The aggressive strategy was announced yesterday by Osram Thailand's new managing director Robert McKinnon, who took the top job at the beginning of the month.

The company is looking for options and possibilities to set up a local lighting factory to serve growing demand in Thailand and Southeast Asia, particularly for fluorescent lighting. Osram already has 49 factories in 19 countries.

"We are continually reviewing our product strategies and increasing the number of products we manufacture in Asia, not only to support growing global demand but also to meet demand here from emerging markets. Asia is a key part of our growth plans," McKinnon said.

Osram Thailand will increase its staff by almost 15 per cent next year to support its organic growth in all sales channels, including retail, original equipment manufacturing and trade.

The bigger workforce will also be needed for expansion into other fields of the lighting business, such as the automotive segment, display optics and general sales through original equipment manufacturing.

The company currently employs 30 people at its Bangkok headquarters and nearly 50 sales people working in the field.

"We will focus on intensifying marketing activities to stimulate growth," McKinnon said.

"We will also focus on our product assortment, with plans to rapidly roll out new products, particularly in general lighting."

McKinnon has about 11 years' experience in the lighting industry. Before coming to Osram Thailand, he spent almost five years at Osram headquarters in Munich, Germany, as regional sales director for Asia-Pacific.

"Osram is quite strong with professional and commercial users, such as the automotive segment, in which we have a market share of between 30 and 40 per cent.

"In the display-optic segment, in both medical and cinema applications, Osram has a market share of between 35 and 45 per cent," McKinnon said.

"We now want to improve our position in the consumer market, particularly for lamps, where Osram has a market share of less than 20 per cent."

He hopes to increase Osram's share of the local lamp market to more than 25 per cent in the next three years.

"We have increased our marketing budget by 25 per cent over last year, to be spent on both above-the-line and below-the-line activities. We will focus on informing the public about Osram as a lighting specialist," McKinnon said.

"We are global leaders in automotive lighting, and as Thailand is positioning itself as the Detroit of Asia-Pacific, we are well positioned to support the growth of the local automotive industry," he said.

McKinnon said Thailand's lamp market is expected to grow by more than 35 per cent over the next 10 years, at a rate of 5 per cent to 6 per cent per year, from a value of €72 million (Bt3.37 billion) this year to €110 million (Bt5.15 billion) in 10 years' time. Osram is aiming for double-digit sales growth in the consumer market year on year.

"We have increased our advertising budget to help achieve this goal. Below-the-line activities [events and other activities] will focus on increasing our countrywide distribution, particularly in the North and Northeast, where we have established various promotions," he said.

The company will also launch an extensive television campaign that will not only support Osram's brand appeal as a leader in global lighting technology and lighting innovation, but will also showcase an innovative lamp range that will be heavily promoted on the local market throughout next year.

Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn

The Nation