Saha-Union set to take on world brands
Saha-Union, a manufacturer and distributor of sports shoes and accessories, targets its sales next year to grow 15 per cent from Bt170 million this year, despite expecting the market to continue to experience low growth.
Marketing manager Chana Vasuvat said yesterday that the market's growth had slowed this year to 7-8 per cent from 10 per cent last year. Growth next year is expected to fall to 5-7 per cent. Political turmoil, economic slowdown, oil prices, petrol-chemical prices, southern terrorism and disasters are factors for the decline in a market currently worth Bt2.9 billion He said the company will have to steal market share from competitors including Nike and Adidas in order to achieve higher growth than the market. It plans four strategies. First, it will promote special technologies. Second, it will keep promoting products' properties such as anti-bacteria that help to prevent odours in shoes. Third, it will launch a new product line called Sport Culture. Fourth, it will launch products under its Plus collection with special features and designs. Currently, the company sells its products through Super Sports, The Mall Group, Sports World and Pena Group. Chana admitted that drawing consumers' attention from renowned international brands such as Nike and Adidas was a challenge for the company, especially when its products were placed near those brands in shopping malls. Its solution is to have its own sales representatives at selling points to explain the products to consumers. By the middle of next year, Saha-Union expects to expand into the direct-sales market. It is negotiating with several local operators. In the long term, the company aims to generate net earnings of Bt200 million by 2009, with a net profit of more than 8 per cent of expected sales, he said. As part of that goal, the company plans to export its products again within the next few years. It will start with Asean countries because Thai products have a very good reputation in the region and trading volume between Thailand and Asean countries is also high, Chana said. India is another potential market for the same reason. In addition, most products selling in the country are either very expensive or very cheap. Its prices will fill a gap in the middle. Saha-Union products are available in Hong Kong and southern Africa, with those markets contributing 5 per cent of its total sales.
Nitida Asawanipont
The Nation
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