Intouch, Korean partner announce upcoming home-shopping service

Intouch’s wholly-owned subsidiary Intouch Media and Hyundai Home Shopping signed the deal to establish the 51:49 per cent joint venture High Shopping Co yesterday. The service is expected to be launched by November or December.

High Shopping will have authorised capital of Bt500 million, of which Intouch Media has invested Bt255 million for a shareholding of 51 per cent. Hyundai Home Shopping will take the chief executive’s seat in the joint venture, while Intouch will supply the chief financial officer.

Already offering home-shopping services in Thailand are TV Direct, O Shopping of GMM Grammy and True GS.

According to Suphajee Suthumpun, chairman of Intouch Media, the total market value of the home-shopping business is between Bt7 billion and 10 billion per year. 

She said the two partners started talks on this joint venture two years ago.

Somprasong Boonyachai, chairman of the Intouch group executive committee, said the retail business in this country was growing rapidly. Consumers require convenient channels such as home shopping, home delivery and e-commerce, so this joint venture has great potential for growth. 

“We are confident that this is a growth business, and Hyundai is a specialist in the home-shopping area while Intouch is specialist in IT and telecommunications in Thailand,” he said.

The new investment will be part of Intouch’s digital-content business, which provides products and services through TV, mobile devices and the Internet, leveraging the technology of its subsidiaries in the telecom, satellite, mobile network, and high-speed broadband fields. Intouch flagships include Advanced Info Service and Thaicom.

“High Shopping is going to offer premium, high-quality products such as kitchenware, cosmetics, food supplements, electrical appliances and designer clothing from South Korea and other countries through TV, mobile devices, the Internet, and other advertising channels,” Somprasong said. 

“It will leverage the technological and managerial competencies of the companies in the Intouch group along with the professional experience of Hyundai Home Shopping so both businesses will grow in the same direction.”

Kang chan-suk, CEO of Hyundai Home Shopping Network Corp, said High Shopping was targeted to be No 1 in five years and to reach its break-even point in four years.

“Hyundai Home Shopping is regarded as a successful world-class South Korean company, and is expanding into international markets such as China and Vietnam,” he said. 

He added that the home-shopping market in Thailand was growing rapidly and extensively, and Intouch group had the professionalism and technology to back this new JV. 

High Shopping plans to begin advertising its products in the fourth quarter of this year through various sales channels.