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Published on July 19, 2007

Methin Lersumitkul, 30, has good reason to think differently from his father's generation when it comes to running a business. He learned a lot from the 1997 financial crisis.

However, Methin, who is a second-generation member of the Lersumitkul family that founded Moong Pattana Marketing, says his father, Sumeth, 57, is quite daring and decisive in conducting business. Sumeth is now company chairman.

He says his father's character fitted well with the business environment at a time when competition was not as tough as it is today. Sumeth founded Moong Pattana Marketing more than 30 years ago as the local sales agent and distributor of Pigeon baby products, including teats and feeding bottles. The products remain the company's core business.

After graduating with a bachelor's degree in economics from Chulalongkorn University in 1998 and a master's degree in international business from Aston Business School in Birmingham, England, in 2000, Methin began his professional life as an accounts officer at Bangkok Bank headquarters in November 2000. He worked there for nearly a year and a half before joining his family's firm.

"I started my business career at Bangkok Bank during the financial crisis, which hit the country in 1997, and I took responsibility for some debt-restructuring. I had to deal with more than 10 major clients whose companies were in trouble because of the crisis. It taught me to be conservative and cautious and make decisions based on analytical information," says Methin, who is currently marketing manager at Moong Pattana Marketing.

Methin joined his family's company in 2002 as product manager, in charge of all marketing activities covering the entire product portfolio.

Similar to other companies affected by the financial crisis, Moong Pattana Marketing faced financial trouble. Its creditors had strict requirements for loan approvals and were determined to see returns of both principle and interest.

"At that time, the company was quite conservative and skipped all of its marketing activities. We focused on selling products and cutting expenses to generate enough money to pay our loans, which amounted to more than Bt300 million in 1997," Methin says.

"We didn't launch any marketing campaigns or connected activities between our brands and consumers for almost five years. This resulted in our sales dropping by about 30 per cent over the five-year inactive period, from 1998 to 2003."

However, the company has been able to reduce both its short- and long-term loans to an insignificant level.

He says the Pigeon brand has a strong heritage, because it has been in the Thai market for more than 30 years. Before the financial crisis, it was the top-of-the-mind brand for Thai consumers. However, it came under attack by cheap products that entered the market during the crisis.

In 2003, Moong Pattana Marketing recruited new "young blood" managers to join its marketing team. They included Niramai Luksananant as vice president for marketing and sales and Paitoon Sathainrapabayut as group product manager.

"We've tuned up and refreshed our Pigeon brand to create a clear identity," Methin says. "My father gives me a free hand in overseeing the family's business, based on good business ethics."

Moong Pattana has been more proactive in all its marketing activities aimed at promoting consumer awareness of the Pigeon brand.

Methin says the company is focusing on the significance of its employees as a key driving force in its management. All staff, including marketing and sales people, must adjust themselves to current working conditions, surrounded by tough competition from local and international players.

"With our clear identity highlighted by white and red colours, our Pigeon baby products target breast-feeding mothers, who are modern and highly educated," he says, and the sales performance indicates he and his team are on the right track.

"We've increased our annual business growth from 6.7-6.8 per cent in 2003 to more than 10 per cent today."

The total market for baby accessories, including silicone nipples and feeding bottles, is expected to remain static this year at about Bt700 million. Of that, 34 per cent is regarded as the "economy segment".

Moong Pattana Marketing expects to increase the market share of Pigeon products in both the economy and premium markets from 54 per cent to about 60 per cent this year.

The company's mission is to promote market domination of its core products, particularly silicone nipples and feeding bottles, plus other major products like baby wipes and breast pads, by taking advantage of Pigeon's 30-year heritage in Thailand.

Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn

The Nation