Beginning point of 'LEAD' Program by Central Pattana
The initial intention of the company in supporting new Thai SMEs: the LEAD program is not only a learning course, it is also one of the company's most important business strategies to help create a gateway to success as a platform, bringing new entrepreneurs into the strong business ecosystem of Central Group (the parent company of Central Pattana), which includes diverse business groups and a large network of various business partners, covering the domestic and international market. The Group offers a wide range of opportunities for growth and business expansion domestically and internationally with outstanding strengths in helping develop readiness, bringing out the potential and strengths of each entrepreneur by focusing on 'real learning, real doing and real growth', and opening a real shop for sales trials in a pop-up market - which is a unique signature module of the LEAD Program. Participants are able to enter brand co-creation with their fellow participants, conduct market trials, think of ideas to develop new products and services and also experiment in the actual market at prime locations in Central Pattana shopping centers.
Dr. Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, Head of Marketing for Central Pattana plc, who initiated and made the LEAD Program happen, said: "Central Pattana focuses on supporting SMEs and has a policy to allocate 10% of our shopping center space for SMEs. We are a platform that attracts the new generation of entrepreneurs with high potential to enter the ecosystem of the Central Group. We select brands with high growth potential and strong business background and act as a business incubator to help strengthen such brands.
What is the outstanding point of LEAD that makes it unique?
We focus on real learning and real doing by opening shops that can grow alongside us. We collaborate with Thammasat University, with Asst. Prof. Pitipee Ruammek (Aim), Program Director of the LEAD Program, who has designed retail courses that meet modern business needs. The Program is different each year and is adjusted according to world trends, which change every year, and choose great gurus who fulfil the needs for current trends," Dr. Nattakit said.
"Seven keys to success that I would recommend to SMEs are: 1) Passion is very important in order to achieve business success; 2) Opportunities - take your brand to an environment or business ecosystem that facilitates sustainable growth; 3) Target opportunities - understand your target very well and be able to match the right target groups with the right sales location(s); 4) Product valuation - you must understand the value of your product and its position in the market and be able to make your product(s) more attractive and unique; 5) Be open-minded - business may not be successful without partner(s); enter co-creation with other brands that may lead to new product(s) and new development, and create new opportunities (for example omni-channel sales, as each platform fulfils a different demand); 6) Branding and CRM - create engagement and connect with customers, which will help sustain a strong customer base; and 7) Management - entrepreneurs must prioritize back-door management such as profit & loss, cash management, and stock management etc."
Asst. Prof. Pitipee Ruammake (Aim), Program Director, designer of the LEAD Program, and who has collaborated since LEAD 1, said: "The LEAD Program helps bring out the brand's potential for further development and we look at the brand's strengths and how to maximize those strengths and focus on real practice - not only business presentation. Central Pattana has space for business trials and their success can be measured through actual sales in the pop-up market workshop in Central shopping centers. Participants in the Program are able to test new markets with their new products. Several brands have been able to scale up their business while participating in the Program and they have not had to wait until the Program was over. Most importantly, the LEAD Program also trains you to enter co-creation with other brands to get a new perspective. The Program is a fast track for SMEs to obtain a real experimenting ground for trial and error, and we provide advice along the way by directing brands to the best next step and ensure that they learn from the experience gained from the Program to use in real business for sustainable growth.
"For the LEAD 5 Program, we intend to ensure that entrepreneurs achieve new curated success, with more intense content and new elements that highlight success in the new era as our world changes rapidly and we blend business and lifestyles together, covering art, culture and the environment - which the modern generation focuses on."
Outstanding examples of the success of five brands from more than 30 brands participating in LEAD 4 Program.
Ms. Sureeporn Poonsakpaisarn (Koi), the owner of the southern tea brand known as 'Chong Dee', which is a spin-off from the brand: Ko Ouan Salapao from Hat Yai, opened her first store in Bangkok at centralwOrld and has grown and expanded to several branches at Central shopping centers, with a total of 20 branches. Koi shared her experience gained from the Program: "Initially, we wanted to create a tea brand to sell alongside Ko Ouan Salapao (steamed buns). We were uncertain whether a separate tea brand would be successful or not. However, after our participation in the LEAD Program, I saw an opportunity for the 'Chong Dee' brand and had a chance to conduct a market trial and sell my tea in a pop-up market. It was there that I realized that 'Chong Dee' tea was doing quite well in the market and helping fulfil a consumer solution as they could purchase my tea along with Ko Ouan steamed buns. In addition, we had a chance to try making new products by collaborating with other Program participants, such as the ice cream brand 'Quint', and we launched a menu of delicious southern tea flavored ice cream, which is currently available at Quint. This built up my confidence to launch a spin-off for 'Chong Dee' tea brand."
Ms. Kanyanat Piyachaiwut (Mind), owner of the 'Nineties Design' t-shirt brand, said: "Originally, I was selling my products online and when I had an opportunity to sell in Central shopping centers, we grew and expanded to 20 branches. After my participation in the LEAD Program, we were able to expand further and now we have 30 branches. Learning with the LEAD Program has helped us grow further, with more branches, and we also see an opportunity to create new brands to expand to a new customer base. Our experience in the pop-up market workshops meant we conducted market trials, with new pricing aligned with customer groups in each location. For example, we previously sold our products at discounted prices for the easy access of young people; however, when we conducted a trial market in centralwOrld, we realized that we could sell them at full prices as long as we offered products that matched target groups. When I ran a market trial at Central Rama 2, I gained another group of customers - family groups, and we created a new brand called 'Nineties Kids', which has been doing very well. Formerly, I would have thought that this branch would not have suited our target groups and therefore overlooked it, but after the market trials, I realized that we could expand to even more new customer groups. Most importantly, after participation in the Program, we were able to make a spin-off of a new brand for working people under the name: 'NINE', with our first branch in the Commune Zone at centralwOrld. We also plan to continue to expand our new brands with Central Group."
Mr. Palawut Charoenchitman (Up), the owner of the AMATAS cookware brand, said: "I started this brand as my family owns a plastic factory; we are OEM and also have our own brand called Superlock, which is available in many supermarkets, hypermarkets and online. The platform that we lacked was a retail platform such as shopping centers or department stores. I participated in the LEAD Program because Central is the number one in retail and we wanted to learn from people who are experts and have available platforms where everything is ready. After my participation in the LEAD Program, I created a new brand called AMATAS as I learnt in the LEAD Program that 'Retail is Detail'. We originated as a manufacturer for others without storefront experience or interaction with customers. After learning from the Program, we understood about partnerships and had the opportunity to grow and expand branches in the form of physical stores in Central shopping centers, and also collaborated by teaming up with fellow participants to create new brands."
Ms. Chanikarn Tanboonperm (Fern), the owner of Tempered Co. Thai chocolate & patisserie and the first Thai cacao roastery, who concerns about sustainability and supports Thai farmers, said: "The Tempered Co. brand was inspired by the desire to create a Thai chocolate brand. Importantly, we focus on sustainability and are meticulous in every step of the process from selecting cocoa beans that come from cocoa planted in Thailand, and work with farmers to develop quality cocoa beans with great taste and that are good for health. Originally, we opened a standalone store and never tried to sell in a department store or shopping center. I had the opportunity to participate in the LEAD Program and conducted our first market trial in a pop-up market, where we met new groups of customers and offered new products for a trial sale - which received great feedback and great sales. This allowed us to see an opportunity to expand our business to many other models such as chocolate bars or chocolate cafes etc. Participating in the LEAD Program allowed us to see opportunities grow, expand new branches, try new experiences and learn new things, which could all be put into real world practice for the sustainable growth of our business."
Finally, Mr. Nawat Saksirisilp (Pum), the owner of 'Moreover', a minimalist-style home furnishings brand, said: "The Moreover brand started as a home decoration brand, with the highlight on our unique designs. We were a small brand that focused on B2B product design services and collaborated with various brands in addition to some exports and consignments at selected shops. After participating in the LEAD Program, we expanded distribution points from 15 to 20-30 points due to our increased understanding of stock management. I gained a new perspective because our brand came from the perspective of a designer and we may not have fully understood the business. When I learnt about back-door management from other Program participants, I saw an opportunity to expand our business and that sparked the idea to develop a new business model from our existing B2B collaborations. We also came up with an idea to create a concept store, and entering a retail platform allowed us to grow to the next level as we want to rely on ourselves rather than relying on others by consignment. Central Pattana has helped support us in finding the right locations and we are confident that having a strong partner like Central Pattana will strengthen our business growth."
The LEAD Program has been held for four consecutive years, with over 150 new brands grown during the four years of the Program, and more than 70% of participants becoming successful with business expansion, including over 600 branches combined, covering over 30,000 m2 of Central shopping centers nationwide, giving total business growth value of 1.8 billion baht. Examples of successful brands are such as Fresh Me, Gentlewomen, With it, Ravipa, Moshi Moshi, Salad Factory, and Beautrium etc.
Source: Central Pattana
