Home Product Centre has set aside a marketing budget of between Bt300 million and Bt350 million to hold three promotional events over the remainder of the year, with the aim of boosting 2010 sales growth to at least 15 per cent.
The events are the "14th Anniversary Celebration" from August 26 tomorrow to September 19, "HomePro Expo" from October 15-25, and "Thank You". The last of these, being held from late November to early December, celebrates HomePro's 14th anniversary and the opening of its 40th branch this year.
The company expects sales of at least Bt4.9 billion from the three events, senior vice president for marketing Nat Jaritchana said at a press conference yesterday.
HomePro recorded revenue of Bt20.32 billion and a net profit of Bt1.14 billion last year. This was followed by revenue of Bt11.43 billion and a Bt711.57-million net profit in the first half of this year, up 18.18 per cent and 45.83 per cent respectively from the same period last year.
The company also plans to open two more branches by year-end, one in Bangkok and the other upcountry, for a combined investment of Bt600 million. This will increase its chain to 40 outlets.
Nat said the company was very confident about expanding its investment in the second half because of the return of consumer confidence. HomePro has seen its sales value rise since the beginning of July.
The company recorded same-store sales growth of 12 per cent in the first half, and 25-per-cent growth from the two branches that opened in the period. Customer spending per bill averaged Bt1,200 and Bt1,500 respectively for payment at cashier counters, and Bt12,000 and Bt13,000 per bill respectively for products delivered to customers.
Meanwhile, the company's house-brand products now represent about 16 per cent of sales value, against 14 per cent last year.
"We expect our house-brand sales to rise by an average of 2 percentage points a year and to hit 25 per cent [of overall sales] in the next five years. When our house brands rise, that generates a high return for our business. But we have to limit their contribution to 25 per cent because we also have to be concerned about our suppliers," Nat said.