Surfeit of spa centres in Bangkok leads many to lower prices
There is an over-supply of spa centres in Bangkok and many of them have started cutting their prices to attract clients, according to Wiriya Phungsoonthorn, managing director of Nature Touch Aromatherapy Co Ltd, a leading local manufacturer of spa products.
"Many spa centres have asked us to take them over, because they have failed to run their businesses successfully," he said.Wiriya said that many newcomers to both spa centres and spa product manufacturing have entered the industry without studying the demand and supply situation or considering the requirements of foreign clients, who demand a perfect combination of East and West in terms of product characteristics like aroma and packaging. "We have operated a spa service centre on Sukhumvit Road for almost eight years. When we started, there were only a few spa centres in the Sukhumvit Area. Today, there are more than 100 centres along Sukhumvit Road and many of them use price cutting as their key business strategy," Wiriya said. Nature Touch operates a four-room spa centre on Sukhumvit road Soi 20 and a two-room centre in the plaza area of the Erawan Bangkok Hotel. "To avoid the over-supply problem in Thailand, we have turned to expanding our spa business abroad. We set up a joint venture and opened a spa complex in Beijing in December last year, and another joint venture will be launched in Australia this month," he said. The new 7,000-square-metre spa complex in Beijing, called "Wung Chun Gee Commercial Club", now attracts more than 300 guests a day. A traditional Thai massage costs Bt1,800 per hour and a complete spa course over two hours costs Bt9,000. The complex employs 80 Chinese therapists and six Thais, who are also trainers. "We also supply spa products to more than 40 hotels in Australia and another 530 hotels belonging to the Mercure chain throughout the world. We are currently negotiating with a potential distributor in the US, who will open spa shops and supply our products to hotels in the states," Wiriya said. He said Nature Touch also provides spa management consulting to Majestic Spa in Hua Hin and Living Senses Spa in Samui, as well as other spa centres in France, Lebanon, Vietnam and Hong Kong. Anunt Sahasakul, export manager for Pass Meridian Co Ltd, a manufacturer of spa products including natural soaps and body lotions, said that any drop in foreign visitors to Thailand, particularly those from Japan and Korea, would impact on his company's business. "We distribute our spa products, particularly the natural soap products, through local duty-free shops and travellers from Japan and Korea are our key customers," said Anunt. "However, there is no sign of a decline in sales through those duty free channels at the moment." Kwanchai RungfapaisarnThe Nation
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