The move comes after the company witnessed major changes in consumer behaviour amid recent negative economic factors, particularly oil price hikes.

Chairman Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul said yesterday that all Toshiba products would eventually be marked with a "T-Chang" symbol, to alert consumers to their energy-saving and environmentally friendly properties.

The company is starting with refrigerators, launching its first six-door model, with 17.6 cubic feet of space. Priced at Bt89,900, the product is targeted at high-end consumers who want to replace their current model. It uses energy more efficiently than do two- or three-door or side-by-side refrigerators.

Toshiba created the symbol three years ago and distributed it to all of its markets worldwide, but it has only become popular in its own backyard - Japan.

"Promoting the symbol in the Thai market didn't work before, because Thais at that time didn't care much about finding products that save money and energy in the long run," said Toshiba president Hidenori Matsui.

Saving energy is one of the company's marketing focuses for the second half of the year, after spending the first six months launching promotional campaigns related to the World Cup. Its total marketing budget this year is Bt400 million.

Matsui said Toshiba was the leader in the refrigerator market last year, accounting for 20 per cent of the 1.4 million units sold. The market is expected to increase to 1.75 million units this year. Multiple-door models make up 4 per cent of the overall market.

He said projected sales were expected to lose steam as the real-estate market cooled, but households still wanted to replace their old fridges.

The sales target for the new model is 400 units, backed by a Bt10-million advertising and marketing budget.

Toshiba plans to unveil more innovative, value-added products like the six-door refrigerator - including LED projectors, liquid-crystal displays, notebook PCs and mobile phones - in its fiscal year ending next March.

Toshiba has targeted total sales growth of 15 per cent to Bt4.4 billion for this year.

During the World Cup in June and July, the company's sales rose 20 per cent. In the audio-visual category alone, its sales during the tournament leaped 50 per cent, thanks to a rush on LCD and plasma television sets.

Nitida Asawanipont

The Nation