The company announces that Power Buy Expo 2018 has undergone a transformation, reflecting a digital lifestyle trend under the concept “The Next Big Things – Technology You Can Experience”. Power Buy has teamed up with world leading brands to exhibit and sell 20,000 electrical appliances that are innovative and come with the latest technology. The firm is also offering promotions and special packages to cater to all lifestyles.

“Our daily routines of today and tomorrow involve AI (artificial intelligence) via smartphones, tablets, gadgets, smart devices used in controlling electrical appliances and electronic gadgets near you,” said Theerin Koosmith, vice president, marketing department at Power Buy Co Ltd.

“Electrical appliances use more advanced AI that can communicate with humans, such as innovative technology in a refrigerator that can filter air and bacteria, an application that turns an air-conditioner on and off from anywhere or a smart TV that can select and record your favorite programs and interesting video clips for you to watch as soon as you turn it on.

“Power Buy is proud to present Power Buy Expo 2018 under the concept “The Next Big Things – Technology You Can Experience”, because we fully understand what customers are looking for: they want comfort, to be entertained or rest in their favorite corner/spot with the help of electrical appliances and electronic devices that provide convenience, comfort and relaxation. This gives them more time to enjoy life,” he added.

Power Buy Expo 2018 is taking place from April 27 to May 6, 2018 at Bitec Bang Na, Halls 101-102. The expo is highlighting innovation, trends and technology fitting to a digital lifestyle.

“Apart from innovation that caters to a digital lifestyle, Power Buy is offering huge promotions of up to 46 per cent and eight value-for-money discounts, including shop for Bt10,000 and receive coupons worth Bt10,000 for further purchases, The1Card members can use their points to receive 15 per cent discount, Central The1Card members can also use points to receive double discount and a 0 per cent installation scheme when shopping with credit cards of firms participating in the promotion,” Theerin said.

“Furthermore, customers can grab hot deals of the day in which 2-3 deals are offered each day, three times a day by reserving the right to buy hot deal items. You can experience all this at Power Buy Expo 2018 that can make your life easy and more comfortable as part of your digital lifestyle. We have set a goal for Power Buy Expo 2018 to be the Electronic Fair Event on innovation and modern technology for electrical appliances, IT products and electronic devices – all that customers are looking for.

The company expects sales at the event to soar to Bt320 million, a 10 per cent growth compared to the previous year,’’ he said.

Theerin added that Power Buy’s strength that makes the company stand out among the competition is its omni-channel shopping via online purchases, offline in stores across the country plus Power Buy’s events. The omni-channel links online and offline platforms to create the ultimate seamless shopping experience. For instance, customers who cannot visit Power Buy Expo 2018 can surf our website to snatch special deals that are being offered at the event: just head to http://www.powerbuy.co.th after the event closes at 9pm till 9am. These customers have the liberty to pick up their purchased products from any branch under Power Buy Click & Collect service or they can select various payment methods.

Power Buy caters to customers who shop both online and offline with trusted standard services such as a 180-day installation guarantee. Customers who shop at Power Buy Expo 2018 have the freedom to choose to have Power Buy deliver and install their products in any province across the country that has a Power Buy store.

The consumer goods company is teaming up with the faculties of management science at the Chiang Mai Rajabhat and Chiang Rai Rajabhat universities under the initiative.

The combined effort would enhance the potential and competitiveness of retail businesses and so-called mom and pop stores throughout the North, the company said.

It said that by the company providing consultations on retail store management, this support would enable stores to become important anchors in their communities, and contribute to better livelihoods among consumers.

Apichat Saligupta, vice president for customer development at Unilever Thai Trading Ltd, said Unilever Platinum Store’ programme, initiated in 2012, has delivered benefits for a growing number of shops, reaching 10,500 last year.

He said that the criteria for promoting the Unilever Platinum Store is a shop’s location and consumer traffic, its variety of product categories – which should exceed 15 – and cooperation from the store owner.

Apichat said that participating students have the opportunity to apply the knowledge gained from this programme and to use their entrepreneurial skills to earn extra income by helping transition mom and pop shops into platinum stores that act as community anchors for their communities.

Unilever’s Master initiative focuses on developing these small shops with modern, eye-catching displays, marketing promotions exclusively available for platinum shops, and points redemption for members to increase sales and attract more customers.

“This results in an improved response to customers’ needs and expectations,” Apichat said.

Robert Candelino, head of Unilever Thailand, said that outlook for the consumer market in Thailand is tough.

“I think the consumer market is desperate for new excitement and more energy. I think there are so many changes happening that have never been before in history.This includes in media, retail, consumer habits, buying preferences, demography and society – colliding all at once,” Candelino said.

“This is why it’s important to have a purpose at the core to go through this storm and to understand what you stand for in your values, the people you hire, the type of initiatives and what principally we want to do as a company.”

He said that the dynamic of the Thai economy is changing rapidly.

“We (Unilever) as a business need to change continuously. We have now lots of new and exciting channels – traditional retail shops, substantial big modern trade, online and social networks – to serve people and to improve the lives of Thais every day,” said Candelino.

He said that the biggest challenge today is probably the transformation of retail and that of consumer behaviour.

“We’ve had a model that’s been there for 30-40 years. You get in the car or get on the train, and then go to the store and buy your items, putting in the basket. You pay for it, then you leave and go home. That model served all of us well for decades and that model is now being challenged,” he said. “It’s still there but it’s changing.Convenient channels, proximity channels, mom and pop shops, they’re all becoming more and more relevant as part of people’s lives.

“All of these changes in retail and the behaviour of people mean that, as a consumer products company, our job is to meet people where they need and want us to be at the end of phone, at the end of a computer terminal, or a local shop or at the doorstep one hour after they ordered from us. We need to be everywhere. We understand this ecosystem, and people deserve to be more demanding. That’s what happening and, as a consequence, everyone needs to change.”

He said that globally, Unilever has succeeded in integrating the principle of sustainable living into the company’s business practices since 2010.

Unilever’s Sustainable Living brands deliver over 60 per cent of the company’s total growth, and grew more than 50 per cent faster than the rest of the business in 2016, Candelino said.

“These outcomes demonstrate that Unilever has become more competitive by integrating sustainability into our business,” he said. “In Thailand, Unilever is ranked as the market leader in seven major product segments including laundry detergents, hair cleansing products, skin cleansing products, detergents, Jok rice porridge products, and ice cream and skin care.

“We are proud of the fact that 99 per cent of 24.7 million households in Thailand make a purchase from Unilever’s product portfolio, with a repeat-buy rate of over 99 per cent, and that our consumers use our products three times a day.”

Candelino said that with the company’s high household penetration of its consumer products, it aims to expand the pie with the introduction of new benefits, new platforms, new businesses and new items. Such methods will help expanding the market universe, he said.

To aid this effort, Unilever has implemented what it calls the 3Ps – for purpose, people and performance.

lUnilever aims to offer consumers improved well-being on a daily basis. The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) applies to ll Unilever employees and contributes to the company’s business practices to drive business growth while supporting communities. Unilever is also committed to reducing its environmental footprint and increasing its positive social impacts, the chief executive said.

lPeople: Unilever’s employees are encouraged to pass on greater value to customers by providing them with excellent value from the company’s portfolio of products. “As our customers benefit, it is important that everyone is motivated and happy in their work environment,” Candelino said.

lPerformance: By building innovation in each product segment to meet the requirements of consumers through the company’s sustainable livelihood policy and improving the purpose and capacities of employees, Unilever is confidant of increased growth in each of the targeted product segments while delivering products that contribute to better livelihoods for consumers, Candelino said.

Thailand earned Bt799 million in revenue from foreign film productions in the first quarter.

It was the location of 224 international film productions during the period.

According to the Department of Tourism, Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the country is still a popular location for foreign productions of movies, television dramas, advertisements, music videos, and documentaries.

Last year, Thailand made a total of Bt3,074 million from foreign films shot in various parts of the country.

In the first quarter of this year, the country’s top customer was India, followed by Germany and China.

Last year, China came first, followed by India and the United States respectively.

“Thailand continues to be a popular location for international film productions which help generate jobs and income for the country.

They also stimulate the local economy and income distribution which is in line with the government policy,” said Anan Wongbenjarat, Director General of the Department of Tourism (DOT).

DOT is also encouraging foreign film crews to choose shooting locations outside the main provinces, he said.

“Our secondary provinces also have many unique scenery and beautiful settings to offer to foreign film crews.

“If international productions showcase their beauty to the world, they will bring more visitors to Thailand as their viewers will want see the places with their own eyes,” he added.

Konica Minolta launches ‘Mobotix’ IP Camera

Masashi Miyamoto, managing director of Konica Minolta Business Solutions (Thailand), the leader in multi-functional document management system and digital production printing press, held a press conference to launch its new business “Mobotix” IP Camera, a hi-end surveillance camera from Germany for large state and private enterprises in Thailand. The product has special features such as heat exchanger camera, infrared camera, 360 degree camera.

The product comes with image software management for seeing the number of people entering and exiting the gate as well as the density of customers in department stores.

Toshiba joins SVOA to tap high-end market

Wu Tengguo, managing director, Toshiba Singapore Pte Ltd, left, and Thitakorn Ussayaporn, chief operating officer, SVOA Plc, right, jointly announced both companies’ plan to tap the high-end notebook market in Thailand at Toshiba x SVOA Product Launching 2018. A wide range of products have been launched at the event, including the new Toshiba X-Series (E-Generation), which deliver enhanced performance and higher durability, specifically designed for mobile professionals.

Ticket sales start for two new routes

Vietjet has started selling tickets on two new international routes including Hanoi – Taichung (Taiwan) and Danang – Daegu (South Korea). The new routes aim to meet the traveling demand of local people and tourists; thus contributing to regional trade and integration promotion.

The Hanoi – Taichung route will be operated with five return flights per week on every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from June 22, 2018 with around two and a half hours flight time per leg.

The flight departs from Hanoi at 13:00 and arrive in Taichung at 16:30 (local time). The return flight takes off at 17:30 (local time) in Taichung and lands in Hanoi at 19:20.

The Danang – Daegu route will be operated on a daily basis from July 19, 2018 with around four and a quarter hour flight time per leg. The flight will depart from Danang at 00:15 and arrive in Daegu at 06:30 (local time).

The return flight will take off at Daegu at 07:30 (local time) and lands in Danang at 10:00 everyday.

Zhang Xifeng, managing director of Hisense International (Thailand) Co Ltd, said during the launch at Powerbuy Expo 2018 that Hisense is a global leading technology brand, having captured the largest television market share in China for the past 14 years and ranked the third largest in the global market in the segment of 4K UHD TV products.

To expand brand awareness in Thailand and across the world, Hisense has become an official sponsor of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

The company will provide customers with premium quality products and cutting-edge innovation via strong distribution channels. More strategic partnership has been announced as part of its goal to take a 10 per cent market share within three years.

“We entered the Thai market in 2016 and we have been studying closely the demand of local consumers in order to come up with ideas and new technology to meet the needs of their changing lifestyles in the aspects of high quality audio and image, easy and rapid access to content, beautiful aesthetic design for premium look, as reflected in our objective in focusing on technology development together with product quality for the best value for money.

This year, Hisense has planned to increase its brand awareness in Thailand, starting with consumers using Smart TV and expanding to include those focusing on 4K technology viewing experience, especially the 100-inch’ 4K UHD Smart Laser TV – Hisense’s flagship TV product, officially introduced for the first time in Thailand for consumers interested in the 100-inch 4K resolution viewing experience at home.

We will provide platinum service for Laser TV including free delivery, free installation and five years warranty. Laser TV is Hisense’s expertise that has been developed since 2010 and will surely gain more and more popularity in the years to come.

Special edition

Furthermore, two models of its World Cup Official TV series have been launched in the market. One is a World Cup Special Edition, released to draw World Cup viewers of the upcoming soccer tournament.”

Chanchai Bhandhufalck, general manager of sales and marketing, said Hisense has emphasised the Thai market on its growth potential. The company focuses on premium quality and technology for practical usage and offers a wide-ranging array of products from Smart TV to 100-inch 4K UHD Smart Laser TV with a three-year warranty. Hisense products are currently distributed via its partners including Power Buy and Tesco Lotus. More distribution channels are being mapped out to cater to the needs of consumers.

As the global standard for measuring real-world mobile-network experience, UK-based OpenSignal independently analyses and reports on consumers’ experience at the largest scale and frequency in the wireless industry: by operator and by country, regionally and worldwide.

The mobile analytics insights are used across the industry by operators, telecoms regulators and analysts.

Two billion individual measurements are made every day from tens of millions of smartphones worldwide at all hours of the day.

For this particular report, more than 1.1 billion data-points were collected from 117,309 users during the period January 1 to March 31 in Thailand.

Finding 4G signals in Thailand is hardly a problem, but fast 4G connections still remain elusive, the analysis found.

In OpenSignal’s latest test results, all three major operators averaged LTE (long-term evolution) speeds below the global mobile average of 16.9Mbps from its recent “State of LTE” report.

But the good news is that speeds are improving.

Results show both AIS and TrueMove increased their 4G speed slightly over the last six months, though TrueMove took OpenSignal’s 4G speed award with an average LTE download of 11.6Mbps.

In addition, tested overall speeds improved for all three operators as 4G availability increased.

The government has assured the public that Jack Ma, owner ecommerce giant Alibaba, will bring large benefits to the country after pledging to invest Bt11 billion in the Eastern Economic Corridor.

Ma has signed several memoranda of understanding (MoU) with government agencies, pledging both close collaboration and cash investments with several government agencies.

Prime Minister General Prayut Chanocha, trying to soothe public fears about an e-commerce monopoly said he believed that Alibaba investments would benefit the country, particularly Thai farmers. There is some evidence to apparently support Prayut’s claim – sales of over 1000,000 durian fruit on the Alibaba website after Ma met Prayut on April 19.

Critics, however, are still cautious about how large the expected benefits could be from Alibaba’s investment pledges.

“The government should not sign MoUs with a single business, because it raises a question of favouritism – why Alibala, why not Tencent or Amazon?” said Teerana Bhongmakapat, a former dean of Chulalongkorn University’s Economics Faculty.

“Ma has obviously benefited from the deal at least regarding the public relations as he could show other business leaders that he could access inner circles of the Thai government,” said Teerana.

Other investors might think that Ma has a personal connection with members of Thailand’s Cabinet, he argued.

The one-on-one meeting and the MoU signing have also demonstrated that the Thai government desperately needs Ma, Teerana further said.

Teerana also argued that Alibaba is part of a Chinese strategy to expand its overseas investment and trade in Asean countries. Alibaba also wants to sell more Chinese goods to Thai consumers, while few Thai products will be qualified to take advantage of Alibaba platform, warned Teerana.

Thai bankers are also aware that Alibaba, other e-commerce platforms and financial technology companies (fintech) will eat up their traditional banking businesses. E-commerce platforms and fintechs also provide some financial services, such as online payment and personal and SME loans.

This fear has led Thai banks to recently decide to waive fees for online transactions in order to lure clients to their platforms. Banks also making partnership with tech firms are racing to provide online services, such as management of inventory, payroll, and accounting to SMEs in order to retain their royalty.

Thanyalak Vacharachaisurapol, deputy managing director of Kasikorn Research Centre Co, said that Alibaba would harvest and make use of “big data” related to trade and financial transactions for its future services. It may provide loans and cash management for SMEs which use its e-commerce platform, she said.

Thailand will feel the impact, but it would also affect other Asean markets as well, given the many business units under Alibaba including Ant Financial and Ascend Money, she said.

Kasikorn Bank has worked with Ant Financial, which operates Alipay, one of the largest Chinese online payment systems and able to provide online settlement for Chinese tourists who visit Thailand and spend money here.

But central bank governor Veerathai Santiprabhob, apparently does not much worry about the negative impact of Alibaba investment.

“It is not a black or white matter,” he said. “Thai banks have to adapt and we can see they are as they waive online transaction fees.”

If Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial wanted to provide loans in Thailand, it would have to set up an office here and it would be subject to Thai laws, he assured.

In response to the criticism of government favouritism toward Alibaba, Kobsak Pootrakool, minister of the Prime Minister’s Office, said that government welcomes all business leaders, not exclusively Ma, if they have good proposals.

He said that the Thai government’s forming a partnership with Ma is the result of two-year negotiation since Ma first approached the Thai government.

Kobsak was confident that farmers will largely benefit from Alibaba’s e-commerce platform since it eradicates middlemen. For example, when selling an agricultural product worth Bt100, a typical Thai farmer would get only Bt2 after the product had gone through many middlemen, Kobsak claimed.

The middlemen might be adversely affected by investment Alibaba in Thailand, but they would be able to adapt to new competition, he claimed.

If Alibaba Group also provides loans to SMEs in Thailand in the future, it would benefit those groups. Many are not now able to seek loans from local banks, he said.

The Revenue Department has worried about the level paying field as Alibaba and other giant e-commerce operators from outside the country could avoid paying the 7-per cent value added tax (VAT), while local ecommerce operators would have to pay. The department is drafting a law to collect VAT from global e-commerce operators.

Teerana said that it may be too early to tell who will benefit the most from the deal, as Ma has not fully implemented what he pledged.

“Wait and see – it may be just a PR event for Ma,” he said.

China launches new company producing

China has launched a new company focusing on the scale-production of satellites in Wuhan, capital of central China’s Hubei province.

The newly established CASIC Space Engineering Development Co is a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC).

The company has a complete research and development capacity for the design of satellites, with core technologies in the structure and thermal control of satellites, according to Lyu Dongming, president of the company.

Mini satellites and other commercial space programs are the main focus of the company.

It will join hands with the local space industry resources to create the capacity for the annual production of more than one hundred satellites. – China Daily

Xiaomi expected to file for IPO

China’s tech company Xiaomi may file its application for an initial public offering to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong next week, reported securities news portal cs.com.cn on Thursday.

This might be the first IPO when IPO applications under dual-class shares structures would be accepted starting April 30. Market insiders said that Xiaomi was confident of a valuation of over $100 billion (Bt3.14 trillion) while rumoured valuations varied between about $70 billion and $200 billion.

Charles Li, chief executive of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd, told the Wall Street Journal on April 24 that he was confident that the city will land some of the biggest listings in the future, including Saudi Arabian Oil Co and tech giant Xiaomi .

Key sponsors for Xiaomi’s Hong Kong IPO are CITIC Securities, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, according to Tencent’s news portal qq.com.

Xiaomi did not comment on the possible IPO when contacted by chinadaily.com.cn on Thursday.

Lei Jun, founder of Xiaomi, said on Tuesday that the company would cap its after-tax revenue for hardware products within 5 per cent and would return revenue above that level to customers in a “reasonable way”. – China Daily

RS Plc has been eyeing new business opportunities that reflect global trends as part of its continued diversification to ensure sustainable growth, said RS CEO Surachai Chetchotisak.

He added that RS does not rely too heavily on any one of any of its several business groups, and could therefore continue to sustain its growth regardless of changes that may come in the future.

While he declined to specify future new business groups for RS, he said there are interesting business opportunities in the booming tourism sector and areas related to the ageing society. However, he said that RS will not rush to blindly jump in.

Surachai also pointed to another interesting global trend, the health and beauty sector, which RS entered three years ago. That area, or what Surachai calls the “Multiple Platform Commerce” (MPC) business has already become one of the top revenue earners for RS.

Besides health and beauty products, the MPC covers home appliances and personal lifestyle products. RS will keep adding new product lines into the platform.

Starting from the record music business more than 30 years ago, RS now boasts four main business groups – music, events, media and the MPC.

Surachai said the MPC business has ample growth room and is expected to account for over 60 per cent of total RS revenues this year and around 70 per cent in the future. The company’s media business will also continue to grow, he added.

RS recently disclosed its targeted total revenue is Bt5.8 billion this year, a jump of 65 per cent from last year. It has projected revenue from MPC products would total more than Bt3.5 billion for the year, a sharp growth of 150 per cent year on year.

Surachai added that he is not worried about competitors in the MPC domain, given RS has kept adjusting itself to remain ready at all times for the competition. He cited the company’s successful adaptation to survive disruption from digital technology that bought fundamental changes to the global traditional music industry 10 years ago.

“Over the past three years the world has even moved faster,” Surachai said. “This means it’s not enough for your organisation to adjust – it also needs to make an internal change.”

He added: “As RS has kept adjustฌing all the time, whenever the time comes that we need to make any change, it’s not hard for us anymore to make a successful change – and this capability enables us to enter any new frontiers without limitation.”

Surachai said that he would not dissolve the music business, despite its smaller revenue contribution when compared to the MPC business. “I’ll shut down any business only when it turns unprofitable,” he said.

Not want to leave

Surachai said that RS has also planned to transform its organisation into “the place where you need high level of competence to get a job but once you get in, you’ll not want to leave. This picture will get clearer next year”, he said.

Regarding the terrestrial digital TV broadcasting business, he said that the average viewers’ rating for the company’s Channel 8 has never been below the top five level, while the rating of the channel’s prime time is in the top three.

He said that when RS clinched a digital TV broadcasting licence in the 2013 auction, it fulfilled his dream that one day he would own a mainฌstream media outlet. The company has utilised the channel to add value to its existing businesses and to create new business opportunities.

When asked how, as a CEO, he copes with the current fast-changing business environment, Surachai said that one needs to try to “think freely”. He said that most of the time when the world changes, people refuse to change along with it but remain struck in the same old-fashioned ways of thinking. But at the same time, when the new trends come, one should not just blindly follow them but rather contemplate them before making any moves, he said.

Surachai added that every disruption brings not only threats, but also good new opportunities that depend on whether one can find them.