Clear direction vital in complex environment

SPB was founded 25 years ago as a trading company and manufacturer of B+ grade bedding and mattress products for supply to hotels and resorts, before creating its own brand, Springmate, in 1998.
An increasingly complex business environment is a challenge for the current generation of executives running the business, said Nophol.
“We are not only facing tough competition, but business nowadays has to follow the influence of the online channel. We are closely monitoring whether the online channel will impact on our business, and we have to use the channel in distributing our products in order to test the behaviour of consumers, as well,” he explained.
Amid these complicated circumstances, the company must have a clear business direction and strategy to sustain its business growth for the next three to five years, he stressed.
SPB has selected quality staff and adopted an information-technology system to support the business, while the management style has changed to a decentralised approach, said the MD, adding that the company aims to maintain sales revenue growth of 20 per cent annually over the next five years.
Under its strategy, the company is focusing more on retail clients and increasing exports, as this enables it to balance its portfolio and reduce risk from business-to-business (B2B) sales should hotels and resorts witness slower growth.
Of SPB’s overall revenue, B2B generates 75 per cent, followed by business-to-consumer sales at 21 per cent, with the remainder coming from exports.
The company hopes to increase the export sales proportion to 50 per cent in the next three to five years.
Its main markets are Asean and Southern Asia, in countries that are accelerating their economic growth, and where there is therefore increased demand from the booming hotel and resort segment.
“Being a medium-sized enterprise, we must focus on quality to ensure that we are good enough in attracting business partners. We have been approached by [potential] partners overseas, asking to be our distributors in each country. This confirms that if we have good products, we will have opportunities in the global market,” said Nophol.
In overseas markets, SPB provides products for B2B sales, while in Thailand, the company will this year seriously reinforce its brand awareness among end users, he said, adding that it will allocate a budget for marketing activities, include advertising to the public.
“We hope our brands will be widely known within the next two years,” he said.
SPB recently was appointed sole Thai distributor for Parker & Morgan, the US-based luxury bedding manufacturer, which took the number of brands in its portfolio to five.
The company also plans to increase its distribution channels to access retail customers, and will open a second stand-alone store this year.