"Customers of S'Fare are narrowly limited to financial staff and bankers, aged 35 to 55," senior vice president Chakrapong Chalermchai said yesterday.

"We want to promote the brand to more customers, both young and top executives, who are highly successful in their careers," he said.

After keeping a low profile for more than 10 years without launching any TV commercials, S'Fare will take a more aggressive approach this year, giving its image a modern makeover and designing fashions suited to "new generation executives who demand excitement and success in life".

The subsidiary of Central Marketing Group yesterday launched two S'Fare lines - the Luxury Series and Young Executive Series - targeted at top executives who demand "premium quality clothing with world-class style", and executives aged 25-35 who want a modern working uniform that "reflects their own unique character".

"We have set aside a marketing budget of Bt25 million to promote S'Fare products this year," Chakrapong said.

The budget will be spent on a TV commercial entitled "Cat Walk", starting on June 28, as well as on organising road shows to many office building and campuses throughout Bangkok.

"We aim at increasing the share of S'Fare in the Bt5-billion men's apparel market from 7-8 per cent now to at least 10 per cent by the end of this year," he said.

The company expects to grow sales of S'Fare by 10-15 per cent this year by boosting exports as well expanding corporate sales, particularly to banks and financial institutions that want uniforms for their staff.

"We aim at increasing exports of our S'Fare apparel to new markets such as India and the Middle East. We are already supplying many markets in Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Cambodia," he said.

Central would like to increase exports from only 5 per cent of sales to about 20 per cent by the end of this year.

Kwanchai  Rungfapaisarn

The Nation