store in the world earlier this year in the under-construction Mahanakorn Cube development in the Sathorn area, which is adjacent to the site of what will be Bangkok’s tallest building when it’s completed next year.

The acquisition includes Dean’s supply chain, 11 outlets and licensing agreements covering 31 international locations including Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

Sorapoj said further expansion is planned.

“We expect to open hundreds of new stores in the next two years to add to the current 42 stores, and to increase our global footprint from eight countries to more than 15 countries in the same period through licensing and our own investments.”

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Dean and Deluca preps its biggest store in the world at Mahanakhon

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