The Mall Group slashes sales target
The economic slowdown and the seemingly uncertain political situation have shaken the confidence of The Mall Group's chief merchandiser and its Lingerie Salon team, leading them to halve their sales-growth target for next year to 15 per cent.
The Mall Group's chief merchandiser, Malinee Subboriboon, said yesterday that people appeared to have less confidence in the current government. Also, she said, the country's future after the next general election, which is to be held within a year, was unclear. Another factor mentioned was that the government had set a considerably low GDP growth target of 4.5 per cent. The Mall Group's main strategy next year will be to work with its business partners to arrange regular marketing activities and campaigns. The opening of Siam Paragon late last year helped the company boost the sales growth of Lingerie Salon, the lingerie section of its department stores, amid troubling political situations and the economic slowdown of this year, said Malinee. She said the new-look lingerie department had already achieved Bt1.1 billion in sales in the first three quarters of this year. It needs Bt400 million more in sales to achieve its revenue target of Bt1.5 billion, an increase of 35 per cent on last year. In the past, average growth for the department has ranged between 10 and 15 per cent. Lingerie Salon is the name given to the lingerie departments in The Mall Group's stores. The new theme has been rolled out in the company's seven branches since late last year. The department features over 40 underwear brands such as Wacoal, Triumph, Calvin Klein, Playboy and Sloggi as well as exclusive brands such as Boudior, Spacegal and Avise. Its target group is fashion-conscious local and foreign women aged 20 to 35 with relatively high spending power. The company has allocated Bt20 million for a marketing campaign that will feature main prizes of a Blue Marine Resort & Spa package and a Body Shape gift voucher as well as discounts of up to 60 per cent. Of The Mall Group's three stores in shopping malls, Lingerie Salon in Siam Paragon has seen the most sales, with revenue from that store alone amounting to 25 per cent of the total from all Lingerie Salon outlets, said Nuttida Buntawee, senior manager of marketing advertising. She added that the average purchase at Siam Paragon and The Emporium ranged from Bt1,500 to Bt1,800 while at its store in The Mall it was between Bt800 to Bt1,000.
Nitida Asawanipont The Nation
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