Managing director Yutthana Saengsopha said yesterday the firm had approached HomePro, HomeWorks and Cement Thai Home Mart and would conclude the deals by the end of next quarter.

Its products target the middle and mass markets with prices 35-40 per cent cheaper than competitors.

The company's Vertigo sanitaryware brand will be the first for the retail market. Vertigo and another of its own brands, Casamila coloured glass tiles, are made in China. It also sells two other brands but not under its own label.

It will use Bt5 million of this year's Bt10-million marketing budget to build retail awareness for all its brands.

It has set a three-point strategy to eliminate the perception of Chinese products as cheap and of low quality.

The company will open a showroom on Rama III Road to assure consumers it takes its responsibility towards them seriously.

It will stake its credibility built up over a decade to guarantee all its products. Corporate customers include Ritta Construction, Italian-Thai Development, City Realty, the Millennium Hilton Hotel, Siam Paragon, the subway, the Skytrain and Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The company plans to advertise its products through various media channels and arrange public relations activities.

No more showrooms or dealers will be added this year, as its capacity is limited right now. But next year a showroom will open on Samui. End-users will account for 30 per cent of the company's Bt500-million domestic sales expected this year and corporate customers the rest.

The company will distribute two more imported brands - Hava doorknobs and Gedun chandeliers and lamps.

Purma Steelisa (Thailand) Co Ltd, a unit of the US-based Purma, represents Glory-Thai in Dubai and Doha, while Laos is served by China State Construction Co, which will build stadiums in Vientiane for the 2009 SEA Games.

Glory-Thai expects total sales of Bt600 million, of which Bt100 million will come from exports.

Nitida Asawanipont

The Nation