APPAREL-MARKER SIAM HANDS BRANCHES INTO PTT, JET STATIONS

       APPAREL-MAKER SIAM HANDS BRANCHES INTO PTT, JET STATIONSSiam Hands, the manufacturer of apparel under the Tangmo brand, is expanding by setting up new retail outlets at PTT petrol stations nationwide.
       This is the first time that the company has decided to aggressively expand its retail shops. Previously, Siam Hands mostly distributed its products through wholesalers and only had five outlets in Thailand, including three in Bangkok, at CentralWorld, Siam Square and Bang Lamphu Department Store.
       The company's managing director, Amara Puangchompoo, said Siam Hands' priority was to attract new entrepreneurs, not increase sales revenue alone.
       She said Siam Hands was allowed to lease space at PTT petrol stations, especially at the Jet terminals recently bought up by PTT because they had larger areas available.
       "PTT has about 1,400 petrol stations nationwide. If we could open an outlet in just 5 per cent of those stations, we will be happy. We plan to have 10 shops set up by the end of this year," she said.
       Two Tangmo outlets have already been set up at PTT petrol stations - one on the Bang Bua Thong-Suphan Buri kilometre 28 and the other on Buddha Mondhol 28.
       Amara said that though Siam Hands has been manufacturing Tangmo brand apparel for both local and international markets, this is the first time that it has chosen to expand its distribution channels. The expansion idea was inspired by the 30 per cent growth brought on by the sale of yellow shirts produced to celebrate His Majesty's 60 years on the throne.
       She said she believes basing outlets at petrol stations would also be profitable because people who go there have more purchasing power. In addition, she said, the Tangmo apparel was targeted at travellers and distinctly different from the brands sold at shopping malls.
       Amara explained that initially the outlets would be franchised to Siam Hands' employees, followed by its 2,000 or so agents before individual investors are given a chance. The initial investment would range between Bt500,000 and Bt1 million, depending on the outlet's size, she said.
       For employees, Siam Hands will first cover the entire investment that can slowly be paid off from the revenue earned. Outlets are expected to make about Bt4 million to Bt5 million a year.
       Siam Hands, which was established more than two decades ago under the name of Original Equipment Manufacturer, initially manufactured apparel for several well-known international brands. She said some of these brands retailed shirts for US$70 (Bt2,400) when they just cost $7 to manufacture.
       "They [the international brands] could charge much more because their brands were well known. So, I thought that I should create my own brand and manufacture good-quality apparel for Thais," she said.
       Though the Tangmo brand is not distributed through shopping malls, its revenue has been rising at a steady rate of 10 per cent every year. On average, the firm spends about Bt10 million annually on promotion, mostly through the print media.
       Previously, Tangmo apparel used to be retailed via large discount stores. However, Amara realised this was not a good channel for her products, because discount stores had far too many conditions for suppliers and that affected the products' prices.
       "We did not belong in discount stores, and I don't mind that shopping malls did not carry our brand. We have been doing well in the overseas markets. For instance, our sales in Japan year-to-date has doubled from the same period last year despite the recession," she said.
       Amara expects the company's revenue this year to increase 5 per cent from Bt1 billion last year, even though she does not expect the new outlets in PTT stations to contribute to the growth.