Home Pottery plans to grow regional fine-china exports within AEC
HOME POTTERY, a Thai manufacturer of fine-china tableware and kitchenware products, is looking to expand its Asean export market to cash in on regional integration. The Asean Economic Community, to be effective by the end of this year, will allow zero-ta
Niran Chourkittisopon, managing director of Home Pottery, said the company currently exported about 98 per cent of its total production to many markets around the world, including the United States, Spain, Italy, Australia and New Zealand. But Asean accounts for only 1-2 per cent of its total exports.
“We will maintain our export proportion at 98 per cent over the next five years. However, we want to increase the contribution from AEC markets to between 5 and 8 per cent” over that period, he said.
Niran said the company currently exported its products directly to business clients, comprising restaurants and hotels, in South Korea only.
“We plan to expand our exports into new AEC markets, especially [high] potential countries such as Myanmar, Singapore, South Korea … and Cambodia. We are also looking to promote our product availability in many retail channels, aiming to reach individual consumers in the near future.”
He said the company expected annual growth of 10-15 per cent over the next five years.
Home Pottery posted total revenues, from both domestic and export sales, of Bt132 million last year, down from Bt134 million in 2013 because of economic difficulties both in the US and Europe.
In 2014, Thailand’s ceramic-tableware exports enjoyed robust growth, jumping 27 per cent to Bt3 billion. This year, Home Pottery forecasts its total sales reaching Bt150 million, up 15 per cent.
Niran said his family started out by manufacturing chicken bowls for sale in Lampang. He set up his own company, Home Pottery, in 2001, inspired by a visit to England. At that time, he found that English china factories had started to shut down as production costs became unmanageable. Niran saw great potential from manufacturing such products himself mainly for export.
Home Pottery yesterday announced its latest brand of fine-china table and kitchenware products. Pe’tye will target three-to-five-star hotels and restaurants as its major business customers.
Nijawan Chourkittisopon, marketing director of Home Pottery, said: “We want to consolidate all our existing brands, comprising Heart@Home, One, and Hotel & Heart, into only one Pe’tye brand, so we will able to focus on one brand to be promoted around the world.”
She said Pe’tye was positioned as an outstanding tableware brand in terms of quality and attractive design. It utilises advanced “low-profile glazed foot” technology from England, which keeps the bottom of the product from rubbing against a table and makes it more durable.
“We will invest Bt80 million between now and 2019 to increase production capacity for tableware at our factory in Lampang. The factory has reached its full production capacity at about 1,200 tonnes per annum,” Nijawan said.
“With the expansion, we will be able to raise the production capacity at the factory by 10 per cent by the end of this year. Production capacity will be increased by 80 per cent over the next five years,” she said.
