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Published on December 27, 2007

After six years working for a variety of firms, Orand Puipunthavong put his experience to use in his first business venture: the PP Group, a fashion company that is already prospering after only a short time in existence.

The company sells brand-name fashion products.

The PP Group has three subsidiaries: PP Luxe, exclusive distributor of Loewe leather products from Spain and Vabene watches from Italy; Urbanity, exclusive distributor of Mandarina Duck leather bags from Italy; and PP Mode, exclusive distributor of Emilio Pucci products, also from Italy.

Emilio Pucci, a fashion label under Louis Vuitton, was the first product for which the PP Group became an exclusive distributor. It is well known for its prints created for handbags, clothes and accessories. The label is known as the "Prince of Prints", due to its unique characters.

The company has marketed this brand since 2003. Emilio Pucci's mother company operated in Thailand by itself for more than a decade before deciding to seek local expertise in running the business.

"Thailand is a very tough market for foreign fashion companies to tap into. Executives at Emilio Pucci's headquarters said it only made sense for local experts to run the business for this brand, because that person would have a deeper understanding of Thai fashion sense", says Orand, who is now a vice president of the PP Group.

The parent company chose PP Mode to be the exclusive distributor because Suvadee Phungbunphra, Orand's elder sister, used to work for this brand.

Before PP Mode was appointed to the Italian fashion brand, Emilio Pucci's marketing activities lacked colour. PP Mode was able to double the label's sales revenue after in only one year. The average annual increase in sales revenue stands at 50 per cent per annum now, he says.

Two boutiques now sell Emilio Pucci products, in Gaysorn and Siam Paragon.

In 2005, Orand says the PP Group founded Urbanity to introduce Mandarina Duck products to the Thai market. The brand features handbags and luggage made from leather. This year, PP Luxe was established as the exclusive distributor of Loewe in Thailand.

At present, Mandarina Duck has outlets in leading department stores in Bangkok, while there is only one Loewe shop, in Gaysorn Plaza.

Orand admits he appears to be succeeding despite the PP Group being his first business but says it has been no easy ride operating three subsidiaries importing famous fashion brands and trying to tap into the Thai market.

The fledgling businessman attributes his success to the knowledge acquired from his previous experiences and education.

Orand earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Chulalongkorn University and a master's degree in economics and finance from the University of Warwick in England.

He served as a marketing officer at Siam Commercial Bank for a year before working as a senior consultant for KPMG (Thailand). His duties included developing debt-restructuring plans for several large clients with turnover of more than Bt1 billion. He would conduct business-feasibility studies and produce monthly monitoring reports to oversee the profits of those businesses.

In 2003, Orand moved to Ogilvy One (Worldwide) as a strategic planner for customer-relations management. His job was to develop consumer-relations marketing strategies for clients in various industries, including credit cards, insurance, healthcare and fashion retail. He also specialised in strategies like direct marketing, consumer recruitment and retention strategy.

His final position before turning entrepreneur was as a senior brand manager at Diageo Moet Hennessy (Thailand), in charge of the luxury portfolio for the Kingdom. The company imports Johnnie Walker and Smirnoff among other alcohol labels. Orand was responsible for a variety of marketing activities, including advertising, public relations, consumer-relations marketing, digital marketing and consumer promotion.

He also implemented a brand plan for luxury spirits like Smirnoff and Baileys.

"I gained valuable experience in finance, advertising and marketing from different jobs. My work at Diageo Monet Hennessy rounded out my business knowledge and gave me the confidence to run my own enterprise," he says.

Orand says he believes his success in the fashion industry has come largely because of team selection. His subordinates possess a mix of experience from industries like retail business, luxury fashions and marketing. Plus the PP Group and its subsidiaries are small, so it is very easy to make decisions.

"The fashion industry is growing quickly. We must keep pace with global fashion trends, so if we can make quick decisions, we'll succeed," says Orand.

Furthermore, the PP Group uses a slow-but-sure approach in its subsidiaries. Orand says that after the company's success with Emilio Pucci, the PP Group will be cautious not to grow faster than it should. Although his company has been approached by a few global fashion brands to be their exclusive distributor, he refuses to be rushed into making any decisions. The company policy is to tread carefully.

"I'd like to succeed in each fashion brand I import from abroad, so I must study all of the information carefully before deciding," he says.

From now on, the PP Group plans to import at least one global fashion brand into Thailand each year, focusing on the medium to high-end market.

Next month, PP Luxe will introduce an original Italian-style watch brand into the Thai market: Vabene. There was recently a soft launch for it at the Zen Watch Fair.The company and its subsidiaries have faced a revenue decline this year. Growth has been only 5 per cent, down from an average of 50 per cent, due to the recent political turmoil, sluggish economy and strong baht. But Orand predicts all of his subsidiaries will increase turnover 30 per cent after the expected economic recovery.

"The economic slowdown has affected consumers' shopping mood this year, but I believe my companies will improve soon. Next year will be challenging for the PP Group," says Orand.

Nalin Viboonchart

The Nation