Amway upbeat despite bombs
Amway’s managing director Preecha Prakobkit expects to strengthen its internal management rather than dream of rising sales this year.
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Amway (Thailand), a direct-sales company, sees no short-term effects from the bombs in Bangkok but expects that if the city suffers more bombings over a longer period, all industries will experience a big downturn.
Managing director Preecha Prakobkit said yesterday that Amway's main sales are consumer products, which people need for daily life. Hence, consumer demand will continue. However, he admitted that expensive items might be slightly affected. The company itself will have to increase its security system to ensure the safety of all its independent sales representatives as well as customers visiting the 42 Amway shops. Security measures include guards and closed-circuit television. Preecha said the bombing incidents actually provided a good opportunity for the company to review and upgrade its security measures. In terms of business safety, the company plans for the best but is always ready to tackle the worst-case scenario, said Preecha. Throughout this year, Amway will continue to strengthen its brand awareness and ensure it has strong foundations by training independent sales representatives. This year, Amway will allocate Bt800 million for improving internal management, of which Bt500 million will be for marketing and promotion, Bt200 million for developing information technology and the renovation of 10 Amway shops, and Bt100 million for advertising and public relations. It renovated its first 10 branches last year. By the end of December last year, Amway reached Bt9.71 billion in sales, Bt700 million higher than the year before. However, the company expects only to maintain current sales figures rather than generate higher sales as Preecha said it wants to focus on internal management and creating strong foundations. Amway will continue to focus on health and beauty products following the global trend in which people are paying more attention to their well-being. It plans to launch two or three major products this year. Currently, Amway has 440,000 members as consumers and 300,000 members as independent sales representatives. Amway will invest Bt40 million to organise a product expo to showcase all its products at Muang Thong Thani on January 20-21. Nitida Asawanipont The Nation
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