The company currently has a 20-per-cent share of the total market, making it the second-largest distributor of such products in Thailand.

Hoehn said the company planned to increase its market share to 25 per cent this year, with domestic sales expected to rise from last year's 70,000 units to 80,000 units - a 20-per-cent rise in value, from Bt250 million to Bt300 million.

He said his company believed it would meet its sales target this year, based on total sales of 50,000 units, or Bt200 million, in the first nine months already.

At present, Panasonic is ranked first in the sector, enjoying a 40-per-cent market share with annual volume of 330,000 units.

Hoehn said his company introduced its water heater in Thailand in 2002 and started with a market share of only 2 per cent.

To achieve its current sales target, the Stiebel Eltron Group spent Bt100 million to construct a water-heater factory in Ayutthaya's Bang Pa-in district. The manufacturing plant has a total annual production capacity of 200,000 units, but currently the plant is operating at only half capacity. Thirty per cent of total production is now exported to the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong, Russia, Laos and Cambodia.

The company has also set up a marketing budget of Bt30 million with a new marketing campaign - "I love [heart] Stiebel" - that positions Stiebel Eltron as "the water heater Germans love most". The campaign came from the idea that taking a shower is an emotional personal experience that puts people in a good mood.

It will kick off on television from October 16 and spread to the press, billboards, the Internet, points of sale, promotions and even the product design itself.

Hoehn added that the campaign would run at least through the next 12 months and may even continue for the next two or three years, serving the company's goal of being No 1 in sales in the next three or five years.

The company also plans to launch two or three new products in the market next year. This year, the group expects total sales of Bt380 million: Bt300 million from the domestic market and Bt80 million from exports.

Currently, 70 per cent of the company's domestic sales comes from the Stiebel Eltron brand for the middle to high-end market and 30 per cent from the AEG brand for the lower-end to middle market.

Somluck Srimalee

The Nation