Founded in Australia a decade ago, Jetts offers Thailand members free reciprocal access to its 250 clubs there and in New Zealand, Britain and the Netherlands.

The move is backed by the Fitness and Lifestyle Group (FLG), Australia’s largest gym-and-fitness company, which has more than 450 clubs, 725,000 members and 6,000 team members.

FLG chief executive Greg Oliver said he was confident the “workout on your terms” mantra that Jetts uses will spark a “fitness revolution” in Thailand, with a further eight clubs to be opened later this year and eventually 35 more upcountry.

“As with the global health and fitness sector, Thailand is experiencing a surge and Jetts will tick all the boxes for health-conscious consumers who demand a gym that is simple, affordable and fits into their busy lifestyles,” Oliver said.

Jetts Asia managing director Michael David Lamb is confident the simple convenience and member-centric approach that has made Jetts an international success would be warmly welcomed in Thailand.

“Jetts will ultimately inspire more people to live a healthier life by making it easy and affordable for them to get moving, just as it has in Australia for more than a decade,” he said.

“By making the clubs accessible 24/7 by use of a swipe card, everyone from shift workers to busy parents will be able to work out at a time that fits into their busy schedules.”

The company also said it planned to invest more than Bt1 billion to set up a new central warehouse in Sri Racha. The facility will be on a 50-rai plot and provide space of about 50,000 square metres.

Saha Pathanapibul operates a central warehouse in Sri Racha but, at 33,000 square metres, it is fully occupied and hard to manage. The company has also has depots in Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, Nakhon Ratchasima, and in Romklao Road, Bangkok.

Saha Pathanapibul chairman Boonchai Chokwatana said that under the partnership scheme with wholesalers and retailers, the company will be able to set and control the prices of its food and household products in the market.

Participating wholesalers and retailers make sales forecast and commit to certain levels of online ordering, which will be revised every six months. They can receive privileges from the company in terms of product prices and promotions that are more generous than those afforded to other wholesalers and retailers.

The company will give them free tablet computers that enable the participants in the programme to monitor their orders and stocks in real time. “With such a partnership, we will be able to manage our inventory better and as a result our logistics cost will gradually decrease. We were able to save up to Bt86 million in logistics expenditure last year,” he said.

Boonchai said that since the middle of last year, when the partnership programme was launched, about 200 wholesale and retail partners have signed on. Roughly half of these are engaged in trade involving food and the other half in household products.

Vathit Chokwatana, president of Saha Pathanapibul, said some wholesalers and retailers of the company’s top-selling products, such as Mama instant noodles and 108Shop detergent, have engaged in fierce price-cutting competition among themsevles.

“However, with the partnership programme, the participating wholesalers and retailers are in charge of their own territory. We can set up a one-price policy for them and avoid any price-cutting tactics.”

Vathit said that the company has set criteria for those wholesalers and retailers participating in the partnership programme so that they can enjoy a good relationship and have the potential to grow with the company regarding their capabilities as well as geographic and zoning issues.

Saha Pathanapibul yesterday said it was targeting total sales of Bt34.2 billion and profit of Bt2 billion this year.

The company posted Bt31.3 billion in total sales and Bt1.4 billion in profit last year, growth of 4 per cent for the former from the previous year. The company set a growth target of 8 per cent for its Mama instant noodle products to reach Bt11 billion this year, up from the Bt10.3 billion posted last year.

The company will this year focus on key growth-driving strategies, comprising a collaboration with principals in launching new products to expand the market; strengthening the relationship with strategic partners through mutual sales target; and expanding online distribution channels, both business-to-business and business-to-consumer.

“We have foreseen that the Thai economy is likely to improve this year and that the existing government schemes, including the Welfare Smart Card initiatives, can help stimulate consumer spending, while online purchases will continue to grow steadily,” Boonchai said.

“We, however, have not seen any sign of significant improvement in people’s spending so far this year. Giving money to lower-income people is a good thing to stimulate the economy. However, these people need to have a good sentiment towards shopping. Any political chaos should be eliminated in order to avoid any psychological impact to consumers.”

Boonchai said that, in reference to the country’s next national election, everything should follow the road map set by the government.

The logistics operator yesterday said the operator of the bookstore chain was joining its domestic delivery service known as e ServicePoints, tapping demand in the fast-growing e-commerce sector.

The collaboration announced yesterday between DHL eCommerce and SE-ED Book Center means that the book retailers’ outlets nationwide will become part of the ServicePoints network. Until now, the participating shops had been small operators. DHL eCommerce started the service nine months ago.

Under the service, registered and walk-in customers can drop off their parcels at ServicePoints for nationwide delivery. Soon, shoppers will also be able collect their e-commerce orders from these ServicePoints

Kiattichai Pitpreecha, managing director of DHL eCommerce Thailand and Southeast Asia, said that the ServicePoints service is designed to offer a convenient domestic logistics service for small online merchants that typically need to send out five to 10 products a day. For such deliveries, the customers are usually nearby.

“Thailand’s e-commerce sector is the second largest in Southeast Asia and has 22 to 25 per cent growth per year,” Kiattichai said.

“This pattern of growth is expected to continue over the next five years. The Thailand 4.0 initiatives also are encouraging a lot more small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to turn to e-commerce. Therefore, there are a lot of demand for domestic delivery services. We want to offer Thai merchants and consumers a quality choice for logistics with an easy and convenient service.”

There are around 100,000 small online merchants on the four main e-marketplaces in the country, Lazada, 11Street, Shoppee, and JD.com.

Through the partnership, ServicePoints will be available at 150 SE-ED Book Center shops in Bangkok and across the country. The service rollout will reach all 394 branches by end of this year.

DHL eCommerce plans to expand the DHL ServicePoint network to more than 1,000 locations by the end of 2018, before increasing this number to 3,000 in 2019.

“ServicePoints is a shop-within-a-shop concept that facilitates the need for people to drop products for delivery at a retail shop,” said Kiattichai.

“The parcels can be processed within seconds and customers will receive immediate shipment confirmation via SMS or email. The process at the ServicePoint is quick and hassle free, with no need to stand in long queues. The DHL ServicePoint network aims to serve the growing SME and C2C markets’ unmet demands.”

In addition, consumers will soon be able to use SE-ED Book Center outlets as an alternative delivery address for their domestic e-commerce orders.

“We will continue to offer more access points, more payment options and an integrated service delivering the quality to enable easier and simpler access to the rapidly growing Thai e-commerce ecosystem,” added Kiattichai.

He expected that over the next 12 months, some 25 to 30 per cent of all parcels handled by DHL eCommerce will be delivered via ServicePoints. This would represent an increase from 5 per cent for previous nine-month operation.

“The total volume of parcels we delivered in 2017 increased by four times from 2016. We expect the same growth for this year,” Kiattichai said.

Executive vice president Piyawan Leelasompop‎ said the company was ready to offer full services via its social platforms.

“Central on Demand allows customers to shop at their convenience, whether they are in Bangkok or other cities, even if there’s no Central Department Store present in that city,” he said.

The plan is in line with Central Group’s “New Central, New Economy” business strategy for 2018-2022.

“Central Department Store is the first in Central Group to offer full-scale services through omnichannel platforms before the model is extended to other businesses within the group,” said Piyawan.

At present, Central Department Store offers services on Facebook (1.2 million followers), Twitter (0.98 million), Line (five million) and Instagram (38,000).

Central on Demand, introduced one year ago, has 65,000 followers with more than Bt10 million worth of orders, a figure expected to reach Bt100 million this year.

“We are the leader of every digital platform and we offer a seamlessly connected omnichannel experience to respond to our customers, especially millennials,” said Piyawan.

“We’ve seen a 20-per-cent increase in this group in the past year, from 12 per cent in 2016 to 30 per cent this year.”

The acquisition marks the biggest step by TCC Group in its strategic shift towards the digital era, both in Big Data analysis and e-commerce platforms, as well as gaining a new business with a promising growth outlook.

Under the acquisition, TSpace Digital holds a 51 per cent stake in Tarad.com, with the company’s founder and managing director Pawoot Pongvitayapanu owning the rest.

The company declined to disclose the acquisition price.

TSpace Digital was set up this month with Bt1 million in registered capital, and is 100 per cent owned by Adelfos Co Ltd, an investment arm of TCC Group.

Pawoot said that Tarad.com had transformed itself from an e-marketplace company into a one-stop e-commerce service provider.

“We have created a new business model, called U-Commerce, which will consist of many electronic platforms, comprising e-commerce, e-marketplace, e-marketing (advertising), e-payment, e-logistic and warehouse, and e-knowledge,” said Pawoot, noting that Tarad.com would cover full e-commerce models, including consumer-to-consumer (C2C) and business to business to consumer (B2B2C) and a full ecosystem.

He said that Tarad.com would invest at least Bt100 million this year in exploring e-commerce platforms, which will allow the company to become a provider of turnkey e-commerce solutions. The company expected to post revenue growth of between 200 per cent and 300 per cent that would see the company achieve profitability this year.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

“With the business transformation, we (Tarad.com) will no longer focus solely on the e-marketplace, which requires a huge investment budget to stay competitive. The e-marketplace business has become a ‘red ocean’ and is dominated by big foreign players, such as Lazada, Shopee, 11Street, and JD Central,” said Pawoot.

He said that by being a provider of total e-commerce services, Tarad.com will be a partner with those e-marketplace operators and a hub for Thai manufacturers that want to explore entry for their products into foreign markets.

Thailand’s total e-commerce market was estimated Bt2.8 trillion for last year.

The three most popular channels are brand site, e-market place, and social media.

Marut Buranasetkul, president and CEO of TSpace Digital, said that the company has realised a dramatic change in business trends with the critical role of online and other digital elements in the business operations.

“TSpace Digital has been set up to support and develop the new businesses in order to connect seamlessly with the digital-based consumers, who are lifestyle-driven,” Marut said. “The demand for consumer understanding with digital solutions is high and will be the major element for all business operations and we must find the way to access to them in all channels, both online and offline, with in-depth data analysis.

“In addition to that, we recognise the potential of our local SMEs and local community products, including those are under the Pracha Rath scheme, that are determined to expand their businesses to meet with the needs of the digital era, especially e-commerce and other online businesses.

“We believe that many of our SMEs are competent with a capability to compete in the international arena if proper support is provided. TSpace Digital is determined to play such a role to drive the growth of these businesses.”

The joint venture, Six Network, will offer the digital currency, called SIX, for a use as a utility token. The alliance between the partners aims to create what they call “a more transparent, fair, secure, and efficient ecosystem for all stakeholders” across all parts of the digital economy.

Contributing investment of 40 per cent each in Six Networks are Ookbee U and YDM, a subsidiary of Yellow Mobile. Ookbee U is a joint venture between Ookbee and Chinese technology giant Tencent. Computerlogy put in 20 per cent of the investment.

Six Network aims to create and operate SIX as a utility token for use by participants in the emerging innovative and digital sectors of the new industrial landscape – not only in Thailand, but throughout Asia and, ultimately, across the world.

The joint venture has initiated one billion SIX tokens, each valued at 10 US cents. It aims to gain hard currency from an initial coin offering (ICO) valued at US$43 million.

The pre-sale starts on April 3 and the public ICO will start immediately after the pre-ICO tokens are sold out; the public ICO will last until May 31. The minimum investment is 1,000 SIX tokens.

Natavudh Pungcharoenpong, co-founder and co-chief executive officer of Six Network, said that the company’s ambitions for SIX as a utility coin for the global digital creative industry will start with Thailand and other Asian countries, especially South Korea, capitalising on YDM’s presence there. Expansion to countries farther afield would follow.

The partners aim for SIX to be the “Internet of Digital Services”, providing decentralised solutions for a range of transactions in the digital and creative economies.

Under Six Network, there are more than 40 digital and creative startups in South Korea, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries. It brings together an alliance of more than one million content creators, social media influencers, comic writers, VDO producers and more than 10 million active users of platforms offered under the alliance.

“On the Ookbee U platform alone, we have 330,000 creative workers,” said Natavudh. “We also have a total of six million users participating daily on our services. Over the past 18 months, around 550,000 people have been using Ookbee U tokens. These groups will be the first to adopt the SIX token.”

Vachara Aemavat, another co-founder and co-chief executive officer of Six Network, said that the company “uses blockchain technology and smart contracts to reinvent the digital economy by building infrastructure and an ecosystem with three main features: financial services, a digital asset wallet, and wallet-to-wallet commerce”.

To build the ecosystem, Vachara said Six Network launched the Blockchain Startup Fund with Bt500 million of investment. The funds will be invested in partners, business development and community development.

Separately, JVentures yesterday said it would launch digital currency trading in the secondary market on May 2. The firm also will come out digital loan services to support people at the grassroots level of the economy in the second quarter of this year.

Taro Lertwattanarak, chief executive of JVentures, a subsidiary of Jay Mart (JMart), said that the firm on February 14 launched an ICO of 100 million JFin Coins to more than 2,200 backers, known as supporters, with a market value of around Bt660 million. Each JFin Coin was valued at Bt6.60.

The company will distribute the 100 million JFin Coins to the supporters on April 2 and allow them to begin official trading in the coins via local secondary exchanges on May 2. The digital currency trading platforms involved are TDEX, Coin Asset, iCoin, BX Thailand, Cash2Coins and JibEx.

The company is awaiting the approval of an emergency decree on the matter from Bank of Thailand, which is expected to come soon.

Taro said JMart would provide the digital loan services under the brand Big Brother, involving a decentralised digital lending platform (DDLP) based on blockchain technology that supports peer-to-peer lending.