Back-to-school sales launched
A girl tries a school skirt for size during the launch of Tesco Lotus’s ‘Roll Back to School’ campaign yesterday.
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Many of the country's modern retailers launched aggressive back-to-school sales campaigns yesterday, recognising that the start of the new school year is a time when parents are willing to spend heavily for their children's education.
Price promotions are the key marketing strategy, with some stores promising prices lower than last year's and profit sacrifices on uniforms and accessories to help struggling parents. According to Kasikorn Research Centre, almost 30 per cent of spending by parents during April and May is committed to school products for their kids. Tesco Lotus launched its "Roll Back to School" campaign by teaming up with between 15 and 20 major suppliers. It offers price discounts of between 10 per cent and 30 per cent on normal prices for more than 1,000 products in the school uniform and equipment lines. Central Department Store launched a "Central Back to School" campaign, offering price discounts of between 15 per cent and 50 per cent. It will feature at all Central department stores until May 21. The Internal Trade Department is also planning a "Back to School Fair" from today to May 1 at the Export Promotion Department's Product Exhibition Centre on Ratchadaphisek Road. It will offer discounts of 10-40 per cent, with the aim of easing the burden of school opening on parents. Tesco Lotus chief executive Jeff Adams said his organisation was bringing together good-quality products at economical prices to help share the burden on parents. "Part of our achievement is the ability to offer prices that are cheaper than the year before," he said. "We have reduced our management costs and increased our work efficiency to achieve the savings that we need to pass on to customers." Tesco Lotus's campaign also marks the launch of the company's Khumkha in-house brand of schoolwear, with prices starting at Bt65 for a kindergarten shirt, Bt69 for a primary-school shirt and Bt99 for a secondary-school shirt. The Mall Department Store and Siam Paragon said they would invest more than Bt15 million in "Thailand's Biggest Back to School" campaign, which runs to May 16 at The Mall's MCC Halls, including those at its Bang Kapi, Ngamwongwan and Bang Kae branches. The campaign aims to attract between 300,000 and 500,000 shoppers. The Mall Group's chief marketing officer, Chamnarn Maytaprechakul, said that beyond discounting prices, the group was adding value to the campaign by offering "top-up" purchases. For every Bt500 spent, buyers will be offered free gift vouchers and they will also be able to buy products such as radio clocks, table lamps and painting sets at special prices. "Our internal survey shows that 70-80 per cent of our regular customers are modern families with one or two children. Their average spending per visit in our Back-to-School campaign is between Bt500 and Bt1,000," Chamnarn said. "The number of the families that have children of secondary-school age has increased by 10 per cent every year."
Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn The Nation
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