THAILAND Privilege Card Co (TPC), issuer of the Thailand Elite Card, is preparing to launch new prod
10% GROWTH IN MEMBERS, REVENUE TARGETED THIS YEAR
Company president Pruet Boobphakam said the products would be introduced early next month.
Japanese are among the company’s top spenders, but TPC has secured only 103 members from that country. Meanwhile the female market has high potential for purchase of luxury products such as beauty and wellness items.
“TPC expects business to grow by 10 per cent this year in terms of membership and revenue,” he said.
In 2016, four products were introduced to fulfil various needs of families. The trial period for these opened in August and had a good response.
Since the company resumed operations in 2013, TPC had accumulated a membership of 4,037 as of December 26 last year. Of that number, 2,508 had already become members before 2013 with lifetime free benefits and 1,529 joined between 2013 and last year.
Over the last few years, the number of new members from Europe and Japan has been increasing. To date, the top five nationalities are 198 British, 149 Chinese, 128 French, 126 American and 103 Japanese.
The average number of newly registered members was 60 per month last year, which was 10 per cent higher than the target of 54 new members per month.
Established in 2003 during the administration of prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, TPC now is a privatised firm owned 100 per cent by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, with registered capital of Bt1 billion.
The main objective of the Elite Card was to earn revenue from foreign tourists and to attract high-end visitors as well as investors and foreigners who intend to stay in Thailand long-term. However, the company was ordered to halt operations for years because of the fear of land grabs, as well as internal management problems. The company remained cumulative losses of Bt800 since beginning.
Currently, memberships vary in cost between Bt500,000 and Bt2 million depending on selected benefits and options.
For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2016, TPC reported a profit of more than Bt195.07 million, up by more than 82 per cent year on year. Members generated more than Bt1.7 billion in revenue for the economy, in addition to their membership fees.
Pruet said TPC was restructuring its internal management including cost cutting and improving the information-technology system in order to strengthen long-term growth.
Between October 2015 and December 2016, Elite Card members entered Thailand up to 14,768 times. These foreigners invested in such properties as condominiums and luxury cars as well as spending on various services.
