Lifestyle retailer plots growth

Mumuso, which operates more than 600 stores around the world, yesterday announced the expansion plan that builds on the opening of its first store in Thailand last year.
The Mumuso brand originated in Shanghai and promotes lifestyle products with a Korean flavour.
The brand moved into Thailand in August 2017 with a Mumuso lifestyle shop opening in The Mall Nakhon Ratchasima. 
Pakorn Supawarapong, strategic director of Mumuso (Thailand) Co Ltd, said that the company sees a growth opportunity in the retail market in Thailand, including the expansion of specialty stores. 
“It’s not all about e-commerce these days as the trend for specialty stores is something we all need to be aware of, ” Pakorn said.
“We now operate six company-owned stores as well as one franchised outlet. We target to open at least 150 stores in the Kingdom over the next five years, of which half will be company-owned stores and the rest with franchisees.
“We expect our annual sales to reach Bt2 billion in the next five years. We target to achieve Bt200 million in annual sales this year.”
Amnuay Supawarapong, president of Mumuso (Thailand) Co Ltd, said that Mumuso is a lifestyle shop brand that enjoys popularity worldwide. 
The lifestyle shop gathers under one roof good-quality merchandise with contemporary designs from Korea, Amnuay said. 
There are more than 600 branches of Mumuso lifestyle shops in 150 cities around the world. In Thailand, the six Mumuso are in Siam Square One in Bangkok, Supanburi, Bang Saen in Chon Buri, The Mall Nakhon Ratchasima, Samut Sakhon, Ayutthaya, and in Phitsanulok. The Phitsanulok shop, which opened early this month, became the company’s first franchised outlet in Thailand.
“The aim of Mumuso is to offer impressive experiences to individual customers via the use and touch of products themselves at our lifestyle shops,” Amnuay said. “The products are based around three core values - quality, design and raw materials. We (Mumuso) set out to never stop innovating in product development and the quality of our service.
“We tend to provide products that are affordable to everybody, and to raise the quality of living of the society and the communities we are involved in. This is in line with Mumuso’s philosophy, which is ‘Life starts with Mumuso’.”
Pakorn said that the name Mumuso has its origins in the Korean word “Mugunghwa”, which means the Rose of Sharon. It is a symbol that represents targeted Korean people, who are students and people in general walks of live in any career, male and female, aged between 15 and 50. 
“They prefer products with beauty and contemporary designs. The targeted customers of Mumuso also include travellers, who demand products for their daily uses. All products at Mumuso lifestyle shops have been selected and tested for the good quality standards set by the company,” Pakorn said.
“From our market survey in Thailand, we found there are an increasing number of consumers who are willing to spend money on products that cater to their lifestyles,.
“They have less loyalty to brands, but are selective for good quality and value for money products. With these encouraging factors, we have seen a gap in this potential market to be further penetrated by Mumuso.”
Pakorn said the retail prices of products at Mumuso lifestyle shops start from Bt39. Most of them are fast-fashion items, which are flexible to adjust to changing times and occasions. There are about 3,000 different items of merchandise at Mumuso lifestyle shops covering children’s products, apparel, kitchen items, bags, stationery, skincare and cosmetic goods. 
“Mumuso’s skincare and cosmetic products are especially popular with Thai consumers due to their good quality and attractive packaging,” Pakorn said.
The company has set aside Bt150 million as an operational budget for this year, focusing on sales promotional activities at its Mumuso stores, such as for new-store openings, price promotions, free new member applications for customer loyalty points, and social media activities on Mumuso’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.
 The budget will also include point-of-sales advertising, special activities for festive seasons, and co-promotions with partnered department stores. The company expects to achieve about Bt200 million in sales this year.
Alissara Supawarapong, managing director of Mumuso (Thailand) Co Ltd, said that, in terms of business direction, a significant channel for the growth of Mumuso’s business in Thailand is via franchising.
“We believe that Mumuso will secure strong interest from individual investors who want to start their own business with an appropriate investment budget. Each Mumuso lifestyle shop requires between 80 and 200 square metres of retail space, in high-traffic and accessible locations,” Alissara said.
“The store will take about one and a half years to achieve a return on investment. 
The brand will, however, provide individual franchisees a one-stop service, which includes informative training on franchise management, as well as marketing activities for the lifestyle shops and product trials so that they will enjoy in-depth understanding on product quality.”