Art and Technology crafts expansion plan

They are located at CentralWorld, CentralPlaza Chaeng Wattana, CentralPlaza Rama III, CentralPlaza Rattanathibet, CentralPlaza Lat Phrao and CentralPlaza Chon Buri.

They add to the four stand-alone shops already operated by the company - two in Chiang Mai, one in Phitsanulok and one in Phuket.

Art and Technology has also opened Pinn outlets at craft departments in leading department stores: nine cross-stitch outlets at The Mall chain, six at Robinson and one at Siam Paragon.

In the first half of the year, the company opened 22 outlets in B2S bookstores, taking the B2S total to 28.

"We will open one more Pinn stand-alone store at CentralPlaza Khon Kaen by the end of this year," Bussaya said.

She said the company would expand Pinn shops in line with new shopping complexes opened by Central Pattana, as it believes in the capability of the mall developer.

"We are confident in the great potential of the business. It is also a good time during this economic recession to get good retail locations," said Bussaya.

She added that Art and Technology needed time to develop staff skills, so that the business can grow rapidly when the economy picks up.

"We are studying the franchise system and its management system. We also expect to start franchising Pinn shops to potential invetors both locally and abroad within the next two years," said Bussaya.

The firm expects to open up to 60 stand-alone shops in the next five years, of which about 10 will be company-owned stores. The rest will be franchised.

Bussaya has been the driving force behind Pinn's business for almost 17 years.

She graduated as a medical doctor specialising in ophthalmology and became an instructor at the Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, for about a year before resigning to help her husband, Dr Panutat Tejasen, run his software company.

Panutat is a pioneer in the local software industry. He developed ThaiWin, the Thai system on Window Application and Desktop Publishing. The company also developed a computer program that made cross-stitch charts from photographs.

"Since then, we have developed our cross-stitch sets and expanded our craft business to Bangkok as well as into exports," said Bussaya.