What, if anything, should be done to protect small, local retailers from the expansion of large chain stores throughout Thailand?

Nowadays, the rapid expansion of a large chain store, Carrefour , is so high that it affects the local retailers. The Thai government should play an important role in preventing this effect by cooperating with small shops and giving economics knowledge. As we know, a strong point of the large chain store is that the costs are very cheap when comparing with small shops. The giant store has the power of purchasing, so the government should give the power to small retailers by establishing cooperation. If the government and small shops are cooperative, small shops will have more power to bargain with vendors because they can buy a larger amount of items. This action will cause lower material capital and also lower cost. In addition, although Thailand has recently announced FTA (Free Trade Area) with many countries such as USA, Japan, and Australia, the government should intervene in the local economic system by giving economics knowledge to strengthen the small shops. Some of the owners of local shops are uneducated and follow the selling way from their ancestors’ way; consequently, their shops are unattractive. The authorities can set up workshops about how a shop should be displayed or how to select the goods that attract consumers. As a result, their shop can sell more and can compete with large stores. In brief, because of the rapid expansion of large chain stores in Thailand, the government can help the local business to solve problem by cooperating with small shops and providing knowledge about the economy.