At A Glance

The Walt Disney (Thailand) has joined 10 business partners - CPN, Tokyo Bike, UB Tech, Phillips, Rag & Bone, Grab, Lego, Hot Toys, Hasbro and Lenovo – to introduce a year-end campaign to welcome the second film of its sequel trilogy, Star Wars: The Last Jedi. 
The movie is set to hit Thai theatres.
The Walt Disney (Thailand) welcomes the world premiere of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which has been awaited by its fans around the world. 
The film is produced by Lucasfilm and will hit Thai theatres on December 14.
 The 10 business partners have helped create a series of marketing campaigns for the latest episode of Star Wars.
Subha-Orn Rathanamongkolmas, general manager of The Walt Disney (Thailand) Co Ltd, said: “Star Wars is one of the all-time successful sequels, which has been followed by global fans for 40 years. 
This sequel trilogy has created a cultural phenomenon around the world as the story is exciting, relatable, and timely and fresh. Since the first film was premiered in 1977, seven episodes of Star Wars have been produced, excluding one separate episode. 
We believe that its fans across the world will continue to follow this film franchise for a long time. 
“For Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi this year, we are still confident that many fans are now waiting for the film as this episode will continue the story from Episode 7: The Force Awakens, and will reveal the conclusion of important events in the previous episodes as well as new clues which lead to the next episodes of the film. 
These have been the fascinating factors of this film.”

Power Mall links with SB Design Square on new store 

Power Mall has worked with SB Design Square to launch a new branch at The Crystal SB Ratchapruek to target a new customer base. This branch provides a 24/7 delivery service.
 Jakkrit Keeratichokchaikun, senior vice president c\hief merchandising officer of Power Mall, The Mall Group Co., Ltd. said of Power Mall’s expansion: “The partnership with SB Design Square is a shared business strategy to develop the home living lifestyle by creating a new concept that Power Mall seeks to provide- a one-stop shop for home decor at SB Design Square at The Crystal Ratchapruek. 
As a one-stop shop for home decor including furniture, home decor and interior design service on Ratchapruek road, this branch of SB Design Square is enhanced further with the addition of Power Mall. Jointly, they bring together electronic appliance as home decor such as Digital Mapping 3D. Special services include daily delivery within 24 hours, advice from Power Mall staff, advice from leading electronics brands, product demonstration, installation, repair liaison for leading brands.”
 The executive said: “In addition to the services, Power Mall at SB Design Square at The Crystal SB Ratchapruek is a leader in electronic appliances, TVs, sound systems, home appliances and kitchen appliances from brands such as Samsung, Sony, LG, Electrolux, Hitachi, Panasonic, Toshiba, Bosch, Dyson, Mitsubishi, Sharp, Nespresso, Philips, Tefal, Kitchenaid, Stebel Eltron, Siemens, Delonghi, Cuisinart, Kenwood, Nescafe Dolce Gusto, JBL, Onkyo, Polkaaudio, DENON, and Herman/Kardon.“
To celebrate the new branch until January 15, Power Mall is offering special promotions: electronic appliances from leading brands are up to 50 per cent off; spend Bt12,000 minimum to receive up to Bt30,000 off; additional 15 per centoff for M Card and SB Family member; M Card members receive four times points; 0 per cent interest for 10 months from leading Thai credit cards; up to 38 per cent cash back. 
The investment for this Power Mall branch expansion exceeds Bt45 million, and forecast sales revenue for the first year to two years is approximately Bt300 million per year.

KOL Management targets Bt200m revenue next year

KOL Management Co, Ltd, which is engaged in strategic communication on social media, has set its sights on reaping Bt200 million revenue in 2018, convinced that the new realm of communication has high growth potential as in South Korea and China.
KOL Management is founded by actress “Chompoo” Araya A. Hargate and Ali Ziani. KOL – the abbreviation of Key Opinion Leaders – is set to engage influencers in creating qualitative and effective content on social media. 
Ali Ziani, a co-founder of KOL Management, said that influencing consumers by influencers has been widely exercised in South Korea and China in the past years and the business has been brisk and shown huge growth potential. These influencers are capable of creating qualitative and engaging content for social media followers. KOL’s portfolio now encompasses over 20 influencers who are more than ready to support the marketing activities of several products. 
“The market is huge and shows high growth rate in South Korea and China but remains a niche market in Thailand. We have a high hopes that we can establish a new business realm in Thailand,” Ziani said. 
Araya A Hargate, the other co-founder of KOL Management, said: “Social media is more special than other media thanks to the numerous communication channels which can be chosen to match a particular target group.”
 Envisaging a huge business growth in the real and virtual worlds, she expects a double-digit growth rate per annum as more smartphone users use their devices in searching for product information. The number of smartphone users worldwide is estimated to exceed 5 billion in 2019 from 2.1 billion in 2016. According to www.statista.com, the number of smartphone users in Thailand will reach 24.14 million this year. 
“Quality content will help us reach target groups and the effectiveness will escalate when smartphone usage increases,” Ziani said. “A study shows that businesses who blog get 70 per cent more customers than those who don’t by only blogging once a week. Even blogging once a month gets you 33 per cent more customers.” 

EVEREST AMONG MODELS SHINING FOR FORD

Ford Everest, Ford Ranger Hi-Rider X-Cab and Double Cab ranked highest in three segments of the recent J.D. Power 2017 Initial Quality Study in Thailand, highlighting the Everest and Ranger’s strong appeal among customers in Thailand’s highly competitive large SUV and pickup truck markets.
 The Everest, Ranger Hi-Rider X-Cab and Double Cab achieved the highest scores in the J.D. Power 2017 Thailand Initial Quality Study (IQS) across the large SUV, pickup extended cab and pickup double cab segments respectively. In particular, this is the second consecutive year for the Ranger Double Cab to receive such awards from J.D. Power, having ranked highest in the pickup double cab in the 2016 Thailand Initial Quality Study (IQS).
 “It is an honour to receive such recognition from J.D. Power as a symbol to the initial quality we set forth in every Ford vehicle,” said Yukontorn Vickie Wisadkosin, president, Ford Asean and managing director, Ford Thailand. “The Ranger’s rise in Thailand is built upon its unmatched ‘Build Ford Tough’ credentials and industry-leading benchmarks for design, quality, comfort and refinement. And the Everest’s bold design and refined interior coupled with industry-leading advanced driver assist technologies continues to deliver excellent capability and comfort to Thai consumers.”
 The J.D. Power 2017 Thailand Initial Quality Study (IQS) rankings are based on responses from 4,866 new-vehicle owners across 12 different brands, including 76 different passenger cars, pickup trucks and utility vehicle models who purchased their vehicle from November 2016 through July 2017. 
 The study measures problems experienced by new-vehicle owners during the first two to six months of ownership and examines more than 200 problem symptoms in eight component categories (listed in order of frequency of reported problems): vehicle exterior; engine/ transmission; driving experience; vehicle interior; heating, ventilation and cooling (HVAC); audio, entertainment and navigation (ACEN); features, controls and displays; and seats.
 All problems are then summarised as the number of problems per 100 vehicles (PP100), with lower PP100 scores indicating a lower incidence of problems and, therefore, higher initial quality.