Production boost planned

XPANSION is a key theme for Berli Jucker Public Co (BJC), one of the major consumer and trading groups in Thailand The company is a leading producer and distributor of consumer products, with 60 per cent of its revenue coming from consumer products and packaging and the rest from technical and imaging products. Assets total more than $330 billion.
BJC makes a huge range of leading brand-name products, from soap and tissue paper to potato chips and stationery, and from glass containers and chemicals to medical and engineering equipment.
The company expects consumer spending to remain stable and plans to invest two billion baht ($45 million) over the next two years to boost production.
It already exports products to Hong Kong, Vietnam and Malaysia and regards capturing new markets as vital to keeping its competitive edge.

David Nicol, president and chief executive of Berli Jucker, says brands have been developed consistently

President and chief executive David Nicol says: “We need to find a way to move towards Asia and seek technology development in the long term. We are looking for ventures in Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia.”
The consumer business represents 33 per cent of BJC’s sales and about 20 per cent of net income. “These figures can be attributed to brands that are now well established,” says Mr Nicol.
Mr Nichol says BJC has always taken a consistent approach in developing its brands. “At the time when some of our competitors were not able to respond due to the lack of resources, we were able to gain market share in most of the company’s product sectors and technical sectors where we operate as an agency business. Thus, we had the continuity of developing our brands and services, and this enabled us to progress when other companies were distracted by financial problems.”

The company reports a rise in sales of 20-30 per cent since introducing a new consumer goods distribution system at the beginning of this year. It is also continuing to expand the number of products it distributes.
“Our own-brand marketing is very important, but we also import and distribute on behalf of other players,” says Mr Nicol. “At the moment the largest distribution comes from confections and products from Kraft Foods. We do have personal care products as well and in terms of imports from the UK we are importing Yardley products.”