Electrolux Thailand wants to become a market leader in the country's 4-5 billion-baht- kitchenware segment by 2020.
Ratchata Suttapattanon, the newly appointed general manager for the company, said Electrolux sees an opportunity to expand in the premium kitchenware market by riding the luxury property boom of the past several years. This trend is expected to continue this year, said Mr Ratchata.
"Thailand's GDP per capita has continued to increase, while middle-income earners are growing in numbers, fuelling greater demand for convenience. Such factors create demand for premium household appliance products," he said.
Mr Ratchata said major home appliance brands from South Korea, Japan and Europe have made inroads in Thailand's premium segment over the past few years.
Thailand's household appliance business, excluding TVs, is estimated at about 55 billion baht. Of the total, about 20% is the premium household appliance segment, up from 10% in the past five years.
The proportion of Thailand's premium home appliances may rise to 30% of the total household appliance market within the year 2020, he said.
"If the GDP per capita rises to US$10,000 [331,840 baht] in the future from $6,591 in 2017, the home appliance market in Thailand is expected to gear towards the premium market, as is seen in Singapore," Mr Ratchata said.
In a move to cash in on higher demand in the premium home appliance market and the gradual rebound of consumer spending power, the company plans to launch more than 30 Electrolux kitchenware products in seven categories here in the second half this year.
The company also plans to strengthen its e-commerce business to drive sales growth into the double-digits in 2018.
Mr Ratchata said the premium appliance segment is rarely affected by the consumer purchasing slowdown, unlike home appliances in the middle to low-end market.
Electrolux said sales in the first half of this year grew by double digits, higher than the home appliance industry, which grew by only 3-4%.
He said the company will also explore market opportunities through business-to-business channels, including project sales.
Electrolux's sales revenues from property projects is about 5% of the company's total sales. Sales from this segment are expected to rise to 30% within 2020.
"We've been trying to tap into residential projects with units priced 5 million baht or more," said Mr Ratchata.
"This is part of boosting key Electrolux kitchenware products to become the market leader and refrigerators to the top three by 2020."
