Following Dusit Thani’s strategy to diversify its lines of business in adjacent industries to enhance revenue creation, Bangkok-based Epicure Catering serves as the latest subsidiary to be added under its Dusit Foods division, a new business unit designed to pursue growth in food and catering businesses.

Established in 2003, Epicure Catering provides catering services primarily to major international schools in Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.

The company prides itself on offering the best quality products, at the most affordable costs, to ensure children receive healthy, nutritious meals that aid in their development.

“Epicure Catering has established itself as the leading company of its kind in Thailand and it has strong potential for growth in the Southeast Asia region,” Suphajee Suthumpun, group chief executive officer of Dusit Thani, said on Tuesday.

“By leveraging Dusit’s reputable brand positioning and rich experience in catering for large scale events, Epicure’s talented team will be perfectly positioned to secure additional contracts, and expand in emerging markets, while maintaining the high standards and personalised service for which they are known.

“We look forward to exploring more potential synergies to enhance Epicure’s offerings, drive top-line growth, and maintain a consistent stream of revenue to our company,” the CEO added.

Trevor Allen, managing director of Epicure Catering, said: “We are very pleased with the creation of a strategic alliance with Dusit Thani, which will allow us to upgrade our operations and offer added value to customers in Thailand and other Southeast Asian markets.

“Besides being one of Thailand’s leading hotel and property development companies, with 70 years of international experience behind them, Dusit is also a leading provider of hospitality education and has rich experience in outside catering. Our personnel will benefit from DTC’s long experience, state-of-the-art skills-enhancement training courses, and expert guidance. Most importantly, Epicure Catering will be able to expand beyond the region and have greater capacity to grow sustainably.”

Dusit Thani’s Dusit Foods division was established last year with a strategic investment in NR Instant Produce, a well-known producer and exporter of ready meals, seasoning powders, dipping sauces, drinks and juices.

The division also includes Dusit Gourmet, which is currently exploring options to create premium Dusit-branded products for local and international consumer markets.

It is introducing a special menu of auspicious and delicious desserts, including BBQ Chicken Tart and Orange Cheese Tart from MX Cakes and Bakery. The special menu is available to all passengers who flies between 3-5 February 2019 for both domestic and international flights, except WE177, WE419 / 420, WE426, WE609, WE011, WE051, WE333 / 334, WE343 / 344, WE335 / 336 or until the product runs out.

Fly with the best airlines in Asia, Thailand’s number one airline and the award-winning economy class seats in Asia from TripAdvisor Travelers ’Choice Awards 2018.

“No matter how many foreign institutes there are in Myanmar, it will not hurt our business,” said Aung Kyaw San, founder and managing director of Crown Education.

“If we compare our business in 2008 where there was no private university to that of today with many private universities and colleges, our number has significantly grown to 20 per cent,” he said in an exclusive interview.

“Many countries around the world strongly encourage their youth to study overseas because their input and contribution play a critical role in nation-building endeavours to bring respective nations to the next level. Educational consultancy services are still growing in some developed countries, including Singapore, Japan and Korea. So, we do not see any difference in Myanmar.”

In the hope of future prospects driven by the nation’s stronger economy, Aung Kyaw San established Crown Education in 2005 after several years’ experience in international education. He seems pretty satisfied with the current 10 per cent growth on a yearly basis, and hopes to maintain steady growth over the next few years.

“Now we are sending around 350-400 students to overseas universities every year. Until the past few years, we were able to send an average of 150 students yearly. In the early years of our business, we could send less than 50 students annually,” he said.

The firm is now partnered with more than 150 foreign universities and colleges from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and Europe. Myanmar students are usually more eager to study in the West rather than in Asian countries, he said.

According to the executive, the majority of Myanmar students studying abroad are between 18 to 25 years of age. Business-related subjects, management, information technology, and engineering are the most popular specialisations among Myanmar students abroad. He also foresees substantially arising interest in political science and tourism management since Myanmar opened up the economy during the previous government term.

“When it comes to providing suggestions to those who want to study abroad, we would suggest following their own interest. This means we focus a lot on what students are keen on and what kind of profession they aim to choose in the future,” he said.

“Every specialisation has its own value. We need to change our mindset that medical doctors have more pride than other technicians and experts. For example, even if one studies history or geography, he can earn more or achieve greater success than medical officers. The only thing is to consistently and systematically study until he becomes a master of the particular topic he is keen on.”

Aung Kyaw San recommends studying such specialisations as oil and gas exploration, petroleum management, aircraft maintenance engineering and astronomy, though they are not widely popular among Myanmar students. He also urges youths to specialise in banking and finance thanks to a promising outlook for the financial sector.

“Here in Myanmar, we have abundant natural resources but we cannot take advantages of the natural blessings we possess. Selling our precious resources to foreign countries is not the correct way of using them effectively. Instead, we need to find the best ways [that we could] exploit our resources,” he said.

He stressed the importance of changing the mindset of Myanmar people, including parents who usually influence their children’s education.

“For example, thousands of Myanmar people have a wrong perception that studying psychology may lead to insanity. But actually, psychology is very useful in different kinds of professions. We need to encourage studying the subjects that can be applied to our working environment, and psychology is one of them,” he said.

To date, the firm has sent more than 3,000 students to study overseas, and nearly 80 per cent of the returnees have shown remarkable success in their respective fields. Currently, it mainly pushes for digital education and e-learning by establishing Royal Academic Institute, an accredited training centre in line with the UK’s educational standards. Educational loans will also be provided in cooperation with Aya Bank.

According to the executive, digital education costs much less than formal learning in other countries. It costs around US$10,000 (Bt317,000) to study in Singapore for one academic year while studying in the UK or Australia may lead to annual expenses of more than $30,000 a year, he said.

He suggested studying in Thailand, which may cost as low as $2,000 a year but could provide a good international education. Currently, the firm has partnered with Bangkok University, Mahidol University, Rangsit University, Assumption University, Webster University Thailand, Stamford University Thailand, Siam Technology University and Raffles Bangkok.

Robinson Plc is spending more than Bt15 million on marketing as it marks the arrival of the Year of the Pig.

The annual Chinese New Year celebration involves fierce competition, said Wimol Lerdsungjamsai, head of marketing strategy for Robinson.

“This year, we expect every retailer to utilise all kinds of strategies to compete against one another. Tactics will include offering a wide array of products and special promotions,” he said.

Robinson too will launch two campaigns, “Robinson Chinese New Year 2019” from January 24 and February 21 at 48 Robinson Department stores, and “Robinson Lifestyle Luck & Love Chinese New Year 2019” from January 28 and February 22 at Robinson lifestyle shopping centres nationwide.

The first campaign will involve special “red packet promotions”, including 30 per cent discount on new products, a maximum of 8,888 points on the 1 Card and a chance to win one of the 57 prizes of gold and diamond accessories worth over Bt2 million. Exclusive promotions for Central credit card holders include an additional discount of up to 32.5 per cent and a maximum cash-back credit of Bt20,000.

The second “luck and love” campaign will offer promotions such as Chinese talisman giveaways (a gold plate with the inscription of the God of Fortune from Chengdu’s Qing Yang Gong temple), Bt500 “red packet” discounts from leading stores and a chance to win one of 10 gold necklaces worth more than Bt200,000.

Central to offer a ‘lifestyle journey’ for Chinese New Year

CPN will invest Bt200 million to boost its position as “the best one-stop destination” for this year’s Chinese New Year.

Central Pattana (CPN), in cooperation with banks and airlines, is launching the “Great Chinese New Year 2019 – The Portrait of Wealth” campaign, in which people can shop, pay respect to their ancestors and gods, eat and enjoy their leisure time at 32 Central shopping centres nationwide.

Responding to the new marketing trend “omnipresence”, CPN aims to create a “lifestyle journey” experience for consumers with big promotions offering rewards worth more than Bt9.4 million. This campaign is expected to draw 20 per cent more traffic to the Central shopping centres.

The company is also targeting quality tourists from China by offering exclusive privileges to support the tourism sector. The campaign runs from January 25 to February 28. “This Chinese New Year, we will celebrate the year of the ‘Golden Pig’, a symbol of health and prosperity for Chinese people. This year is considered a year of luck, prosperity and wealth,” Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, executive vice president of marketing for Central Pattana plc, said.

Partners include the Government Savings Bank, Kasikorn Bank, Siam Commercial Bank, UnionPay, Thai AirAsia and Jubilee Enterprise.

The shopping centre operator’s partners in the campaign include the Government Savings Bank, Kasikornbank, Siam Commercial Bank, UnionPay International, Thai AirAsia and Jubilee Enterprise.

CPN aims to create experiences that serve what it calls the “Lifestyle Journey” of consumers, as well as offering promotions with big rewards worth more than Bt9.4 million in total.

The company also plans to attract quality tourists from China by joining hands with partners for exclusive privileges to support Thailand’s tourism, Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, CPN’s executive vice president of marketing, said on Monday.

The campaign, which runs from January 25 to February 28, is expected to draw 20-per-cent more traffic to CPN’s shopping centres, he added.