Index living malloverseas expansion postponed

Kijja Pattamasattayasonthi, the company's managing director, yes¬terday said the firm had previously discussed the setting up of Index franchises with 10 foreign investors in countries such as China, India, Russia and Dubai.

It was supposed to open its first branch overseas in Ho Chi Minh City by the middle of this year. However, Kijja said the plan had been postponed because, apart from the current economic problems, the company also wants to spend time studying each country's laws and investment regulations so the over¬seas branches can have longterm stability.

Vice president Jarintorn Patamasatayasonthi said for the moment the company would focus on expanding domestically. Currently, the company's products are being sold through three major channels.

She said that retail was the largest distribution channel con¬tributing to 80 per cent of the sales, while 15 per cent came from project sales and the remaining 5 per cent from wholesale.

"There is a huge potential in expanding our project sales chan¬nel. So, we will talk to more SME partners, particularly small retail¬ers who are interested in using Index furniture in their stores," she said.

"We are interested in the beauty salon business because it is a big market. There's a salon in almost every street in every province," Jarintorn said, adding that the com¬pany was also negotiating with two large coffee and fashion boutique retailers.

"We expect to earn about Bt150 million from SME projects next year," Jarintorn said. "Despite the economic difficulties, we will con¬tinue with our store expansion plans and will set Bt220 million aside for marketing this year."