Bangkok-based Rakluke Group has expanded into online business via its website www.momypedia.com and plans to provide personal information to users.
The group's president Subhawadee Harnmethee, said Rakluke (love children) intended the website to create a community of families and parents who wanted to communicate and share experiences and knowledge via an online network.
The company is also keen to sell advertising space on the website to companies wanting to promote their business on a family-based network, and is open to application for membership registration from Internet users who are prepared to pay for its services.
Subhawadee said the website would provide online media and solution services and business services such as online research and surveying.
The marketing manager of www.momypedia.com, Vatayos Atvisejsiwakul, said that in a "next step", the website planned to provide Web 3.0 - creating a large collection of databases that could be connected on demand. This will enable users to access information on demand, providing them with knowledge to support their lifestyles.
Www.momypedia.com will also provide live chat facilities with experts such as doctors next year, as well as producing online television programmes and radio over its online network. It will also begin marketing commercial businesses to customers next year, Subhawadee said
Rakluke Group's managing director Chanida Intaravisut said the website was not only a Web-based community for families, enabling members to create activities together, but was also a new marketing channel for businesses.
It has already won three international awards, including bronze awards from 8th Annual Horizon Interactive Awards and the 2009 Summit Creative Awards, both in the United States. It also won an Award of Distinction at the 15th Communicator Awards, Chanida said.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
SPLURGING MUMS GIVE PUREEN HOPE FOR GROWTH
US Summit Corporation (Overseas) expects to buck the economic downtrend and record double-digit growth in sales of pharmaceutical, medical and consumer goods from Bt2 billion last year.
The company, a leading manufacturer and distributor of baby-care products under the Pureen brand, said that despite the economic slump, mothers are still spending on quality products for their babies.
The company's total sales last year grew by 10 per cent.
The pharmaceutical and medical businesses generated equal revenue, accounting for 40 per cent of the total, with the remainder from consumer product, including baby-care products.
"We're lucky that we met our target," Daniel Mao, executive vice president of US Summit, the US-based parent company, said yesterday.
Pureen is already a superbrand in Malaysia.
To double its sales in Thailand, the company has devised a marketing strategy focusing on brand development, relationships with its trading partners, particularly Thai cartoon "Kan Klauy," and activities with mothers.
The company's survey found that mothers have not cut back on expenses for their babies despite low purchasing power. The average purchase by mothers living in Bangkok was Bt1,500 to Bt2,000, higher than the Bt600 to Bt800 for mothers upcountry. The company's double-digit growth this year will be helped by the launch of innovative products, particularly BPA-free feeding bottles.
The products has been proved safe for babies.
Research conducted in the US showed that using bottles with the polycarbonate plastic chemical bisphenol A (BPA) would cause cancer.
"The BPA-free feeding bottle will have a longer life. It can be washed 100 times compared with 20-30 times for BPA bottles," Mao said.
The company's products target medium to high-end customers.
About 70 per cent of its products are made here and the rest are imported from Malaysia.
Asia is the biggest market for the parent company, dominating 90 per cent of its business, he added.
The company, a leading manufacturer and distributor of baby-care products under the Pureen brand, said that despite the economic slump, mothers are still spending on quality products for their babies.
The company's total sales last year grew by 10 per cent.
The pharmaceutical and medical businesses generated equal revenue, accounting for 40 per cent of the total, with the remainder from consumer product, including baby-care products.
"We're lucky that we met our target," Daniel Mao, executive vice president of US Summit, the US-based parent company, said yesterday.
Pureen is already a superbrand in Malaysia.
To double its sales in Thailand, the company has devised a marketing strategy focusing on brand development, relationships with its trading partners, particularly Thai cartoon "Kan Klauy," and activities with mothers.
The company's survey found that mothers have not cut back on expenses for their babies despite low purchasing power. The average purchase by mothers living in Bangkok was Bt1,500 to Bt2,000, higher than the Bt600 to Bt800 for mothers upcountry. The company's double-digit growth this year will be helped by the launch of innovative products, particularly BPA-free feeding bottles.
The products has been proved safe for babies.
Research conducted in the US showed that using bottles with the polycarbonate plastic chemical bisphenol A (BPA) would cause cancer.
"The BPA-free feeding bottle will have a longer life. It can be washed 100 times compared with 20-30 times for BPA bottles," Mao said.
The company's products target medium to high-end customers.
About 70 per cent of its products are made here and the rest are imported from Malaysia.
Asia is the biggest market for the parent company, dominating 90 per cent of its business, he added.
Moong Pattana to raise funds though MAI listing
Moong Pattana International, manufacturer and distributor of Pigeon-brand mother- and baby-care products, has announced a plan to mobilise funds via a public share offering in order to expand its busines and repay debt.
Chairman and chief executive officer Sumeth Lersumitkul yesterday said the company - formerly Moong Pattana Marketing - planned to sell 24 million initial-public-offeirng shares, with the IPO price expected to be revealed in the middle of next month ahead of a listing on the Market for Alternative Investment (MAI) in October.
"Now, we're ready to go public. We have 30 years of experience in the mother-care market," he said, adding that despite the economic slowdown, the company had recorded average sales growth of 20 per cent for three consecutive years.
The Pigeon brand is a trendsetter in mother- and baby-care products, accounting for more than 50 per cent of the local market share, he said.
Sumeth said some of the proceeds from the fund-raising would be used to pay back some of its Bt100 million in short- and longterm debt, whole the rest would be used for working capital to introduce new products.
He said the IPO share price would be quoted in a range of five to 10 times over its price-earnings ratio.
In the first half of this year, Moong Pattana International recorded Bt189.7 million in revenue and Bt26 million in net profit, compared to Bt180.4 million and Bt26 million respectively in the same period last year. For total sales before marketing and other expenses, the company generated Bt205 million, up from Bt196 million over the same period last year.
Following the MAI share-listing plan, Moong Pattana International's paid-up capital will rise to Bt120 million from Bt90 million through the issuance of 30 million new common shares at a par value of Bt1.
Apart from the 24 million IPO shares for the public, 4 million shares will be allocated to directors, executives and employees and another 2 million to the company's patrons.
After the IPO, the Lersumitkul family's shareholding in the company will be diluted to 74.69 per cent.
Chairman and chief executive officer Sumeth Lersumitkul yesterday said the company - formerly Moong Pattana Marketing - planned to sell 24 million initial-public-offeirng shares, with the IPO price expected to be revealed in the middle of next month ahead of a listing on the Market for Alternative Investment (MAI) in October.
"Now, we're ready to go public. We have 30 years of experience in the mother-care market," he said, adding that despite the economic slowdown, the company had recorded average sales growth of 20 per cent for three consecutive years.
The Pigeon brand is a trendsetter in mother- and baby-care products, accounting for more than 50 per cent of the local market share, he said.
Sumeth said some of the proceeds from the fund-raising would be used to pay back some of its Bt100 million in short- and longterm debt, whole the rest would be used for working capital to introduce new products.
He said the IPO share price would be quoted in a range of five to 10 times over its price-earnings ratio.
In the first half of this year, Moong Pattana International recorded Bt189.7 million in revenue and Bt26 million in net profit, compared to Bt180.4 million and Bt26 million respectively in the same period last year. For total sales before marketing and other expenses, the company generated Bt205 million, up from Bt196 million over the same period last year.
Following the MAI share-listing plan, Moong Pattana International's paid-up capital will rise to Bt120 million from Bt90 million through the issuance of 30 million new common shares at a par value of Bt1.
Apart from the 24 million IPO shares for the public, 4 million shares will be allocated to directors, executives and employees and another 2 million to the company's patrons.
After the IPO, the Lersumitkul family's shareholding in the company will be diluted to 74.69 per cent.
LI & FUNG TO EMBARK ON ACQUISITIONS AS US CONSUMER DEMAND REMAINS WEAK
Li&Fung, the biggest supplier of clothes and toys to Wal-Mart Stores and Target, says it can spend about US$1 billion (Bt34 billion) on acquisitions to boost growth because the "marky" US economy is prompting some company owners to sell.
"We're sitting with about $1 billion of firepower," president Bruce rockowitz said a in a televised interview yearterday. "I see this as a huge window of opportunities, like a kid in candy store and you want to eat everything."
Li&Fung's first-half profit growth of 13 per cent beat anlaysts estimates, largely on cost cutting as revenue fell.
The Hong Kong-based company also a supplier to Inditex's Zara and Marks & Spencer, seeks to spur sales through outsourcing deals and buying smaller rivals because it expects little or no growth from existing customers, managing director William Fung said on Thursday.
"Acquisitions are not a bad thing in a bad year," Nicholas Yeo, head of China and Hong Kong equities at Aberdeen asset Management Group, said in an interview yesterday. "It's a good chance to move people around, cut staff and assets are cheap-but ther's always that integration risk."
Shares of Li&Fung rose about 7 per cent yesterday. The company postecd earnings on Thursday after the market closed. The stock had doubled this year, beating the 44-per-cent gain of the benchmark Hang Seng Index.
The company is also seeking potential acquisitions in the US and Europe in teh beauty, health and cosmetics businesses, Fung told reporters yearterday, without identifying any targets.
There are "no clear signs of a rebound in US consumption" because consumers in the world's biggest economy continue to "face tight credit-card lines", he said.
Because of the murky outlook of the global economy, the consumer goods supplier, which earns 61 per cent of its sales in the US and 30 per cent in Europe, will continue to cut costs, Fung said.
Li & Fung will meet its target of cutting costs by 10 per cent, according to Fung. It's reducing business travel and freezing hiring in "highcost countries", he said.
The company has more than 14,000 workers in more than 80 sourcing offices in at least 40 markets.
"Li & Fung is clearly gaining market share in a shrinking pie," Denise Chai, an analyst at Bank of America's Merrill Lynch wrote in a note to clients yesterday.
"We expect continued cost savings in 2010 to mostly offset weak revenue," said Chai, who recommends buying the stock.
Li & Fung last September said Temasek Holdings, Singapore's government-owned investment company, will boost its stake to 4.6 per cent through the purchase of 3.88 billion Hong Kong dollars (Bt 17 billion of shares.
In May, it announced a HK$2.7-billion share sales. Fung on Thursday said the company has US$200 million lion of bank credit lines to fund acquisitions.
The company only "goes to the market" for cash when it plans to make purchases, and the "financial crisis has provided a lot of acquisition opportunities", Fung said.
The managing director sai some clients have told the company that business is down as much as 15 per cent. Orders for the Christmas season "were not good", Fund added.
The company announced an outsourcing agreement with Talbots and expects to generate as much as US$400 million in volume with them this year. The pipeline of potential purchases is "very strong" and Li & Fung is securing "some very interesting and very large acquisitions" that may take place by year's end, Fung said.
Li & Fung's first-half net income rose to HK$1.2 billion by three analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Sales fell 2 per cent to HK$46.3 billion.
"We're sitting with about $1 billion of firepower," president Bruce rockowitz said a in a televised interview yearterday. "I see this as a huge window of opportunities, like a kid in candy store and you want to eat everything."
Li&Fung's first-half profit growth of 13 per cent beat anlaysts estimates, largely on cost cutting as revenue fell.
The Hong Kong-based company also a supplier to Inditex's Zara and Marks & Spencer, seeks to spur sales through outsourcing deals and buying smaller rivals because it expects little or no growth from existing customers, managing director William Fung said on Thursday.
"Acquisitions are not a bad thing in a bad year," Nicholas Yeo, head of China and Hong Kong equities at Aberdeen asset Management Group, said in an interview yesterday. "It's a good chance to move people around, cut staff and assets are cheap-but ther's always that integration risk."
Shares of Li&Fung rose about 7 per cent yesterday. The company postecd earnings on Thursday after the market closed. The stock had doubled this year, beating the 44-per-cent gain of the benchmark Hang Seng Index.
The company is also seeking potential acquisitions in the US and Europe in teh beauty, health and cosmetics businesses, Fung told reporters yearterday, without identifying any targets.
There are "no clear signs of a rebound in US consumption" because consumers in the world's biggest economy continue to "face tight credit-card lines", he said.
Because of the murky outlook of the global economy, the consumer goods supplier, which earns 61 per cent of its sales in the US and 30 per cent in Europe, will continue to cut costs, Fung said.
Li & Fung will meet its target of cutting costs by 10 per cent, according to Fung. It's reducing business travel and freezing hiring in "highcost countries", he said.
The company has more than 14,000 workers in more than 80 sourcing offices in at least 40 markets.
"Li & Fung is clearly gaining market share in a shrinking pie," Denise Chai, an analyst at Bank of America's Merrill Lynch wrote in a note to clients yesterday.
"We expect continued cost savings in 2010 to mostly offset weak revenue," said Chai, who recommends buying the stock.
Li & Fung last September said Temasek Holdings, Singapore's government-owned investment company, will boost its stake to 4.6 per cent through the purchase of 3.88 billion Hong Kong dollars (Bt 17 billion of shares.
In May, it announced a HK$2.7-billion share sales. Fung on Thursday said the company has US$200 million lion of bank credit lines to fund acquisitions.
The company only "goes to the market" for cash when it plans to make purchases, and the "financial crisis has provided a lot of acquisition opportunities", Fung said.
The managing director sai some clients have told the company that business is down as much as 15 per cent. Orders for the Christmas season "were not good", Fund added.
The company announced an outsourcing agreement with Talbots and expects to generate as much as US$400 million in volume with them this year. The pipeline of potential purchases is "very strong" and Li & Fung is securing "some very interesting and very large acquisitions" that may take place by year's end, Fung said.
Li & Fung's first-half net income rose to HK$1.2 billion by three analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Sales fell 2 per cent to HK$46.3 billion.
Bratz maker rolls out new doll line
MGA Entertainment Inc is going to need to muster all the moxie it has for its latest launch. MGA is rolling out a new line of dolls called Moxie Girlz as Mattel Inc plans to take over MGA's former marquee product, the saucy Bratz dolls, following a four-year legal struggle.
With more modest apparel and figures than Bratz, you can think of Moxie Girlz as Bratz lite, and MGA is banking on the line to keep it afloat.
MGA Entertainment began developing Moxie Girlz, targeted at girls ages six to 10, last year. The line was inspired by the recession and the changes in families'lifestyles that came up in focus group discussions, says Paula Garcia, vice president of product design and development.
"We wanted to make the doll a reflection of the consumer herself, not lavish, expensive, material things," she said."The fashion is 'everyday' fashion as opposed to very lavish fashions."
Early sales of Moxie Girlz, which started appearing in some Target and WalMart stores on July 22 and will be available nationwide on Aug 15, have been "very good," MGA CEO Isaac Larian said without providing details.
"The dolls have a subtler look than the pouty-lipped Bratz, who have drawn fire for their skimpy clothing. And the new look is key," said BMO Capital Markets analyst Gerrick Johnson.
"I think they're adorable," Johnson said."Barbie looks like a model, Bratz look like tramps and Moxie Girlz look like girls."
The success of the line is crucial to Los Angeles-based MGA. A US District Court ordered MGA to transition the Bratz doll line to Barbie maker Mattel by spring, concluding a lawsuit in which El Segundo, California-based Mattel alleged Bratz designer Carter Bryant developed the concept while at Mattel. A jury last year awarded Mattel $100 million in damages for copyright infringement and breach of contract.
MGA is appealing, and a mediator is working with the parties.
Though MGA also makes Little Tikes,Rescue Pets and Lil Angelz, among other toys, Bratz was by far its biggest seller.Johnson estimates sales of Bratz peaked in 2005 at $750 million and have fallen since, perhaps below $200 million in 2009.
The privately held company does not publish its revenue.
Moxie Girlz come in several different styles:"Jammaz"- in pajamas - come with a guitar and a microphone;"Arttitude" come with shoes and a bike you can draw on and "Magic Hair" come with two sets of hair. They cost $17.99 to $29.99 each; accessories include a car and a salon play set.
The toy industry's doll segment has been in decline for a few years as more girls find entertainment online and in tech gadgets.
Doll sales overall fell 10% to $2.68 billion in 2008, according to market research firm NPD Group. And sales of Barbie, the segment's leader, slipped 15% in the second quarter compared with a year earlier, though the decline was driven in part by the recession.
New doll lines could boost the category, Johnson said.
Besides Moxie Girlz, new entries include Liv dolls, which Spin Master introduced on Saturday. They look similar to Moxie Girlz and sell for $19.99.
"There is tremendous opportunity in the girl segment for something new,interesting and compelling," Johnson said."Kids can be fickle. This could be the thing the girls' business needed."
With more modest apparel and figures than Bratz, you can think of Moxie Girlz as Bratz lite, and MGA is banking on the line to keep it afloat.
MGA Entertainment began developing Moxie Girlz, targeted at girls ages six to 10, last year. The line was inspired by the recession and the changes in families'lifestyles that came up in focus group discussions, says Paula Garcia, vice president of product design and development.
"We wanted to make the doll a reflection of the consumer herself, not lavish, expensive, material things," she said."The fashion is 'everyday' fashion as opposed to very lavish fashions."
Early sales of Moxie Girlz, which started appearing in some Target and WalMart stores on July 22 and will be available nationwide on Aug 15, have been "very good," MGA CEO Isaac Larian said without providing details.
"The dolls have a subtler look than the pouty-lipped Bratz, who have drawn fire for their skimpy clothing. And the new look is key," said BMO Capital Markets analyst Gerrick Johnson.
"I think they're adorable," Johnson said."Barbie looks like a model, Bratz look like tramps and Moxie Girlz look like girls."
The success of the line is crucial to Los Angeles-based MGA. A US District Court ordered MGA to transition the Bratz doll line to Barbie maker Mattel by spring, concluding a lawsuit in which El Segundo, California-based Mattel alleged Bratz designer Carter Bryant developed the concept while at Mattel. A jury last year awarded Mattel $100 million in damages for copyright infringement and breach of contract.
MGA is appealing, and a mediator is working with the parties.
Though MGA also makes Little Tikes,Rescue Pets and Lil Angelz, among other toys, Bratz was by far its biggest seller.Johnson estimates sales of Bratz peaked in 2005 at $750 million and have fallen since, perhaps below $200 million in 2009.
The privately held company does not publish its revenue.
Moxie Girlz come in several different styles:"Jammaz"- in pajamas - come with a guitar and a microphone;"Arttitude" come with shoes and a bike you can draw on and "Magic Hair" come with two sets of hair. They cost $17.99 to $29.99 each; accessories include a car and a salon play set.
The toy industry's doll segment has been in decline for a few years as more girls find entertainment online and in tech gadgets.
Doll sales overall fell 10% to $2.68 billion in 2008, according to market research firm NPD Group. And sales of Barbie, the segment's leader, slipped 15% in the second quarter compared with a year earlier, though the decline was driven in part by the recession.
New doll lines could boost the category, Johnson said.
Besides Moxie Girlz, new entries include Liv dolls, which Spin Master introduced on Saturday. They look similar to Moxie Girlz and sell for $19.99.
"There is tremendous opportunity in the girl segment for something new,interesting and compelling," Johnson said."Kids can be fickle. This could be the thing the girls' business needed."
TRANSFORM THOSE SALES!
With "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" enjoying record ticket sales in China, spin-offs of Transformer toys and other products are booing too.
The action movie earned more than 400 million yuan (Bt2 bilion) in china in its first three weeks.
Like earlier hit movies such as the "Star Wars" and Batman series, spin-off toys have becometop sellers.
"Transformer toy sales increased by 70 to 80 per cent since the ovie came out," says Liu Yang, the marketing manager at the UME Huaxing International Cineplex.
The spin-offs include key rings and other gadgets, and a stamp album with the Transformer characters on the cover is selling well despite its 500-yuan price, Liu says.
"For people in their 20s and 30s, watching a Transformers movie is like reuniting with a lost friend," says toy-shop owner Wei Wei.
His tiny store is rakingin 6,000 yuan a day in the wake of the new Transformers mvoie.
"The first Transformers mvoie attracted mainly the 1970s and '80s generation," Wei says of the film based on the popular children's TV show of that era.
"Now small children also come and buy the models to play with."
The Transformer toys can be quickly alterned into new forms, just like the TV show and movies' colourful robots, but the current boom extends beyond toys.
"Without any advertising, and in just about a month, we were selling thousands of our new Transformer USB flash drives," says Zeng Ni, marketing manager of Tsinghua Tongfang Co Ltd.
"We knew that Transformers would be th etalk of the town, so last year we began to develop a series of Transformer IT products."
The foresight paid off in massive sales for the flash drives, laptops and desktops, with sales of the Transformers-theme computers jumping 20 to 30 per cent as soon as the film came out.
The Meters/bonwe Group formed a partnership with US-based Hasbro Inc to become the only Chinese fashion-and-accesssories firm licensed to use Transformers images, typefaces and logos.
Among the hot summer sellers online at the firm's website Taobao.com is a Bumblee T-shirt. More than 800 shirts featuring the yellow robot character from the movi have sold recently.
"It's delightful that we still have a double-digit year-on-year increse in sales amid a sluggish economy and the off-season," deputy general manager Xu Weidong told the Economic Observer.
Meters/bonwe also landed a deal for "produc placement" in the new movie, which Xu called a "win-win situation", although he declined to discolse the terms of the deal.
While US moviemakers have long know the value of film spin offs, its Cinese counterpart has yet to fully capitalise, say industry experts.
"Most of the movie-related mrchandise for Chinese films is too low-end," Jiang Youzhi of Beijing Film Studio told Beijing Business Today.
The action movie earned more than 400 million yuan (Bt2 bilion) in china in its first three weeks.
Like earlier hit movies such as the "Star Wars" and Batman series, spin-off toys have becometop sellers.
"Transformer toy sales increased by 70 to 80 per cent since the ovie came out," says Liu Yang, the marketing manager at the UME Huaxing International Cineplex.
The spin-offs include key rings and other gadgets, and a stamp album with the Transformer characters on the cover is selling well despite its 500-yuan price, Liu says.
"For people in their 20s and 30s, watching a Transformers movie is like reuniting with a lost friend," says toy-shop owner Wei Wei.
His tiny store is rakingin 6,000 yuan a day in the wake of the new Transformers mvoie.
"The first Transformers mvoie attracted mainly the 1970s and '80s generation," Wei says of the film based on the popular children's TV show of that era.
"Now small children also come and buy the models to play with."
The Transformer toys can be quickly alterned into new forms, just like the TV show and movies' colourful robots, but the current boom extends beyond toys.
"Without any advertising, and in just about a month, we were selling thousands of our new Transformer USB flash drives," says Zeng Ni, marketing manager of Tsinghua Tongfang Co Ltd.
"We knew that Transformers would be th etalk of the town, so last year we began to develop a series of Transformer IT products."
The foresight paid off in massive sales for the flash drives, laptops and desktops, with sales of the Transformers-theme computers jumping 20 to 30 per cent as soon as the film came out.
The Meters/bonwe Group formed a partnership with US-based Hasbro Inc to become the only Chinese fashion-and-accesssories firm licensed to use Transformers images, typefaces and logos.
Among the hot summer sellers online at the firm's website Taobao.com is a Bumblee T-shirt. More than 800 shirts featuring the yellow robot character from the movi have sold recently.
"It's delightful that we still have a double-digit year-on-year increse in sales amid a sluggish economy and the off-season," deputy general manager Xu Weidong told the Economic Observer.
Meters/bonwe also landed a deal for "produc placement" in the new movie, which Xu called a "win-win situation", although he declined to discolse the terms of the deal.
While US moviemakers have long know the value of film spin offs, its Cinese counterpart has yet to fully capitalise, say industry experts.
"Most of the movie-related mrchandise for Chinese films is too low-end," Jiang Youzhi of Beijing Film Studio told Beijing Business Today.
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