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Published on April 18, 2008

Achara Pongvutitham

The Nation

Take the latest terms: "mass-clusivity", "gen-nellinials" and "metrosexual". If you haven't a clue to their meaning, then you're clearly a stranger to the latest trends.

Greyhound, a leading local fashion brand, is in the process of exploring "mass-clusivity" and explains it wants to mass produce exclusively designed goods to serve the lifestyle of customers who are demanding more luxury. "Mass-clusivity" goods will, therefore, combine cheap prices and exclusive designs.

The company explains that this is a fashion design trend catering to "metrosexuals", who want access to more exclusive apparel.

Creative director Bhanu Inkawat said fashion houses were focusing on market demands, which resulted in a "mixing" of customers.

Many words have therefore been created to represent different lifestyles. For instance, "gen-nellinials" is intended to describe a combination of young generation and next generation. "High style" describes people who want more exclusivity in their lives, he said.

To serve the trends, the company has divided its fashion designs into two brands: Greyhound Original and Playhound. Each is intended to serve different demands and customer groups. Greyhound Originals will focus on sophisticated luxury apparel that is nevertheless affordable. Playhound will set out to attract the younger generation, aged 20-28. The company's garments are for everyday wear, and pricing will be a key marketing strategy.

"We must develop ourselves as top-shop brands," Bhanu said. "The well-known European brand H&M will soon open a shop in Bangkok, so we must adjust our marketing strategies to maintain our competitiveness."

Rapid changes in the fashion industry have led Greyhound to reposition its design concepts to represent the real character and unique designs of its brands. Rather than concentrating on variety, which may lead to confusion about brand images, the company is focusing on its unique character and value-added design.

Bhanu said the new management and marketing strategies would not only strengthen the company's competitiveness, but also prepare it to boost exports.

After entering the apparel business in 1980, Greyhound achieved sales revenue of Bt300 million last year. The domestic market accounted for 85 per cent of this, while the rest came from exports. The company enjoys average sales growth of 20-30 per cent per year.

Greyhound plans to open a second shop in Hong Kong this month. It is also exporting to the US, Japan and Germany through multibrand stores, franchises and direct sales to trading companies.

"Our new management and marketing strategy has attracted more partners. Many of them want to become our franchisees, mainly in Hong Kong, China and Taiwan," Bhanu said.

Greyhound is involved not only in the fashion business, but also in restaurants and design consulting. It runs the Greyhound Cafe through a separate business unit, with sales of between Bt280 million and Bt300 million a year. It is also contracted to design a boutique hotel in Bangkok worth Bt300 million. The project will be finished next year.

Bhanu's former top-management position for advertising company Leo Burnett has left him with an appreciation for professionalism in management. Under his guidance, Greyhound is concerned about exchange hedging to reduce export losses despite its small export value.

As well, the company prefers to subcontract production rather than invest in its own factory. However, it maintains control over the selection of raw materials for the entire production process, from design patterns through to finished products.