Minor Corp Plc, the distributor of international fashion and lifestyle brands, looks set to triple its investment to 1 billion baht this year, excluding mergers and acquisitions (M&A), to boost sales growth to more than 5 billion baht by year-end.
Of the total, about 200 million baht will be spent opening six branches of OVS, an Italian fast fashion brand, in Bangkok and upcountry this year. The remaining 800 million baht will used to open 44 new branches of existing stores such as Anello and Esprit, and improving its existing fashion stores, said James Richard Amatavivadhana, the company's chief executive.
Mr James said the company added the OVS brand to its portfolio to capitalise on Thailand's booming fast-fashion segment.
OVS, established in 1972 in Venice, had sales of €1.15 million (44.5 million baht) in 2016. OVS operates 1,300 stores in 35 countries.
Chak Chalermchai, the company's vice-president, said Thailand's fast fashion market is very attractive given the growing demand and low competition.
There are only 10 major brands available in the market, which is estimated to be worth 30 billion baht a year.
Uniqlo from Japan is the market leader in this sector, followed by Zara from Spain and Sweden's H&M.
"We've chosen Thailand as the first country in Southeast Asia to introduce the OVS brand because Thais have great value and style," Ismail Seyis, international director at OVS Spa, said during his visit to the country yesterday.
Minor Corp has secured the right to market the brand in Thailand for six years.
There are three OVS stores available in Phuket and Bangkok. The company plans to open five or six OVS stores a year and reach 25-30 by the end of 2020.
Revenue from the OVS brand is expected to reach 300 million baht this year and will increase to 1 billion baht over the next three years.
By that time, the company aims to be among the top three players in Thailand's fast fashion segment.
"Thailand is the first market for the OVS brand in Southeast Asia," said Mr James.
OVS will be Minor's flagship product to drive sales to grow by 17% to 5 billion baht this year. It also aims to double that figure by 2020, he said.
Minor Corp is the fashion arm of Minor Group. It contributes a tenth of the group's revenue.
Mr James said the company is also interested in expanding into new categories such as cosmetics, sports and household products. Moreover, it plans to chase more M&A.
Minor distributes 14 international brands including Esprit, Bossini and Charles & Keith at 398 branches nationwide.
"We are applying an M&A strategy because we want to own the Thai brands to reduce our business risk," Mr James said. It is looking to buy fashion and lifestyle brands with minimum sales of 500 million baht a year.
"It's our mission to be one of the leading operators in Thailand's fashion retail," he said.
