Firms launch brands to build differentiation

By Somluck Srimalee
The Nation
Published on August 14, 2008

Customer segmentation gains focus as consumers' behaviour changes

Firms launch brands to build differentiation

'Rhythm Ratchada' new brand of Asian Property Development Plc.

Property companies have had to create new segments and a vari¬ety of housing concepts to boost sales in the second half of the year, property experts said.

Asian Property Development sen¬ior executive vice president Visanu Suchatlumpong said the company has launched its latest brand of con¬dominiums, Rhythm, to focus on the middle market. This follows the suc¬cessful launch of two brands - The Address for luxury condominiums and The Life for the middle to econ¬omy segment.

The Address focuses on condo¬miniums priced up to Bt5 million per unit, while The Life brand offers units priced between Bt1.2 million and Bt2 million.

"We see business opportunity in the middle market for units priced between Bt2.5 million and Bt4 mil¬lion, which is why we have launched the Rhythm brand for this market segment," he said.

Visanu said property companies now have to adapt to changing cus¬tomer behaviour because consumers buy residential units that match their lifestyle. Thus, different brands pres¬ent diverse lifestyle choices to the cus¬tomer and help developers instill dif¬ferentiation among their offerings.

After Rhythm, Visanu said the company plans to launch a premium luxury brand in the last quarter of the year. Units offered under this brand will be priced upward of Bt10 million.

"We are currently mulling over what brand will match the new prod¬uct and will appeal to the highend, premium market," he said.

Preuksa Real Estate chief opera¬tion officer Prasert Taedullayasatit said the company started segregating its brands to match different market segments last year in response to its research, which revealed a change in customers' lifestyle.

"Now, homebuyers do not just buy residential units. Instead, they buy into a social status that matches their lifestyle," he said.

"As a result, property developers have to develop their product to cre¬ate differentiation and be more unique to match different customer segments. This is the reason behind the high sales recorded in the first half of the year."

Currently, Preuksa has 11 brands for different market segments. They include four brands for townhouses, four brands for condominiums and another three for detached houses.

The townhouse brands include Bann Preuksa for the lowincome segment with units priced between Bt600,000 and Bt1.2 million, Preuksa Ville in the Bt1 million to Bt1.5 million price band, The Connect offering units from Bt1.5 million to Bt2 million and the Plant Citi with units priced between Bt3 million and Bt4 million.

The four condominium brands include City Villa, with prices between Bt500,000 and Bt800,000 a unit, The Seed with units priced between Bt1.2 million and Bt3 million, The Tree with units priced between Bt1 million and Bt1.5 million, and Ivy with prices between Bt1.5 million and Bt10 million per unit.

The detachedhouse brands are Preuksa Village in the Bt1.8 million to Bt3 million price band, the Plant with prices between Bt3 million and Bt5 million a unit, and Passorn, with prices between Bt2.5 million and Bt5 million a unit.

Prasert said the company will launch another brand for the luxury market, with prices up to Bt10 mil¬lion a unit in the last quarter of the year.

Land & Houses, a leader in the Thai property market, has also launched different brands to focus on different market segments for detached houses and a variety of other residential unit types, including con¬dominiums and townhouses.

Its latest townhouse brand - Baan Mai - will focus on the middleincome market with units priced from Bt2.89 million to Bt3 million.

"Property developers have to develop products to match customers' lifestyle, as well as expand their prod¬ucts to different locations. These will be ways to maintain business growth," Visanu said.

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