Up to 80 new shops to open in 2nd half Ek-Chai Distribution System Co, the operator of Lotus’s hypermarkets, is moving ahead with plans to allocate 12.5-13.5 billion baht this year to expand its business. Sompong Rungnirattisai, the company’s chief executive, said the spending will focus on opening new Lotus’s stores, refreshing existing stores to become “Everyday Smart Community Centres” for customers, and upgrading IT infrastructure and online systems. In the first half of this year, the company spent more than 6 billion baht opening 39 new stores and introducing new store concepts that cate…