Renovation market booms in tough times

Of this, the value of renovations sought by homeowners in Bangkok alone amounts to Bt40 billion.

Responding to this demand, Homemart Home Solution was formed early this year with regis¬tered capital of Bt30 million, and in April it introduced a new business model offering a onestop service for home renovation.

Managing director Preeda Klinted said the business model was created after research found that most homeowners who wanted to renovate faced the problem of find¬ing contractors who were both expert and trustworthy.

The survey found that renovation was needed in as many as 3 million residential units around the country, giving the market a total value of about Bt114 billion, with Bt40 billion of this coming from Bangkok.

The company has created a onestop renovation service based on four stages: inspiring homeown¬ers to renovate by providing designs; estimating the cost of ren¬ovations; setting up and performing the renovations; and guaranteeing the quality of the work.

Preeda said that under its total solution concept, the company now offers renovations covering up to 70 items, such as outdoor, indoor, kitchen, bathroom, roof and paint¬ing, at prices ranging from Bt10,000 to Bt1.5 million.

Eight months after introducing the new service, the company has record¬ed sales amounting to nearly Bt100 million. It expects total revenue of Bt120 million by the end of this year, Preeda said. Moreover, it expects rev¬enue to grow by 50 per cent in 2009, to reach Bt180 million.

"Although Thailand's economy has slowed significantly and may fall further next year because of global recession, we believe that demand for renovation will increase because homeowners will suspend their plans to buy new residences. Instead of spending between Bt2 million and Bt5 million for a new residence, they will renovate the old one by spending between Bt100,000 and Bt1 million. As a result, we believe our business will record strong growth next year," he said.