Market Report: Thailand
By Quinn Halford -- Gifts and Dec, 10/26/2007 12:00:00 PM
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| Our man in Bangkok Quinn Halford, former Gifts & Decorative Accesssories editor in chief |
October 26, 2007 — Think “Thailand” and perhaps mee grob, Phuket, and Yul Brynner come to mind. Of course this country is known for much more than crispy noodles, beach resorts and an American actor who made a career of playing King Rama IV in “The King and I.” One of the country’s lesser known features — at least to American buyers — is the beauty and quality of its gift and home decor product. Europeans, on the other hand, are on to it, as was evident at the Bangkok gift fair earlier this month. Official name of the fair: Bangkok International Gift Fair, Bangkok International Houseware Fair, or BIG + BIH — is a mouthful in any language.
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| Aromatherapy on display |
More than once we heard vendors at the fair say, “Americans buy for price, Europeans buy for design.” Price, of course, means China and emerging producers such as Vietnam. Thailand can’t compete with them because of less efficient manufacturing capabilities and labor costs, which may be miniscule by American standards, but are higher than its neighbors. In saving a buck, though, Americans may be missing out on a sure bet.
It’s a “hidden gem” said one American buyer at the show, talking about the level of Thai design. Mark Phillips of the Phillips Collection, a purveyor of “ethnic chic” home decor rooted in traditional craftsmanship, compared Thai design with that of the Philippines, which he said is more overt, less personal. Add great raw materials and a long history of regional handicrafts to the design element and the Thais are producing a range of world class product, from aromatherapy to toys to home accessories and furniture.
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| Nature has a strong influence on Thai design |
The overall theme of this show was the use of natural products in earthy tones and textures, tapping indigenous materials such as mango wood, water hyacinth, and pineapple and mulberry paper. Within that theme, there was a multitude of variations.
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| Design and craftsmanship meet in this jewelry exhibit |
ImpactCenter
Some 716 Thai companies and 21 from other (mostly Asian) countries exhibited at the Impact Convention and Exhibition Center in Challenger Hall, a two-year old building that ranks as a first class exhibition facility. Wide, carpeted aisles; high ceilings; clean restrooms; and comfortably conditioned air (important in a humid climate with temps reaching 90 degrees) make shopping this show a breeze. Add to that two terrific restaurants (one serving Thai food, the other a more international fare) plus a food court for fast food fans and the setting is complete.
There also was little worry about crowds — good for buyers; not so good for vendors. Although show organizers, the Thai government’s Department of Export Promotion (DEP), said over 100,000 visitors would attend the semiannual fair, official numbers for the first of the two-day event totaled 2,621 visitors; 1,524 local and 1,097 overseas. Japan led the overseas attendees with 130 buyers, the U.S. followed with 113. Total European attendance on day one was more than 250.
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| Design Hall |
Design Hall
The fair was divided into three sections: housewares, gifts, and design hall, a vetted area that included more sophisticated lines ranging from furniture to aromatherapy product. Within Design Hall were a number of special exhibits that further highlighted haute design.
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| A Design Forum exhibit |
Design Forum was an exhibition of products selected for showcasing by Trimode Studio, a group of new-generation designers. Ceramics, textiles, lamps, accessory pieces, and other products were displayed within four themes that Trimode sees as leading today’s trends:
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“Richness Glamour,” encompassing luxury with multi-cultural style — modern residences incorporating everyday objects from the past such as small collectibles, inherited objects, and portraits of ancestors
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“Minimal Expression,” embodying the European influence, modifying it with simple design and exquisite craftsmanship
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“Digitalism,” paying homage to changing technology by highlighting dated electrical and audio devices, treating them as sentimental and collectible items;
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“Romantic Natural,” inspired by the rural lifestyle, featuring handicraft items made from natural materials.
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| Young designers received their just awards. |
Two exhibits featured the products of award winning young designers. The Gift Design Award competition (organized by the DEP and various associations) has been an annual event since 2000 and participants work with selected companies experienced in design, production, and marketing of gift and home decor items. Each designer elected to work in one of four themes set by Nelly Rodi’s Home Trend 2008. The French style guru’s themes included Urban Energy, Disco Fever, Belle des Champs and Tropical Utopia. Among the 11 judges was American Craig Anczelowitz, a Penn State University Master of Fine Arts graduate who has also served as a gift buyer for Urban Outfitters and ABC Carpet & Home.
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| Gift Design Award 2007 winner: Glim – inspired by fireflies |
Home textiles, lamps, wooden stools, placemats and cushions were among the 21 entries. A common element among most of the entries was nature. Water, wood, fireflies, butterfly pupa, marine life and peacocks were some of the design influences. Materials included coconut shells, cotton, wood and metal. The Gift Design Award 2007 winning products included a woven cotton throw featuring shimmering colors and rippled texture, two stools made of wood and metal that reflected shapes found in nature and a hanging light fixture made of cotton strings that filtered the light like flickering fireflies.
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| BIG ToysDesign 2007 exhibit |
The other design competition was BIG Toys Design 2007. And this is where we really saw the designers’ personalities come through. A great sense of fun, bright colors and organic shapes dominated these functional and attractive products. Around since 1999, the toy design competition is organized by DEP and the Thai Toy Industry Association. The theme for this year’s competition was Social Play, focusing on toys that encourage children’s social interaction and development. Again, 11 judges selected winners from among 18 entries. First prize went to the designer of Stick, featuring 10 colorful baton-like sticks that the players hand off to each other in a game similar to musical chairs.
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| BIG ToysDesign 2007 finalist |
The Thai toy industry caters mostly to the higher-end market and has avoided the recalls affecting toys made in China for the U.S. market, according to one industry source. Manufacturers meet the standards set by Japan, the EU, and the U.S., while Thai baby toys are certified under Japan’s Food Sanitation Act.
Awards for all gift and toy design winners and finalists were presented at a ceremony on opening day of the fair. For what it’s worth, the young Thai designer group is gender neutral: half were women, half were men.
By Association
There are seven manufacturers’ associations represented at the BIG + BIH fair, each assisting the DEP in running the show. We spoke with the presidents of two of the organizations to learn more about their challenges and strengths. Both said that China has pretty much pushed their members out of the U.S. market. Jirabool Vittayasing is head of the seven-year-old Thai Gifts Premiums & Decorative Association (TGP) representing 200 manufacturers that export up to 80 percent of their product, ranging from wooden carvings (sculptures, bowls, vases, etc.) to photo frames and promotional items. His group works with its members on marketing, seeking government funding and tax relief. Although Thai producers can’t beat China on container loads, Vittayasing is convinced that they can offer smaller quantities along with a commitment to the best customer service. “We have good designers and good materials,” he noted. TGP has people in Atlanta promoting Thai products and four of its members exhibited at the recent High Point market. He is also working on ways to promote the BIG + BIH fair, which needs a higher profile in an area dominated by the big Hong Kong and China trade fairs.
The Home Decorative Design Association is a five-year old organization representing 178 producers of potpourri, artificial flowers, frames, candles and ceramic, bronze and wood products. President Patchtheeya Parshujarlastpong has seen a complete reversal of the organizations’ exports from the U.S. to Europe as the Chinese have dominated the American emphasis on price. Her own company, Classic Flowers International, still sells to Target, Pier 1, and Macy’s, but the United Kingdom is now its biggest market. In addition to the Thai fair, Classic Flowers has been exhibiting at Frankfurt’s Ambiente for the past 20 years and at the Hong Kong Gift & Premium Show for 10 years.
Helping Hands
The Thai economy is basically agricultural with its main exports being rice, rubber and sugar. Tourism also ranks as one the country’s top money earners. There are great areas of poverty in the countryside, especially to the north and south, and a number of organizations are working to engage ethnic minorities in creating industries to provide work for their members. By tapping into the handicraft skills of villagers, adapting newer technologies and applying designs created by Thai designers like those mentioned above, non-profit groups are bringing unique product to market.
Doi Tung
One such group is the Mae Fah Luang Foundation’s Doi Tung Development Project, founded by the King of Thailand’s late mother, Her Royal Highness the Princess Mother. Concentrating on an area in Thailand along the Burmese border, which had been denuded by opium growers felling trees to make room for poppy cultivation, the foundation discovered the people of the area poor and malnourished, trafficking in drugs and women as a means of survival. Beginning in 1986, Doi Tung helped reforest the area and encouraged the Shan, Chinese, Akha, Lawa and Lahu people of the region to develop their traditional handicraft skills with the prospect of selling their goods to the outside world. Today, their handmade products range from carpets, pillow cases and textiles to mulberry paper and ceramics. In 2003, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime recognized and endorsed products from Doi Tung. Recently the organization has begun a pilot program in Afghanistan.
The Doi Tung Development Project had a large presence at the BIG + BIH Fair as well as operating retail shops in Thai airports and other locations. Its products are attractive and sophisticated, well designed with a modern sensibility. We had no sense that these were “village handicrafts” when we visited the booth.
OTOP
The Thai government launched another initiative in 2001 called One Tambon One Product (OTOP), in which village communities (tambons) are encouraged to develop their own products using local materials and villagers’ skills. Products range from soaps and lotions to ceramics, metal decorative accessories and stationery. There were 59 OTOP vendors at the BIG + BIH fair, and the success of each depended on the quality and desirability of the products they were offering. The product line of one vendor we visited consisted solely of framed leaves. Although the rusty-gold-colored leaves were from a special vine that grows only in this particular village (authenticated by a Danish botanist), their appeal to the international market would be very limited. OTOP also has retail shops in Bangkok and at the Bangkok and Chiangmai airports.
SACICT
Founded in 2003, the Support Arts and Crafts International Center of Thailand (SACICT) has a large headquarters building in Bangkok exhibiting traditional arts and crafts of Thailand. Promoting the crafts of rural people has been a priority of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit since 1965 and has resulted in the creation of 22 regional occupational training centers. SACICT had a large booth at the fair, with examples of ornate sculptures and masks and intricate wood carvings on display. At the center of the exhibit was a tall structure called the “Auspicious Tree,” in celebration of the King of Thailand’s upcoming 80th birthday. Visitors were asked to sign copper leaves and then hang each leaf on the “tree.” The leaves will later be melted down and cast as a small Buddha to be presented to the king.
(The King and Thais: Thailand has been a constitutional monarchy since 1932, but the reverence the Thai people have for King Rama IX and Queen Sirikit can’t be overstated. He began his rule in 1946 and has seen his country go through more than six trying decades. Surrounded by war-torn and dictatorial countries like China, Burma, Cambodia and Laos, the royal couple has been instrumental in uniting the Thai people and quelling the strife among the country’s own Buddhist, Muslim and other religious communities. Photographs, billboards, and banners of the king’s image appear all over Bangkok in anticipation of his 80th birthday in December. During our visit, the king was hospitalized following a mild stroke and thousands of people gathered daily outside the hospital offering prayers and get well wishes. The heir to the throne, the Crown Prince, is not at all popular and has issues that may create an upheaval of some sort when King Rama passes on.)
Readers who are not familiar with what Thailand has to offer the gift and decorative accessories market: get yourself to Bangkok and be prepared to be surprised! The next BIG +BIH fair takes place April 17–20, 2008 (trade); April 21–22, 2008 (public). Visit www.thaitradefair.com.
New online B2B directory with Thai exporters and products. QuinL Thailand.
Michel Rosmolen - 2011-08-27 20:00:52 EDT
How nice to see and hear from Quinn again, however briefly. Good report! Hope we'll hear from him with more of these, now and again.
James van Maanen - 2007-10-26 11:36:00 EDT
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