Cut fashion duties to lure in shoppers, Gaysorn says

"The Thai government should have a clear strategy in promoting tourism and consumption within the country," Satima Tanabe, deputy general manager of Gaysorn Shopping Centre, said yesterday

The high import taxes push up the retail prices of products, which is one of the key concerns of foreign shoppers who come to Bangkok, she said.

Bangkok needs to make itself more competitive against Singapore and Hong Kong, which are now the oases of the luxury market in the region.

"The luxury market in Thailand has been growing very fast, driven by the increasing number of quality tourists, mainly from Asia," Satima said.

Gaysorn achieved increases of 36 per cent in visitor traffic and 35 per cent in sales last year. Beauty and lifestyle products enjoyed the highest growth at 60 per cent, followed by watches and jewellery at 36 per cent, Thai fashion brands at 35 per cent and international fashion brands at 34 per cent.

"We want to be a shopping hub for Asian tourists. The number of Asian tourists coming to Bangkok reached between 15 million and 16 million last year and is expected to increase to 18 million this year," she said.

About 70-80 per cent of the shoppers at Gaysorn are foreign tourists.

"Of the foreign tourists visiting our shopping mall, Asian shoppers have surged from 50 per cent in 2010 to 80-90 per cent last year," she said.

Narun Thamavaranukup, managing director of PMT The Hour Glass, a leading importer and distributor of luxury watch brands, said demand for luxury fashion products had continued to soar in Asia. Many international watch brands are looking to open and expand their boutiques in this region, especially in major shopping cities, he said.

Satima said luxury products had felt less of an impact from the rising cost of living, driven by increasing prices of petrol and commodity goods, which may affect shoppers’ sentiment.

"For the luxury-product segment, we will be affected only by big negative incidents such as flooding, which hit Bangkok late last year. However, we have fully recovered from the flood and even gone beyond," she said.

10th anniversary

Unlike commodities, luxury products will still find buyers, as they want to share special and good moments with their families.

Gaysorn is celebrating its 10th anniversary by beefing up its marketing budget by about 10 per cent this year to stress its role as a leading mall for global designer brands in Thailand.

It aims to highlight its customer-experience strategy by launching an elite campaign called "Your Luxury Moments" with four overseas journeys to dreamy destinations throughout the year.

The first is to soak up the nostalgia from the Eastern and Oriental Express, a first-class train, all the way from Bangkok to Singapore. The second is to visit a Himalayas-hugging country – Bhutan, Land of the Thunder Dragon.

The third trip features the Big Five savannah safaris in South Africa and the fourth is the ultimate fashion, beauty and art destination – Italy.

Gaysorn is also uncorking a promotion to continue the good partnership with several upscale international brands and leading Thai brands to host artisan events – skilled and practised fashion-cum-art events – throughout the year.