French swimming pool maker mulls

By Somluck Srimalee
The Nation
Published on November 18, 2008

Desjoyaux (Thailand)'s managing director Krairurg Kodcha.

Thai plant Sales boom as highend provincial buyers shrug off economic slowdown.

International swimmingpool company Desjoyaux is considering setting up a manufactur�ing operation in Thailand late next year by creating a joint venture with its local distributor, Desjoyaux (Thailand).

The managing director of the Thailand unit, Krairurg Kodcha, said the initial success of Desjoyaux in Thailand had led the French parent company to consider using Thailand as a manufacturing base for its swimmingpool market throughout Asia.

"At present we are taking care of marketing strategy in the Asia mar�ket, covering Vietnam, Malaysia, China, Brunei, Japan and India," he said. "The parent company is plan�ning for Thailand to become its warehouse base in the Asian market, providing easy transportation of swimming pool raw materials from Thailand to other countries in Asia. If this operation makes up to Bt100 million per year, then Desjoyaux in France will set up a joint venture with us to manufacture swimming pools in Thailand. That may be in the last quarter of next year or early 2010."

Meanwhile, the company is spending Bt30 million to establish its warehouse operation on Bangkok's Bang NaTrat Road. It will be complete in the middle of 2009.

Krairurg said that if the parent company decided to build a manu�facturing plant in Thailand, it would apply for tax privileges from the Board of Investment. Investment would include Bt30 million for buildings and machinery from France worth Bt100 million. The plant would require a staff of about 50 workers.

Desjoyaux (Thailand) is also planning to spend Bt32 million on eight new showrooms in 2009. Four of them will be located in Bangkok and others at Nakhon Sawan, Phitsanulok, Nakhon Ratchasima and Chon Buri. The new showrooms are expected to lift the company's sales to Bt450 million in 2009, 40 per cent above its sales target of Bt320 million for this year.

In the first ten months of this year, the company recorded sales of Bt250 million.

At present, Desjoyaux (Thailand) has 11 showrooms around the coun�try, in Bangkok and at Phuket, Krabi, Chiang Mai, Hat Yai, Phang Nga, Koh Samui, Hua Hin, Udon Thani, Khon Kaen and Rayong.

Meanwhile, Krairurg Kodcha and his friends, who own 100 per cent of Desjoyaux (Thailand), plan to increase the company's registered capital next year from Bt5 million to Bt50 million.

Krairurg said that Desjoyaux (Thailand) was not affected by the sluggish Thai economy or the glob�al economic recession, because its customers were at the high end of the market.

"When the economy slows down, our target customers, who are busi�ness people, will have time to reno�vate their homes and build swim�ming pools, so they can relax. This is a good time for our investment because the cost of most of the raw materials for building swimming pools has dropped. We can build a manufacturing plant and show�rooms at lower cost now than we could in the first half of this year," he said.

Since the beginning of October, Desjoyaux (Thailand)'s sales have increased by between 10 and 20 per cent, from an average of 25 swim�ming pools per month to between 30 and 35.

Up to 90 per cent of its customers plan to renovate their homes, and the rest are property developers who design houses with swimming pools.

Up to 60 per cent of its customers are in provincial areas, and the rest are in Bangkok.

"Provincial people have more purchasing power than Bangkokians, and most of them like to stay at home. As a result they spend more to renovate their homes," he said.

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French swimming pool maker mulls

Thai plant Sales boom as highend provincial buyers shrug off economic slowdown.

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