More than a job: Young entrepreneurs find a niche in the leather stationery market
See “Taking the sting out of hide” (business, page 3)By Jon Fernquest
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Starting a business like this isn't easy though, as you will see in the article. Running a successful business requires paying attention to many small but important details. While you read, use the 4P’s of marketing to keep track of these details:
1. What products does the company offer?
2. What price range are the products in?
3. How does the company distribute its product?
4. How does the company promote itself?
Many cities in provincial Thailand have opened night bazaars. Night bazaars are nighttime eating, shopping, and entertainment venues with a family-friendly environment. Initially foreign tourists were the main focus, but nowadays just as many Thai tourists and locals can be found enjoying themselves in these centrally located places. Night Bazaars often become town cultural centers that provide business opportunities even to students who haven’t finished school yet. When I was teaching at Mae Fah Luang University in Chiangrai I would often meet my students at shops they started by themselves at the Chiangrai Night Bazaar. Several of these shops sold gift items similar to the ones that Anek and Supreeya produce.
Let's look more closely at the article. What is the problem with being an OEM? Which market does the company take OEM orders in? Thai? Overseas? Does it allow foreign companies to resell the company's designs with the foreign company’s brand name? What problem would this create?
What is the profile of the company's customers? Domestic and export are the two market segments mentioned in the article. What are the differences in the marketing strategies they are using for these two market segments? Could they better tailor their products to customers’ needs and better position their products in customers minds if they used a more detailed market segmentation like the one used by the former advertising executive Pornsiri Rojmeta on the front page of today’s business section? (See “Ex-ad boss turned trendy restaurateur"). She found that places like Chiangmai and Hua Hin “attracted Bangkokians and foreign travelers who didn’t want to spend money on trendy establishments when they arrived.” In her restaurant she targets “fashionable foreigners and high-end Thai consumers” and tries to maintain the firm’s image as a niche market for urban customers.”
Following the articles that frequently appear in the Bangkok Post on Thai entrepreneurs is a good strategy for thinking through the details of your own business plan. Good luck.
Vocabulary (in discussion above)
entrepreneurs - business people who start small businesses (usually with new and slightly risky business ideas)paying attention - think about and deal with carefully
the 4P's of marketing - the four tools that management uses to increase sales: Product, Pricing, Placement (distribution), Promotion (See Wikipedia:Marketing and Wikipedia:Marketing_mix)
bazaar - a market, a place with many small stalls and shops
venue - a place where an event or activity will happen
family-friendly environment - a place where families can feel comfortable and safe with their children (this usually means prohibiting all bars)
Mae Fah Luang University - one of the two universities in northernmost Chiangrai province, Chiangrai Rajaphat is the other university (See Wikipedia:Mae_fah_luang_university and the Mae Fah Luang University homepage) market segment - a sub-group of customers with special needs in the market for your product (See Wikipedia:Market_segment)
restaurateur - person who owns and manages a restaurant
Vocabulary (in article)
hide – the skin of a large animal like a cow, horse, or elephant used to make leatherflourishing – successful, developing quickly and strongly
beanbags – a small cloth bag filled with heavy beans, as a children’s toy they are fun to throw
subcontract agreements –another company agrees to do part of the work in a project
quality control – the department or policy in a business that ensures there are no defects or errors in the products offered (SeeWikipedia:Quality_control, Wikipedia:Six_sigma, Wikipedia:Total_quality_management, and Wikipedia:Kaizen)
a shaky start – a weak start
core market – most important market
punctual – on time, not late
OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer, a company that makes a product and sells the product to other companies which sell the product under their own names (See Wikipedia:Original_equipment_manufacturer)
to stake a claim – to say that something is yours or that you have a right to it
tailored to customers’ needs – made special for a customer, customized
brand positioning – creating an image of a product in the minds of customers, what customers think about your product compared to other similar products (See Wikipedia:Positoning_marketing)
