Thailand
Thailand: Blackmores set to eke out 6-7% growth
Blackmores, the distributor and marketer of branded vitamin and nutritional supplements, expects sales this year to grow by a single-digit rate for the first time in several years.
Pussadee Suchitchon, the company’s country manager, said that in the best case, sales of Blackmores at drug, health and beauty stores in Thailand are likely to grow by 6-7% from 2018 as people remain cautious about their spending because of the domestic economic slowdown and fewer tourists arrivals.
“Sales of Blackmores products at drugstore chains contracted in some months, particularly at stores located at tourist destinations, compared with regular growth of 6-7% at these stores in previous years,” Mrs Pussadee said.
According to the research firm IMS, the market value of food supplements in Thai pharmaceutical stores in 2018 was 2 billion baht. Blackmores is the market leader, controlling a 39% market share via this channel.
There were more than 6,300 food supplement companies registered with the Commerce Ministry in 2017, reporting combined sales of 87 billion baht in sales through all channels, including direct sales and via physical stores.
Mrs Pussadee said sales of nutritional supplements in Thailand enjoyed double-digit growth before 2011, gradually declining after that year’s heavy floods, political tension and economic downturns during the last eight years.
“The food supplement market is very tough this year, with heavy price promotions and new players making inroads, as well as more people shopping online,” she said.
The company is unsure about the food supplement outlook next year, given murky economic prospects.
Mrs Pussadee remains upbeat that the company’s sales will fare better than the overall industry’s growth, boosted by online activity.
A combined 80% of the company’s sales are from working and family customers, with the elderly making up 20%.
Sales of products for the elderly such as fish oil and calcium were reported to grow by 15% this year, with beauty product sales rising 5-6%.
Blackmores plans to launch more products targeting the elderly next year to increase their sales proportion, particularly via drugstores, to 25%.
Another campaign is to reinstate a strategy to distribute some products via convenience stores over the next 1-2 years.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/1811504/blackmores-set-to-eke-out-6-7-growth