THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

RS to pursue horizontal integration in 2019

RS to pursue horizontal integration in 2019

LEADING entertainment company RS expects another golden year in 2019 following the general election in February and continuing positive trends for the Thai economy, company CEO Surachai Chetchotisak said.

“We expect our business will grow well in 2019,” said Surachai. The company is not affected negatively by external factors such as China’s slowing economy and international trade wars, as the company’s main target is the domestic market,” he said. 
“We expect the economic situation in Thailand will be good next year after the general election, and stimulate spending in the country. The year 2019 will be another golden year for RS and we expect to grow by leaps and bounds, generating Bt5 billion in revenue, the highest in the company’s 37-year history.” 
Multi-platform commerce (MPC) business will be the main revenue earner for the company, contributing 60 per cent, said Surachai, followed by media business at 30 per cent, as it continues to grow but remains a secondary business. “Music and events business, which continue to perform well, will be also a significant contributor to the company’s revenue, at about 10 per cent,” said Surachai.
RS had earlier disclosed that the company would achieve Bt3.8 billion in total revenue this year.
Surachai said the company’s call centre 1781 has a strong team of telesales staff who can close deals quickly and effectively, while Channel 8 enjoys top rating among Thailand’s TV channels, attracting advertising agencies. 
“I think the recovering domestic and international spending from better tourism and exports, investments in facilities, and upcoming megaprojects by the government, all will help stimulate the economy in Thailand. Our key strategy for 2019 is to enter a new era of business with a ‘horizontal integration’ concept. New businesses will be added, as the company implements its strategy to diversify its businesses and make new additions,” he said.
RS about three years ago transformed its media and entertainment business into MPC.
Surachai said the firm would focus on four business areas: MPC, media, music and event businesses for next year.
In the MPC business, the firm provides more than 100 product items in various categories with health, haircare and beauty making up 80 per cent, followed by home and lifestyle goods at 15 per cent as well as accessories and others at 5 per cent. The firm now has around 1.1 million users and around 70 per cent are active users. The firm expects that by the end of next year it will have around 1.5 million users. Moreover, the firm will focus on direct marketing. It has around 1,000 direct marketing sales and expects to reach 1,500 direct marketing sales by the end of 2019. The firm is under negotiations with both local and international businesses for mergers and acquisitions as well as joint ventures so that it could expand its business base in the digital era.
“The MPC business model comes with the concept of horizontal integration that will synergise the media and music businesses for more efficiency,” said Surachai.
“We plan to focus on our existing businesses next year. The strength of our MPC business model will be synergised with the media and music businesses for more efficiency. Its viewers and music fans will be treated as a database to maximise management for better results,” he said.
Meanwhile, the media business will focus on the digital TV Channel 8 and expects to achieve advertising revenue of around Bt1.5 billion by the end 2019. It has around 13 million viewers per day.
The firm expects growth in revenue from online channels including music streaming and downloads.
He said the firm expects to generate total revenue of around Bt5 billion in 2019 with the MPC business model contributing around 60 per cent, followed by media 30 per cent and music and events 10 per cent.
 

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