Japanese firm eyes Thai home shopping

"We find that Thailand is a promising market for the home shopping business, so we decided to enter this lucrative market," Norico Wada, senior executive producer for international co-productions and alliances, business innovation and media strategy at the Japanese media company, said yesterday.

"But our format is different. We provide TV shopping programmes in lifestyle and travel shows, unlike other players that operate 24-hour home-shopping channels," she said.

A 90-minute travel show called "I-I-YO-NE! Wan-Yud-Sud-Jeng"|will be broadcast on weekends next year.

It will include a 30-minute TV shopping segment made by Grand Marche, a TV shopping company wholly owned by TBS, to provide information about products imported from Japan.

Masahiro Todaka, general manager for licensing business development and media business, hopes knowledge and cultural transfers between the two parties would lead to a new form and value of TV production.

Wada said Amarin brought to the partnership a strong retail and logistics advantage in the home shopping business.

Amarin Book stores cover key areas of shopping malls that might become a distribution channel for Grand Marche, which is a specialist in home shopping services through television, radio, catalogues, online media and mobile phones.

"For three months, we will take this opportunity for a trial period. If everything goes well, we hope to see further development and to bring more activities to Thailand, as there is more room to grow in the Thai home shopping business," Wada said.

According to the Thai TV Home Shopping Association, this industry is expected to grow by 20-25 per cent to Bt8 billion this year and see more than Bt20 billion within three years.

TBS has also been working with digital TV operators like Nation TV, MCOT, GMM 25, Channel 3 and Rose Media and Entertainment to import its TV content for Thai viewers.