BANKS STOCK UP FOR CHINESE NEW YEAR
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The Bank of Thailand will set aside Bt75 billion more for commercial banks to use as reserves during next month’s Chinese New Year.
The figure is a 4 per cent increase on last year.
Commercial banks will have total reserves of Bt180 billion for Chinese New Year, said Woraporn Tangsaghasaksri, BOT assistant governor for the Banknote Management Group.
MARS ENTERS CAMBODIA AND MYANMAR MARKETS
DKSH Business Unit Consumer Goods, Asia’s leading market expansion services provider for fast-moving consumer goods, is driving the launch of US-based Mars Chocolate’s Mars, M&M’s and Snickers brands in Cambodia and Myanmar.
DKSH is also tasked with expanding the availability and visibility of the chocolate brands in Thailand and Vietnam.
DKSH will provide sales, distribution and logistics services to Mars across all retail channels in the four Southeast Asian markets.The agreement between the two countries is an extension of a collaboration that started in Malaysia in 1987 and also covers Singapore and Taiwan.
DKSH has been present in Cambodia for more than 60 years. The company celebrates its 20-year anniversary in Myanmar this year.
Bo Nielsen, co-head for Business Unit Consumer Goods at DKSH, said Southeast Asia was home to more than 600 million consumers who had increasing purchasing power to buy consumer goods products like chocolate.
BMW Motorrad Thailand posts record sales of 1,280 units last year
BMW Motorrad Thailand delivered 1,280 motorcycles last year, a record high in the company’s history of operations here.
The company has launched the BMW Motorrad Studio by German Auto, its first pop-up store, in the heart of the Ratchaprasong area in downtown Bangkok.
Matthias Pfalz, president of BMW Group Thailand, said last year’s sale of 1,280 motorcycles represented an 83-per-cent increase over 2014 and the highest growth in the history of BMW Motorrad Thailand. With this record-breaking growth, BMW Motorrad Thailand grew at four times the overall growth estimate for the big-bike market.
Markus Glaeser, head of BMW Motorrad Thailand, said BMW Group Thailand continued to expand the BMW Motorrad dealer network with new showrooms and service facilities nationwide, with at least one additional outlet planned this year on top of the existing 10.
In addition, the official opening of the first BMW Motorrad pop-up store in a shopping mall in the heart of Bangkok’s business district signals a new opportunity for BMW to reach more customers, he said.
Piyavit Khemarangsan, president of German Auto, said the pop-up store would offer the very highest standards of service and care to new and existing customers.
The BMW Motorrad Studio by German Auto in CentralWorld features a state-of-the-art facility covering 120 square metres, with BMW Motorrad accessories on offer.
Gunkul private placement approved
Gunkul Engineering’s shareholders on Thursday gave approval for the company to issue 41.50 million new shares at the price of Bt22.84 per share by private placement to Siam Commercial Bank to raise funds to invest in solar farms.
After issuing the new shares, Gunkul’s registered capital will increase to Bt1.416 billion from Bt1.37 billion.
Gunkul Dhumrongpiyawut, chairman of the board, said issuing shares via private placement would help the company gain a strong business partner to support its expansion and would also increase the proportion of institutional investors’ shareholding in the company.
Tesco Lotus in-store advertising on rise
Makers of consumer products are continuing to advertise via in-store media in Tesco Lotus stores, said Dunnhumby, a customer-science firm.
“We continue to see an increase in FMCG [fast-moving consumer goods] brands putting more investment into in-store media throughout the Tesco Lotus network. They see the opportunity to create a platform that directly engages with their consumers and the results can be quantified for each product line,” Teeradet Dumrongbhalasirt, head of Connect Media, Dunnhumby Thailand, said yesterday.
He suggested that this allowed advertisers to enhance or adjust campaigns to maximise results based on customers’ wants and needs.
Dunnhumby created more than 460 in-store campaigns at Tesco Lotus last year representing 140 brands, with the major interest coming from FMCG clients. Other segments focusing on in-store media are automotive, banking, real estate and mobile-phone operators.
Utilising a blend of innovative campaigns and digital engagement programmes, Dunnhumby has created strong interest for in-store advertising as the first measurable medium in Thailand.
The key attractions of in-store media are that marketers can help to navigate customers to the right products and their locations, to help engage customers to make repeat purchases and, last, to help to educate customers, which leads to enhanced brand loyalty and hence better sales in the long term.
A major factor in the increase in growth is the penetration of smartphone usage throughout Thailand. The increase in smartphone access resulted in clearly defined new channels to advertise through in-store marketing.
Dunnhumby expects that in-store media at Tesco Lotus could see an increase of 25 per cent this year.
Some retail prices lowered
As fuel prices continue to fall, nine manufacturers have decided to reduce retail prices, including for powdered milk, condensed milk, canned fish, rice packs, fish sauce, cement, portland cement, electric wire and steel, according to the Internal Trade Department.
The price cuts will range from 1-25 per cent per item, depending on the cost of production and weight of the goods.
This is mainly the result of lower diesel prices, which have fallen by Bt10.65 per litre since early last year, or 35 per cent year on year.
Last year, 23 manufacturers reduced prices for 274 items.
The department’s director-general, Wiboonlasana Ruamraks, said many enterprises had been prompted to adjust their prices to reflect lower costs of production, mainly on fuel and transport, so consumers should enjoy a lower cost of living and have more spending power. That would stimulate the domestic economy.
More price reductions should be coming soon, such as on shampoo, dishwashing liquid, soap and detergent.
