DuPont to boost marketing, dealer training amid slowdown in auto-finishing
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DuPont (Thailand) plans an aggressive marketing push this year and will invest in four new training centres upcountry to improve the quality of its dealers' services, despite a slowdown in the auto-refinishing business due to the recent flooding.
Sittisak Anuntaprayoon, business manager of DuPont Performance Coatings, said yesterday that the auto-refinishing business last year saw a 40-per-cent drop during the floods, with the Central provinces and Bangkok particularly hard hit.
The industry saw sales growth slow to 2-3 per cent, compared to the usual 6 to 10 per cent.
However, he added that the company expected to see at least a 10-per-cent surge in sales this year after the automotive industry recovers in the third quarter. The auto-refinishing business is valued at Bt4.5 billion.
“Thailand’s auto-refinishing market may enjoy 10-per-cent growth this year thanks to the current demand for refinishing services driven by the recent flooding,” he said.
Meanwhile, it is hoped the auto-refinishing market will benefit from the boost to the overall auto industry expected from the government’s first-car tax-cut policy. Kasikorn Research Centre projects that about 1.05 million cars will be sold this year, up 14 per cent from last year’s 925,000 cars.
Given these factors, DuPont Thailand has decided to increase its budgets for marketing and investment in training centres by 10 per cent over last year. Those budgets are equivalent to between 2 and 9 per cent of total annual sales.
Marking manager Montri Kampo said that under the expansion plan, the company wanted to have at least four training centres in the North, Northeast, East and South. The training centres would provide seminars and workshops regarding product demonstration and after-sales services.
DuPont Thailand expects the number of auto-refinishing garages and body shops will grow, leading to strong competition, while customers will demand an increasingly high quality of service. As a result, customer-relationship management will be a key strategy for all dealers to retain existing customers and lure newcomers.
The company will introduce several new products this year, including DuPont Cromax Pro Waterborne Basecoat, tailored for local demand.
