"We want to regain our leadership in the local detergent market by increasing our Attack market share from 15.3 per cent to 20 per cent by the end of this year. Almost Bt500 million will be spent to strengthen the awareness of Attack in the market," Chutima Panurach, senior category manager in the marketing department, said yesterday.

Attack used to be number one 10 years ago with 20 per cent of the market, he said.

Unilever's Breeze Excel took over the crown with a 21-per-cent share.

CEO Shigeru Ueyama said product innovation was no longer the key to success for the brand.

"Retrieving consumers' satisfaction both in functional and emotional needs will play a major role," he said.

Kao yesterday launched its latest Attack Soft Plus concentrated detergent to complement the busy lifestyles of consumers without compromising on quality.

Ueyama said over 90 per cent of housewives used a softener but it took them 15-30 minutes to complete the process. Today many people were busy, so Attack Soft Plus - the latest premium two-in-one concentrated detergent plus softener - would help them by cleaning and softening clothes in one step. It would respond better to consumer needs by shortening washing time.

Chutima said the overall detergent market last year grew by 3 per cent to Bt12 billion, with half of sales coming from hand-washing detergents, 42 per cent from concentrated detergents and 8 per cent from liquid detergents.

Ueyama said the local arm of the giant Japanese consumer firm last year debuted its Attack Easy here to strengthen the brand's positioning in the regular detergent segment for hand-washing.

"The launch of Attack Easy led to great success, reflecting the performance of the total Attack line. We could earn widespread popularity from consumers with great success in market share and growth rate," he said.

With Attack Soft Plus, the company expects to grow its total sales for 2007 by double digits.

After relocating its Attack manufacturing facility to Thailand in 2005, Kao's manufacturing arm Kao Industrial has been promoting the Kingdom as the regional manufacturing hub for Attack.

More than 10 per cent of its detergent output is exported to neighbouring countries, including Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia and Hong Kong.

Ueyama said none of the requirements of the amended Foreign Business Act would change the company's investment plan.

Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn

The Nation