Toby Anderson, general manager of Central Watsons, yesterday said the information-technology (IT) system would undergo an overhaul costing almost Bt140 million.

"We deal with hundreds of suppliers. The products are now more complex and quite difficult to manage," he said.

The new IT system will help manage merchandise and improve the company's ordering process with suppliers. Watsons ships out of a distribution centre and warehouse at Ayutthaya Park.

The new IT system would also serve future expansion of up to several hundred thousands of stores.

About 10 Watsons would be added to the 143 existing stores this year.

The rest of the budget would be spent on training personnel, customer research, and advertising.

This year's focus will be on strengthening the firm's existing business. Watsons now serve almost 600,000 shoppers a week.

"Our consumer survey found that major Watsons customers are women, both university students and first-jobbers, aged 18 to 39. They're quite concerned about buying products that represent good value for the money. Their spending also relies on promotions offered by stores," marketing controller Nuanphan Jayanama said.

The consumer survey and new product-ordering and management system will help the company better understand its customers and source products that are suited to customers and their requirements, she said.

"With the economic uncertainty, consumers are more careful about spending money. And my team is working harder to encourage customers to spend money at Watsons," Anderson said, adding that the company had increased its marketing budget 20 per cent this year.

Watsons yesterday unveiled its "Health and Beauty Buffet" campaign offering special savings. Customers can go to any Watsons and choose three items for Bt299 from among a selection of 30 designated health and beauty products. The promotion runs from tomorrow to May 23.

"We'll focus on our existing clients in the short term by improving our product assortment and service," Anderson said.

The consumer survey also showed customers were increasingly interested in Watsons' private label offerings.

"We now have about 500 different SKUs [stock-keeping units] of our private label products, which are in various categories, such as personal care, skincare and healthcare. And the company will increase that number about 10 per cent this year, including in the hair-styling category," he said.

The overall retail market is expected to keep expanding this year but not as much as last year, when Watsons enjoyed 19-per-cent sales growth, he said.

"We're very worried about the economic uncertainty, along with external challenges like rising oil prices and the baht. It limits the confidence of our sales and marketing staff in making any business forecast or sales prediction," he added.

Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn

The Nation