Publishing firm plans English training camps
Thai Watana Panich, a publishing house, is launching English-language training camps for high-school students and teachers with the new business expected to contribute 20 per cent of total sales by the year-end.
Managing director Intira Bunnag said yesterday that early this year, the company set up a training team to support the camps as well as workshops and contests.
About 20 per cent of the annual investment budget was earmarked for the new unit, she said.
Thai Watana Panich has been the authorised English textbook distributor for leading international publishers like McGraw-Hill and Pearson Longman for more than 50 years.
It commands more than half of the market for supplying English textbooks to government high schools, of which there are 2,300 nationwide. It plans to increase its share to 60-65 per cent.
The training service is a key part of its strategy to retain existing customers and woo new ones.
English textbooks represent 60-70 per cent of the company’s sales, followed by library books with 15 per cent, dictionaries 10 per cent and children’s books the rest.
The company is also eyeing digital media to cash in on the change in consumer behaviour, particularly among youth. It will introduce e-book and mobile applications for smart devices. In the first phase, users will be able to gain access to 20 e-books.
The company expects to see revenue rise 10-15 per cent a year. This year the revenue target is about Bt200 million, she added.
