LUXURY AT THE CLICK OF A MOUSE

Vorasit Issara, managing director of Sri Panwa Phuket and a new dad, is looking forward to the digital life. His new career in e-commerce, he explains, is designed to allow him to spend more time with his family in Bangkok.
Vorasit has spent almost two years preparing his online shopping mall concept under Siam Brand Ltd. The website name is Guruwan.com and the launch follows the birth of his first daughter, Torsang or Vera.
“Although I’d like my daughter to be raised in Phuket, she is still very young and the Guruwan website is therefore a very practical idea, as it allows me to work anywhere,” the young executive says,
The online shopping mall focuses on premium and luxury design products. There’s a good selection of lifestyle products created by top Asian designers, ranging from jewellery, accessories and bags to home decor products, lighting, carpets, wallpaper and indoor and outdoor furniture.
“The original idea came from Sri Panwa’s guests who liked the furnishings so much, especially the rocking chairs, they wanted to know if they could buy them to take
 home. I immediately recognised the business opportunities,” he explains.
Before Sri Panwa opened five years ago, Vorasit personally shopped around for the furniture and accessories. Favourite stops were – and still are - the Bangkok International Gift Fair and Bangkok International Houseware Fair. “I used to queue to do business but these days the fairs are much quieter. That’s not because the creative designs are not as good but many buyers from around the world have been forced to cut their travel expenses. So why not do it online?” he asks.
For GuruWan, Vorasit joined up with Thana Sirichantaropas, an IT consultant and his best friend while he was studying in the UK.
Vorasit says he thinks most future business will be conducted those e-commerce channels. “Sri Panwa has done incredibly well through direct bookings via the Internet,” he points out.
Sri Panwa’s fanpage is also popular, with more than 40,000 followers. Each time Vorasit uploads a new “good morning” picture of this luxury five star resort taken from the tropical pool villas facing the sea, there are more than 600 likes in less than an hour. “Bookings have increased by more than 40 per cent on the Internet.

 We were amongst the first resorts to promote our hotel on the website. What’s important is to come up with a keyword that the search engine understands. If people are able to click on this, business grows incredibly fast and without hassle.
If you like it, you buy it. But you need to have a trustworthy international partner for payment and shipping. A Norwegian friend once told me even a credit card is already considered heavy in Norway. Every transaction is done online via Paypal. So we have become partners with Paypal and have agreements with TNT and UPS for delivering our products,” he continues.
Vorasit believes that this business opportunity will help promote Thailand’s exports by adding a new distribution channel. “Many OTOP products are really good and well designed. Young aspiring Thai designers are also continuing to create chic products. As a businessman, I don’t think you can totally rely on any government. I want to create a venue and provide marketing for these designers and local brands.”
At present, Guruwan.com has about 8,000 products available online. It targets international markets in United States, Eastern Europe, Australia, the Middle East and Asia.
As a new father who has been close to death - he was brutally injured in a bar incident early this year in Phuket – Vorasit is taking more care with his life. “I underestimated how degenerate our society has become. My case is still moving through the courts and I’m sure those bad people will end up in jail. I’m running a tourist hospitality business. I cannot afford to let this case fade away like so many other cases,” he adds. “I also have a daughter to raise. I have duty to protect her, to allow her to live a life that’s carefree. We are the Issara family and our name means freedom.”