หน้าทอนซิตี้ : NathonCity

จาก The Nation

July 14, 2009

ICC International, manufacturer and distributor of Naturalizerbrand women's footwear, may open major stores in popular destinations, to promote brand awareness among Thai and foreign tourists.

Khanisorn Suyanand, CEO of the shoe division, said destinations being considered included Phuket, Koh Samui and Pattaya, where local and foreign tourists with high spending power would be targeted. At least one major Naturalizer outlet will open in a tourist city next year.


"We want the new store to be a medium for communicating and promoting the Naturalizer brand among our target customers," said Kanisorn.


He said the first Naturalizer store had already opened, on the second floor of CentralWorld, occupying 120 square metres of retail space.


"We'll also focus on the export potential of Naturalizer footwear to our local licensees in markets like Japan, Singapore and Dubai. We plan to enter new export markets like the Philippines in the near future," said Kanisorn.


He said compared with other countries benefiting from freetrade arrangements, such as the Asean FreeTrade Area, Thailand enjoyed strong advantages in terms of quotas and taxes on the export of footwear products.


Exports now account for onethird of combined local production capacity for Naturalizer footwear. It has also enjoyed strong export growth of 8090 per cent over the past few years.


Meanwhile, Kanisorn said the company had launched a new subbrand: Naturalizer Fonda, catering to potential customers who preferred a casual lifestyle. It is expected to enjoy strong potential in the Bt3billion casualfootwear segment, which accounts for up to 60 per cent of women's footwear sold in department stores.


"We expect this new line of casual footwear to help stimulate overall growth of our Naturalizer products by 1012 per cent this year," said Kanisorn. "This is Naturalizer's first casualfootwear lineup."


A company survey showed the average Thai woman bought six pairs of footwear a year, fewer than in other countries where they purchase an average of eight or nine pairs.



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