BT90M INVESTMENT IN HOUSE BRANDS

       Central Food Retail, a leading supermarket operator, will spend Bt90 million in developing house brands with the ambition of getting them to double their contribution to sales by the end of next year.
       According to a study completed in September by ACNielsen, the sales of hourse brands at most retail outlets had grown by more than 20 per cent year on year.
       Phattaraporn Phenpraphat, vice president for marketing and public relations of Central Food Retail, which operates Tops supermarkets and Central Food Hall stores, said Thai consumers had changed their shopping habits and were opting more for cheaper house brands.
       "The ACNielsen survey also shows that the contribution to sales by house brands had grown from between 2 and 3 per cent last year to 3 to 5 per cent this year," she said.
       Phattaraporn added that the firm was going to concentrate on developing its won brands and spend more on packaging and marketing them. It expects the sale of its house brnads to rise from the Bt450 million targeted for this year to about Bt750 million next year. Of the house brands, 70 to 80 per cent are food items.
       Central Food Retail spent almost three years doing a feasibility study and looking into consumer insights about the possibility of its own brands, and launched more than 1,000 items under the house brands of Cooking for Fun, My Choice and Tops.
       The Tops brand covers consumer products in food and non-food categories, Cooking for Fun covers food and cooking ingredients, while My Choice covers fresh food and nonfood items.
       Nick Reitmerier, vice president of the buying department responsible for perishable, produce, international food, wine and own-brand items, said the company was hoping to double the sales contribution of its own brands from the current 2 per cent to 4 per cent next year.
       In the first 10 months of this year, house-brand products posted Bt400 million in sales and are expected to hit Bt450 million by year-end.
       "We want to increase the number of house-brand items from the current 1,000 to about 1,500 next year," Reitmeier said.
       Tops and Central Food Hall stores have about 16,000 products on their shelves, and Central Food Retail wants to differentiate its own brand by focusing on pricing as a sales strategy.
       "We want to promote our brands as top-quality products that are good value for money," he added.
       Meanwhile, Phattaraporn said local vendors supplied about 70 to 80 per cent of the house-brand products and that there appeared to be great opportunities for these items overseas.
       "We have been approached by retailers in the UK, Singapore and Belgium. The deals will be concluded very soon," she said.