Jirabool Vittayasing, president of the association, said the market for gifts, premium items and home-decorative products had been sluggish over the past few years due to the country’s economic slowdown.
Although the market dropped by 3 per cent year on year in July, there are signs of an overall improvement during the second half, he said.
According to the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB), the economy grew by 3.5 per cent year on year in the second quarter, following 3.2-per-cent growth in the first three months of the year.
This resulted in overall economic expansion of 3.4 per cent in the first six months, compared to the same period last year.
The recent upturn in the economy has been driven by many encouraging factors, including higher public and private investments, household spending and agricultural output, and a rebounding tourism sector, he said.
However, exports are still in the doldrums, having declined 3.1 per cent year on year during the first half.
The NESDB has forecast 3.3-per-cent Thai economic growth for the full year, driven by many positive factors in the second half, including higher government expenditure and the launch of economic-stimulus campaigns, the recovery of the tourism sector, and an increase in household income.
“We have seen greater domestic demand for gifts, premiums and home-decorative products, which showed significant improvement in August and September, in line with the rebound of the overall economy,” the association chief said.
“The market is expected to witness 2-per-cent growth, year on year, in the fourth quarter,” he added.
Jirabool said other encouraging factors were the recovery of the local tourism sector and the continuous purchase of gifts and souvenir products from Thailand by the Walt Disney Company for the past two years – for sale at its stores and Disneyland theme parks around the world.
The US entertainment giant has shifted the main sourcing of its gifts and souvenirs from China to Thailand due to rising concern over China’s economic situation and higher labour costs, he explained.
As to Thai consumers, their spending on gifts, premiums and home-decorative products had declined significantly over the past two years amid domestic economic difficulties, he said.
“Gifts are not necessities in people’s lives. However, the industry adjusted itself quite quickly, with many players improving and developing their products and waiting for the market to rebound,” he added.
Consumer spending on gifts was flat at the beginning of the year, and the upcoming year-end giving period will be a crucial factor in the rebound of the local market.
Meanwhile, Jirabool said the online market, largely developed by young entrepreneurs, had emerged as a significant factor in the diversity of gift products in the market place.
“With changing consumer behaviour in favour of online shopping and the diversity of gift products created by the new generation of business entrepreneurs, we believe that the online market will add economic value to the country,” he said.
The association, in cooperation with NCC Exhibition Organiser (NEO), will host the “Thailand Bestbuys 2016” fair from December 16 to 25 at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre.
Bussaya Prakorbtong, NEO general manager said that the show is expected to attract more than 220,000 visitors. It is also expected to get strong participation from local and foreign entrepreneurs and generate sales of over Bt300 million – some 10 per cent higher than last year.

“Based on the size of the population and advertising spending via out-of-home media in Malaysia, we estimate that our company could generate about Bt1.5 billion in revenue from this market if our five-year plan is well in place,” Kavin Kanjanapas, executive chairman of VGI, said yesterday.
The company is interested in partnering with Redberry, the second-largest player in Malaysia.
Redberry manages various types of out-of-home media including advertising spaces and trolley ads at three main airports – Kuala Lumpur International Airport 1 and 2, and Johor Bahru Senai International Airport.
It rents out digital screens at more than 100 office buildings, places ads at TGV Cinemas and holds the concession to manage public-bus adverts in Kuala Lumpur.
It manages advertising on 1,100 public buses commuting throughout the capital.
“If the partnership deal can be reached, we will duplicate VGI’s success here in Thailand to revolutionise the out-of-home-media business in Malaysia, home to more than 30 million people,” Kavin said.
VGI is also seeking a local partner in Malaysia to provide a service like Rabbit Card and an online payment service in Kuala Lumpur to accommodate their clients’ use of data analytics to maximise their ads.
This is VGI’s latest move after establishing a joint venture called Titanium Compass with three leading ad players.
Initially, Titanium Compass will be 19:51:20:10 owned by VGI, Puncak Berlian (wholly owned by Redberry), Utusan Airtime and Ikatan Asli.
Titanium Compass has been awarded a 10-year concession from MRT Corp – developer of the new SBK or MRT1 metro line, the first heavy rail line in Kuala Lumpur, with a distance of 51 kilometres – to manage ad platforms at 31 stations and on 58 trains.
The project is expected to begin the first phase of operation by year-end and become fully operational by the middle of next year.
After that, Titanium Compass will raise its registered capital to a maximum 18 million ringgit (Bt148.5 million).
VGI may increase its holding in the company to a new level of up to 30 per cent.
VGI estimates the value of the out-of-home ad-media industry in Malaysia at between Bt6 billion and Bt7 billion, growing by at least 7 per cent a year.
Of total ad spending via out-of-home media in Malaysia, 80-90 per cent goes to billboards, with the rest to transit, cinemas and in-store media.
Kavin believes that within five years, billboards’ proportion will decline to 30 per cent while transit media will surge to 40 per cent of total out-of-home ad spending.
However, the billboard business will be the responsibility of its subsidiary Master Ad, which last year acquired 40 per cent of EyeBalls Channel to conduct the billboard business in Kuala Lumpur.
Besides Malaysia, VGI is seeking further opportunities in Indonesia, while Master Ad plans to expand into other neighbouring countries such as Laos and Cambodia in the near future.

AIS is also drafting a five-year business plan for 2017-21.
The company has promoted Hui Weng Cheong to president from chief operating officer. The appointment took effect on Saturday.
Somchai described AIS under Hui’s helm as a big warship with greater strength.
Hui, a representative from Singapore Telecom, AIS’s strategic partner, joined AIS in 2006.
His rise to president has prompted speculation by some industry observers that SingTel wants to take a more active role in AIS’s management.
In August, SingTel said it was acquiring a 21-per-cent stake in Thailand’s Intouch Holdings and a further 7.4-per-cent stake in India’s Bharti Telecom from Temasek Holdings, SingTel’s major shareholder.
The aim was to increase its economic exposure to the high-growth telecom industries in Thailand and India.
SingTel already owns 23.3 per cent of AIS, while Intouch holds 40.4 per cent. Aspen Holdings, which is associated with Temasek, owns 40.5 per cent of Intouch.
Somchai said he drew up the new AIS management structure two months ago without knowing anything about SingTel’s plan to acquire shares of Intouch.
“We worked with AIS’s leadership development compensation committee to work out this new structure,” he said.
He added that in his view it would be difficult for any foreigner to head AIS in the future, since the CEO had to deal with complicated legal issues and government agencies.
“In my opinion, the CEO position should be for a Thai executive,” he said.
The new structure will give Somchai more time to expand AIS’s businesses, as Hui will take over responsibility for marketing, customer service, telecom network development and the development of digital applications and solutions.
Weerawat Kiattipongthaworn, a senior executive vice president, has been appointed as chief corporate officer, overseeing all business partners, including government agencies, legal affairs and new business opportunities.
He reports directly to Somchai.
AIS is recruiting a chief strategy officer. Somchai is acting as chief strategy officer.
The new structure is expected to be in place more than two years.
AIS would be able to maintain its share of the revenue from the mobile phone service market this year at 50 per cent, at least, Somchai said.
It now expects low single-digit growth this year, instead of flat revenue as forecast.
A telecom analyst put AIS’s share of the revenue in this market as of the second quarter at 49.7 per cent, followed by Total Access Communication (DTAC) at 26.7 per cent and of True Corp at 23.5 per cent.
Somchai said that for competition next year, AIS would launch more packages, featuring bundled services and contents, both of its own and of its partners.
AIS has developed various kinds of new mobile contents with partners.
Its fibre-optic Internet broadband business under the AIS Fibre brand is also aggressively attracting subscribers.
AIS Fibre is expected to see 300,000 subscribers by year-end, up from 200,000 now.

Seeds harvested from farms there were shipped via Hong Kong and sold not only in Thailand but also in various parts of Southeast Asia and even India. My father’s seeds could be grown anywhere that had a tropical climate.
Then the Pacific War broke out in 1941, severing the sea routes linking China and Thailand. As a result, my father was no longer able to travel back and forth to China. Not content to just sit around in Bangkok, he headed to Malaysia, where he also had business bases.
But the Japanese army also occupied Malaysia, and my father was unable to leave the country. He did not return to Thailand until after the war.
Two of my older brothers, who had been studying at Chengdu, in China’s Sichuan Province, were also unable to return to Thailand during that time.
The Japanese army was advancing into Thailand as well, but the Thai government signed an alliance treaty with Japan, sparing Bangkok from wartime devastation. During my father’s absence, my uncle Chia Siew Whooy managed the seed store there.

A helping hand
Because my father was away from Thailand for so long, most of my childhood memories of my family revolve around my mother, Tang Kimkee.
When we were at the dinner table, she would always speak kindly to the maids.
“You’ve already finished preparing the meal, and you must be famished as well,” she would say. “There really isn’t anything more that needs to be done, so why don’t you eat your dinner?” My mother’s voice, brimming with compassion, always echoed in my young ears.
Her father was also from Chaozhou. The family owned a large, prosperous mercantile house, but they lost their wealth – and more – in an instant.
When my mother was a child, a massive wave struck Chaozhou, killing countless people. Her home was close to the seashore, and everything was swept away. The family business went bankrupt. My grandmother was among those killed, but my mother and some of her siblings were able to escape and survived, thanks to handouts of food. Her father eventually immigrated to Bangkok.
Perhaps because of this experience, my mother was the kind of person who always made a point of helping those in need. She looked after our poor relatives in Bangkok, visiting them almost every week and giving them money. For my mother, her money was best spent helping others. “I don’t need money,” she told those around her. “My children are my wealth.”
When my mother passed away, not only our family and relatives but even the maids and chauffeur shed tears. She had looked after them just like they were family.
Because she possessed a great deal of sympathy and was good at sensing other people’s feelings, my mother was very good at giving those around her what they needed. A cynical person might assume that she did this in hopes of receiving something in return, but my mother didn’t care if she was repaid for her kindness or not.
My mother taught me a way of life that entails giving to others. This is part of the basic principles of managing our company: You should always try to put yourself in the other person’s position and give everybody a chance, be they employees or business partners.
In later years, I became very busy and did not spend as much time with my mother as I would have liked. That is something I cannot regret enough.
Dhanin Chearavanont is chairman of the Charoen Pok-phand Group.
This is the fifth of a 30-part series of “My Personal History” by Dhanin Chearavanont.
Reprint with permission from The Nikkei Asian Review.