Bank gives small businesses lessons on surviving crises
Dec 23. 2020
By The Nation
The Thai Credit Retail Bank (TCRB), which serves the micro business segment, is teaching small business owners how they can turn the Covid-19 crisis into an opportunity through its fourth “Smart Micro Customers: Hardworking, Saving with Discipline” programme.
Some 30,000 vendors have taken part in this intensive training scheme, in which they learned essential skills like financial planning, powerful sales techniques and cashless payments.
Roy Agustinus Gunara
Roy Agustinus Gunara, TCRB’s managing director, said that by providing knowledge and boosting business opportunities, this programme can be effective in helping vendors boost their income during this crisis.
A survey of 45,075 vendors nationwide revealed that 70.3 per cent were suffering from a slump in sales, while 83.6 per cent had no access to online channels.
The spread of Covid-19 has made household debts soar by 83.8 per cent, the highest in 18 years, while only 48.6 per cent of Thais have been found to have financial knowledge. The survey also found that 33.33 per cent of Thais have few savings.
Considering that small businesses form the foundation of the Thai economy and are TCRB’s major customers, the 4th Smart Micro Customers scheme is designed to help them survive the crisis.
In it, participants are given lessons on financial planning, techniques to reach and attract customers via online channels and social media, payment methods via QR Code as well as the use of e-Wallet application, among others.
The latest programme has won a strong response, attracting some 30,000 vendors from all regions. As a result, 95 per cent of the participants have been able to pay off their debts and boost their financial credibility, while 53 per cent have realised that they need to change their behaviour to boost financial discipline in debt repayment to achieve good credibility.
Narumol Chan-aum, a coffee vendor in Rayong province, said: “I learned that payment via QR Code helps prevent infections and reduces mistakes. This form of payment has played a greater role during the Covid-19 outbreak as customers wanted to avoid touching bank notes or coins, so we had to change. QR Code payments have helped boost sales because of greater convenience and cuts the problem of giving the wrong change or handling counterfeit money.”
Phutniphan Rampoeypol, the owner of a car-care service in Bueng Kan province, said she learned that meeting customers’ needs was key to service, so she has introduced free pick-up and delivery, which has boosted her revenue by 30 to 40 per cent.
Chalanthorn Khamdaeng, the owner of a grocery and coffee shop in Chiang Mai, said the training has helped her learn how Line groups can be used to generate more revenue and profits. She created a Line group and added the accounts of her clients. In the group she began promoting consumer products and got a good response, especially at the height of the outbreak. She also provided free delivery service, encouraging customers to come back for more.
Narumol Kosolset, a shoe vendor in Bangkok, said the programme focused on income-and-expense accounts to promote savings, in that vendors can save money if they enter items in the account sheet carefully. This way, she said, vendors can see cash flow every day without waiting for the end of the month.
“The bank has placed greater importance on providing financial and sales knowledge to help small and micro business owners prepare for crises. The next programme will be available both online and offline, and will come packed with insightful information that responds to the current situation and meets international standards. This revised programme will be certified by leading educational institutes, making the participants proud of what they have learned,” Gunara concluded.
The Government Savings Bank (GSB) has joined the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative and signed Principles for Responsible Banking as part of its commitment to become a social bank.
GSB is the first Thai state financial institution to recognise the principles for responsible banking.
Swensen’s reaches out to young crowd with dessert pop-up store
Dec 22. 2020
By The Nation
Swensen’s has carved a niche for itself in the dessert market with the launch of a pop-up store, the first of its kind in Thailand, the company said.
“Sweet Aholic by Swensen’s” offers crafted French butter croissants topped with signature ice cream from Swensen’s. Another highlighted feature of the new pop-up store is its minimalist design that is expected to generate a buzz among café hoppers.
“As we have been serving Thai people for several decades, Swensen’s wants to confirm our leadership in Thailand’s dessert market by targeting an entirely new breed of customers. The launch of Sweet Aholic by Swensen’s truly aligns with this commitment,” said Anupon Nitiyanant, general manager of Swensen’s (Thai) Ltd, a subsidiary of The Minor Food Group Plc.
“This pop-up dessert store is designed especially for younger crowds who are looking for a unique new experience and taste. Its captivating visual appearance and stylish interior also make it an ideal spot for photo capturing and sharing on social media.”
He said the pop-up store looks to satisfy a younger range of consumers with the use of its minimal, yet distinctive and sophisticated brand image.”
Napol Sirimongkolkasem, head of marketing, Swensen’s (Thai) Ltd, said the dessert store concept was driven by a belief that desserts can bring you happiness in all emotional situations.”
A variety of specially designed beverage products are also available.
For a limited time only, the specially crafted French croissants topped with a choice of delicious ice cream are now available at Sweet Aholic by Swensen’s on the G floor of Samyan Mitrtown, and will be served until December 31.
For more information, contact Swensen’s Public Relations Department at 02 365 6934, alternatively visit
Warin Lab Contemporary is opening its first exhibition “Overflow – From Trash to Art” at its newly renovated art space in a 100-year-old residence-turned-art-space in the culturally rich area of Charoenkrung Road Soi 36, it announced in a press release.
With its focus on the environment in 2021, the exhibition reflects on waste accumulation while introducing the idea of continual use of the same resources.
Based on the notion of a circular economy, Overflow points out that the same product can be used longer through recycling, upcycling, repairing and refurbishment in order to create a closed-loop system by minimising the use of new resources.
Artist Wishulada Panthanuvong has created a site-specific installation made primarily from consumer waste. The entire exhibition room from wall to floor is covered with water bottle plastic caps, aluminium drink cans, wrappers of snacks and household products and various types of aluminium and plastic waste.
“The artist places grandiose articles, all of which are made of waste materials, such as a functional sofa, table, ceiling lamps and hanging sculptures inside the space with the intention that viewers can have a pleasant time in this invented living room,” the press statement said.
“Overflow – From Trash to Art creates a paradoxical condition where people can have a pleasant time in a room filled with trash.
From the outset, the installation provokes the feeling of inundation from the mountains of waste we collectively create on a daily basis. On a more profound level, it instigates a regenerative approach to repurpose waste materials instead of abandoning them,” it said.
As part of the exhibition, Warin Lab Contemporary is engaging with the local community around Charoenkrung Soi 36 and Wat Muang Kae to separate, collect and hand in their garbage as art materials. The art space also involves the community’s assistance in creating five ceiling lamps from the collected materials. Once the lamps are turned upside down, they will become usable colour-coded garbage bins for the community’s waste management initiative.
Apart from community’s involvement, Warin Lab Contemporary is also soliciting trash donations from corporations, which encourage their employees to separate, collect and contribute reusable garbage from their office and home to the art installation. Corporations which have donated trash for the exhibition include Bangkok Glass, Central Pattana, Chevron (Thailand), Makao Restaurant, Siam Cement, Siam Commercial Bank, Michelin ROH and Omise.
Wishulada has also received trash donated from the public through her online outreach.
Overflow – From Trash to Art will be open to the public from January 23 to March 21, 2021.
The exhibition will also offer an educational workshop on February 6, run by Wishulada, to create a functional item from upcycling daily waste.
In addition, an artist’s talk with TV presenter-cum-activist Wannasingh Prasertkul will take place on February 20. Those interested can visit Warin Lab’s Instagram account or Facebook page to get more information and book a seat for the workshop and the talk.
Leicester make historic move to new Seagrave training ground
Dec 23. 2020Seagrave is the new training complex of Leicester City.
An exciting new chapter in the history of Thai-owned Leicester City begins this week, as the club prepares to relocate to its brand-new training complex in north Leicestershire.
– Leicester City set to move into new training ground in Seagrave, north Leicestershire
– First team players will train at the new world-class facility for the first time on 24 December
– First Team’s former training facility at Belvoir Drive to become the home of LCFC Women
The First Team squad will take part in their landmark first training session at the new Seagrave site on Christmas Eve, following the completion of a spectacular facility that signifies a significant step forward for the Club under the ownership of King Power International.
Under construction since the spring of 2019, the Leicester City Football Club Training Ground, Seagrave, is the latest in a series of transformational investments made by King Power and the Srivaddhanaprabha family since acquiring Leicester City in 2010. The 180-acre site features:
– 21 playing surfaces, including 14 full-size pitches
– 499-seater, floodlit show pitch
– The Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Building – the site’s primary training, medical, and administrative hub for the First Team and Academy.
– Elite-standard sports science and medical facilities
– Customised gym and hydrotherapy facilities
– The King Power Centre – the site’s central point, housing an indoor pitch and media centre
– Sports Turf Academy for the education and development of industry-leading grounds staff
– Private nine-hole golf course
Following the First Team’s transition to the site, Seagrave will become home to the Club’s entire men’s professional and academy football operation in the coming weeks.
The Club is also delighted to announce that its current facility at Belvoir Drive – Leicester City’s training ground for nearly 60 years – will now become home to LCFC Women. The Club’s women’s team, which was acquired by LCFC last August, turned professional this past summer and currently leads the FA Women’s Championship, will move into Belvoir Drive before the turn of the year.
Leicester City Chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha said: “The Club has taken some enormous strides forward in the last 10 years. In terms of our long-term future, this is perhaps the biggest.
“A new training ground has been a dream many years in the making, so it is with great pride that we have been able to deliver this. Seagrave will be a pivotal part of the Club’s operation for generations to come.
“Of all the investments we have made in the Club, this has been our most significant. It is an investment in our players of today and our players of tomorrow, putting some of the very best facilities in the world at the heart of their everyday environment. It elevates the Club’s offering to its players and staff to an entirely new level and is a key component in making our progress of recent years sustainable.
“Belvoir Drive has served the Club wonderfully and been a spiritual home for Leicester City teams through several generations. For it to become the home of LCFC Women is a fine legacy for an historic location. The investments we have made in the last 10 years have made it an outstanding, professional training ground from which their considerable development can continue.”
Leicester City first revealed plans for a new training ground in early 2018, two years after winning the Premier League title in one of the biggest stories in the history of professional sport. The project was intended to be part of a legacy for the most successful period in the Club’s history, ensuring the Foxes could realise the dream of their late owner, Khun Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, to be a consistently competitive force in the upper reaches of English football.
Work in Seagrave began in the spring of 2019, transforming the site of the former Park Hill golf course into one of the world’s most advanced sports facilities.
City’s First Team squad will train at Belvoir Drive for the final time on Wednesday, before operations transfer to Seagrave from Christmas Eve. The Foxes, second in the Premier League, host Manchester United at King Power Stadium on Boxing Day.
LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB TRAINING GROUND, SEAGRAVE
Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Building
The primary hub of the Seagrave site, the building is named after the Club’s late Chairman and patriarch. An elite-standard training facility was a central feature of Khun Vichai’s vision for the Club, now being realised under the guidance of his son, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha.
The building includes all facilities for the Club’s professional men’s teams, football operations, offices, private accommodation, restaurant and First Team recreation. Its balconies overlook the First Team training pitches.
King Power Centre
The King Power Centre is the site’s most prominent structure. Its spectacular dome, built into the landscape, houses an air conditioned, artificial pitch and a media centre including press conference room, broadcast facilities and hospitality space.
Match Pitch 1
A 499-seater show pitch for limited use, including selected FA Youth Cup, PL2 and LCFC Women’s matches, serviced by designated changing facilities and broadcast compound.
Sports Turf Academy
A first-of-its-kind facility for the education and development of elite grounds staff and grounds services. The STA will aim to train future generations of grounds professionals for deployment in sporting settings around the world, while creating a research and development hub for innovations in turf management.
Seagrave is the new training complex of Leicester City. 
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