Serm Suk Plc (SSC) yesterday officially marked the start of its first new business chapter in almost six decades, setting its sights on becoming a regional soft drink brand by 2015.
Led by chief executive Somchai Bulsook, the company introduced its "est" brand, its first cola drink and also the first cola brand for Thailand, to businessmen in various sectors.
Est will be distributed to cover 80% of 200,000 grocery stores by next month and to other distribution channels by more than 8,000 experienced employees with 1,200 sales trucks and 150,000 coolers.
After that, Serm Suk will launch est, flavoured and lemon-lime categories under a single-brand strategy.
From left, Parinya Permpanich, Serm Suk's sales and marketing director, Somchai Bulsook, the chief executive, and Mr Somchai's son Dhitivute, the president, attend yesterday's launch of est cola. NATTHITI AMPRIWAN
Serm Suk expects sales from only carbonated soft drinks to reach 8 billion baht next year.
Combining sales of est with other products under its portfolio including drinking water, Mr Somchai estimates sales will return to the same level it had before its bottling and distribution contract with US beverage giant PepsiCo Inc ended on Thursday.
"Est is a cool and easy-to-remember brand. It's a suffix that expresses a superlative such as great-est, new-est or cool-est," explained Mr Somchai's son Dhitivute, Serm Suk's president.
Brand communications will be based on the "Est It Your Way" concept, aimed at inspiring teenagers to do everything with their fullest effort. With this platform, the est brand will hit the heart of teenagers and all consumers who seek a new lifestyle and experience.
Serm Suk will spend about 1.2 billion baht to promote and drive popularity of the est brand through the strategy that advertising must hit the heart, while sales must hit the target.
"I have worked with Serm Suk for 33 years and know more about my customers than I do my wife. I'm confident est will take about a year to become the second-largest cola brand in the country, and after that we'll look for another step to achieve," said Parinya Permpanich, the marketing and sales operation director.
Recent consumer surveys found almost 77% of respondents were very satisfied with the flavour of est cola and would certainly buy it. About 60% are ready to switch to the brand.
Mr Dhitivute said the company will take about three years to become the market leader in Thailand's cola segment, which is estimated to be worth 30.4 billion baht.
Yesterday's launch marked a significant turning point for Serm Suk as well as the Thai beverage industry.
"We will launch est in Asean's soft drink industry on the day the Asean Economic Community launches in 2015. If several international brands can enter Thailand, why should est not go to international markets?" Mr Somchai said.
Wichai Charoenrat, a salesman who has worked for Serm Suk for 18 years, said he is not afraid of future changes, as the 59-year-old company did not start est from scratch.
"We could successfully sell drinking water," he said.
With the entry of est, competition in the Thai soft drink sector will grow more intense next year as the other three brands - Pepsi, Coke and Big Cola - make every effort to gain sales.
Shares of SSC closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 265 baht, down one baht, in trade worth 7.4 million baht.
Bangkok Post online classifieds
Try buying selling goods and properties 24/7 in our classifieds which has high purchasing power local expatriate audience from within Thailand and around the world.
About the author
Writer: Pitsinee JitpleecheepPosition: Business Reporter
Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2012/11/04/serm-suk-launches-cola-brand-with-bold-pledge/
0 comments:
Post a Comment