Bluepin Intertrade aims to broaden Asean presence

Executive director Thavorn Kanokvaleewong said the company would continue expanding its presence in Asean through existing and new partnerships.

The company presently has a combined 15 shops and counters in Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam, while it is looking for partners in Indonesia and the Philippines to become local agents for its brand-name clothing, he said.

In Thailand, Bluepin Intertrade has about 300 stores and counters for its five brands, and it plans to add a further 20-30 outlets this year.

The company has its own branded clothing under the bluecorner and Classify brands. It also distributes the Portman range from Japan, Celio clothing from France, and Lily clothes from China. Income from exports currently accounts for only 5 per cent of the company’s turnover. However, after expanding its reach to other Asean countries, Thavorn expects the revenue proportion from exports to rise to 20 per cent in the next few years.

Overall domestic and export turnover last year fell by about 5 per cent, due mainly to Thailand’s sluggish economic growth, but growth of around 10 per cent growth is expected this year, following a domestic economic recovery, he said.

After expanding its Asean presence, overall sales are expected to increase by 10 per cent annually over the next five years, he added.

Under its strategy to further penetrate the Asean market, apart from expanding its store network, Bluepin Intertrade will conduct activities such as organising fashion shows and producing magazines to raise brand recognition in target markets.

For the domestic market, the company will conservatively expand its number of counters and shops during a period of expected stable economic growth, while focusing on further expansion in cross-border provinces in line with the government’s plan to set up special economic zones in those areas, the executive director said.

In the next five years, Thavorn said Bluepin Intertrade would also start looking beyond the Asean market frontier and study opportunities to expand its brand-name outlets to China, Japan and India under Asean + 6 integration.

The goal to expand within Asean and into other overseas markets is in response to trade liberalisation in the region, with lower or zero tariffs for trade in goods, while the company foresees stronger economic growth in many markets, he explained.

Thavorn said Bluepin Intertrade would also look for more products from Asean and other sources of supply. The company will not expand its domestic manufacturing base, but will subcontract to other suppliers, while controlling the quality of goods and focusing on research and development, as well as on marketing, he said.

The company has two factories in the Kingdom.

Of its own brands, clothing made by local and overseas subcontract suppliers accounts for 70 per cent of its sales, while the rest is produced at its own plants.