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Domestic demand for air-purifiers is expected to be stagnant next year for the first time in that market's history, due to the economic and political situation.

This is a tough time for local traders of air-purifier products in Thailand. Many companies, particularly small and medium-sized players, have disappeared.

Leading market researcher GFK Marketing Services (Thailand) recently reported on sales of electrical products in Thailand in the first 10 months of the year. The market increased 10 per cent in volume and 1 per cent in value year on year.

However, the company predicts overall demand for electrical appliances will plunge 5 per cent next year.

"Similar to other electrical home products, we estimate demand for air-purifiers in Thailand will be flat next year, due to the political and economic problems," said Bunyarit Chansuwan, general manager of Sangchai Air Quality, sole distributor of Honeywell air-purifiers and design fans and Siemens switch and socket products.

Bunyarit said that while his company had seen continuous growth in air-purifiers targeted at allergy sufferers, there had been a significant drop in sales of such products targeted at the general public, people for whom air-purifiers were considered a luxury.

"We expect the overall market for portable air-purifiers to grow 20 per cent to Bt500 million this year. About 60 per cent of overall demand is from individuals suffering from allergies, for whom air-purifiers are a necessity," said Bunyarit.

He said more than 10 million Thais had allergy problems.

In a bid to turn sluggish market demand around, the company at the beginning of this year started selling Honeywell air-purifiers for under Bt10,000, making that brand's range Bt7,000 to Bt30,000.

"We see this time of economic difficulty as an opportunity. With the crunch, many rivals have been phased out. The number of air-purifier trading companies in Thailand has declined significantly from more than 10 last year to only six or seven today, and even more will go out of business next year," said Bunyarit.

He said Sangchai Air Quality expected its 40-per-cent market share of Honeywell air-purifiers to increase to more than 50 per cent next year, when two or three new models will be launched priced at less than Bt20,000.

"Next year will also be the first time we'll focus on distributing and marketing Siemens switches and sockets in Thailand. We'll target residential and other real-estate projects, which are going to see a significant rebound in the fourth quarter of next year," said Bunyarit.

Bunyarit said the company expected to maintain sales of Honeywell air-purifiers and design fans at about Bt100 million next year while earning another Bt50 million from Siemens products.