The hot season is here again. Not only is it time for people to look for ways to stay cool but for companies to get into marketing mode.

Popular products at this time are sunglasses, swimwear and sunscreen.

And for those that prefer to remain indoors and out of the heat, air conditioners are top of their lists of necessities.

Temperatures this year may be hotter than ever and some say global warming will make 2007 the warmest on record.

On the business side, it is a great time for manufacturers of these product to get ready for higher-than-usual demand.

Total market value for these products are commonly in the thousands of millions of baht.

Despite political uncertainty and an economic slowdown, these products continue to sell well, especially to wealthier consumers.

If products are well designed and built, people are willing to pay.

Let us see what is on offer.

Air conditioners are the early birds. Total demand for residential air conditioners is projected to grow between 5 per cent and 10 per cent to about 800,000 units this year. That is Bt20 billion in sales value.

The growth projection is in line with early hot weather. Thailand has been warming up since the beginning of this month and this means higher air-conditioner sales.

Those numbers are big growth over last year when sales witnessed a decline of almost 10 per cent.

Local air-conditioner manufacturers have embarked on aggressive marketing and attractive pricing to stimulate demand in a booming market.

In swimwear, two-piece suits are the trend - sexy yet conservative in style

Consumers turn to magazines for ideas about what to buy. Celebrity Pawarisa Phenchat is posing for Triumph swimwear and Pitchanat Sakhakorn and Natthaveeranuch Thongmee are wearing Janzen.

Two-piece suits are the trend, executives agreed.

"More people like sexy and conservative. Two-piece swimming suits are the trend because of styles that are easier to wear than a one-piece. Yet most prefer spaghetti-strap dress-like and shorts-like styles. Bikinis tends to be popular but are still not that strong," Triumph International (Thailand) advertising and promotion manager Kittinun Panichakrai said.

Janzen manager Chegchai Padungkarn said bikinis would gain popularity because people want to look fashionable and tasteful. Janzen has launched a new "fresh and trendy look".

In terms of colour, all manufacturers have introduced colourful suits. One thing many share is floral or graphic collections that look hip at pool parties.

Triumph focuses on a sporty look.

There is no official figure for the total domestic market but the middle to high-end swimwear market is expected to be about Bt500 million to Bt600 million.

Kittinun said Triumph was the market leader followed by Speedo and Janzen.

Competition is strong and consumers focus on promotions and price. Some brands like Janzen sell three times more suits at this time than any other part of the year.

Eyeglasses with a 60s retro design are in. Dark frames are still the most popular, according to Diethelm assistant vice president Sucheep Sriphrudtha.

Prices are not consumers' main concern. Cutting prices suggests a loss of quality, Sucheep said.

Ray-Ban has been the market leader for more than 70 years. It has always been Diethelm's most popular brand.

The manufacturer has a new slogan, "Never Hide". Sucheep said it encouraged wearers to "show their character".

Other luxury brands such as Emporio Armani and Gucci are also among consumers' top choices, said Pakee from Better Vision Group.

Up-and-coming brands such as Guess, Miss Sixty and Lacoste have been winning more customers and are giving the leading brands a run for their money.

Nevertheless, in spite of good growth, the high-end glasses market is still small. Sucheep said there was no official figure of market value but he estimated the market was worth Bt5 billion.

He said the number of people wearing eyeglasses was still small compared with Western countries.

Hence, apart from attractive design and building strong brand awareness, educating consumers about the benefits of wearing sunglasses was necessary.

Non-greasy sunscreens with high sun-protection factors are preferred, according to Beiersdorf (Thailand) product manager Sarinna Dejitthirat.

"From a survey, the preferred SPF is 30 for daily use and 50 for beach use, according to the company's senior product manager Wongthipa Wongsamut.

At the same time, people are learning more about the dangers of ultra-violet rays, Sarinna added.

Eucerin has introduced Ultra Sun Protection SPF 60 which the company claims protects users from up to 90 per cent of ultra-violet rays and protects skin from wrinkles, too.

Meanwhile, Nivea Sun has adjusted the formulas of two popular products - Nivea Sun Whitening Sun Block Lotion SPF 50 and Nivea Sun Refreshing Milk Whitening Daily Face Sun Block SPF 30 - and relaunched them.

Wongthipa said the selling point was the two-in-one concept.

In terms of market value, Sarinna said sun products were worth about Bt700 million a year, including the medical skincare market.

Sarinna said summer sales were four times higher than normal and so advertising spending followed suit. Sales in the hot season account for 35 per cent of annual sales.

But Nivea Sun said sales increased 50 per cent between March and April. Its sales during the hot season account for 25 per cent of its annual sales. It spends Bt100 million on advertising each year.

Nitida Asawanipont

Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn

The Nation