Adisak Sukhumvitaya, chief executive of Jaymart Group, knows the ins and outs of building a business empire. A self-made billionaire by the age of 46, the challenges on the road to success were myriad.
His little mobile phone shop, which only sold 33 handsets on its first day, eventually grew to list on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), evolving into a holding firm with six subsidiaries and securing more than 30 billion baht in market capital.
Q: What has been your greatest success during your 27 years in the industry?
I founded Jaymart in 1990 with 2 million baht in cash by duplicating the business model of Singer Thailand, which, at the time, was the country's most outstanding direct sales firm offering instalment plans.
The first Jaymart shop was located on Phatthanakan Road and sold a variety of electronic product lines via instalment -- just like Singer.
Some 26 years later, I bought 25% of Singer's shares for 940 million baht, becoming its largest shareholder. I'm so proud of that. And it's not just about buying stakes. Jaymart had also collaborated with Singer's 180 branches nationwide and secured very close relationships with local consumers.
Most importantly, Singer Thailand holds the Royal Garuda; a royal warrant of appointment lending prestige to the company. And today the business that I have admired for such a long time is now a part of Jaymart Group.
'I play football at the weekend. I have a five-rai private stadium where I can play football and badminton.'
Q: Can you tell us the secret to your success?
I do believe in the maxim "Be first and stay different". To be successful in any field, you have to be the first one to start, and stay focused. Jaymart was founded as the first instalment plan provider for mobile handsets. We totally focused on retail consumers. Back then, there were not many players in the market.
Business diversification of the group must be conducive to business synergy. We have shown our mettle in this regard with Jaymart's market capitalisation on the SET, growing seven times from 2009 to secure 12 billion baht in 2017. Our target is to reach 40 billion baht in 2020.
Q: How was Jaymart founded, and why did you decide to sell mobile handsets?
In 1989, when I worked as marketing manager at Philips Electronics Thailand, my career path reached a point where, as a Thai staff member, I could no longer be promoted. This pushed me to leave and set up my own business. I am thankful for that situation.
So I opened my Jaymart shop and started selling mobile phones with instalment plans.
Q: The mobile phone business seems to be very profitable, but not everyone can amass a fortune. Why is that?
At the beginning, it was. But when Aeon started providing consumer leasing services with lower interest rates, Jaymart could not compete. I then set up a joint venture with three friends in which we built a TV manufacturing business. All the funding for that came through bank loans. The business completely failed and my friends took off, leaving me with 30 million baht in debt. It was the toughest time in my life.
But when crises enter my life, I reframe and take advantage of them. I proposed the idea of collaborating with Aeon by selling handsets via its loan financing network. Back then Aeon offered loans for home appliances, excluding mobile handsets, because financing loans for handsets was complicated since the devices are bound with airtime tariffs.
I negotiated with three major mobile operators and they agreed to separate the devices from those tariffs. The partnership with Aeon then began in 1994. On the first day, we only sold 33 handsets through instalment plans. That number increased to 5,000 units a month at the end of the first year, reaching 10,000 units a month in the second year.
In seven years of operations, I was able to earn 700 million baht, and those earnings became a key driver pushing Jaymart to be listed on the SET and then branch out via subsidiaries. It was like hitting the jackpot.
Jaymart was founded as the first instalment plan provider for mobile handsets.
Q: How would you describe your management style?
I have built this business with my heart. What's important for me is being sincere to employees. Executives at Jaymart must not only be skilful in business management. They must also stand at the forefront when dealing with whatever problems they face and resolve them for our employees.
A company is like a family in the sense that its stability and growth rely totally on executives and staff.
Jaymart was originally founded with a family concept, as the Jay stands for my family members. J is my daughter Juthamas, A is me, Adisak, and Y is my wife, Yuwadee. Jay is also my son Aekachai's nickname.
Business has its cycle of management patterns. Jaymart was originally driven by a group of founders and has then developed a professional approach, with the organisation structure and management gradually maturing. We all have driven them to enter a new culture where technology and innovation are completely part of people's daily lives.
Mr Adisak and his family.
Q: Can you tell us a little more about the business of Jaymart Group?
In January this year, Jaymart transformed into a holding company. The flagship mobile phone business unit operates under the newly established Jaymart Mobile Co, which is 99% owned by Jaymart.
The group has six subsidiaries: Jaymart Mobile, a handset distributor arm; JMT Network Services provides debt management and business financing loans; JAS Asset manages leasing of retail space in shopping centres and operates the property business; J Capital is a joint-venture arm in Myanmar; J Fintech provides personal loans; and J Ventures develops technology and digital platform services.
Q: Do you have someone you admire as your role model?
I admired former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in his competence and vision. He was one of the key leaders who drove a business empire by himself through innovative management.
There are many good things that we can learn from him, even though he was accused over his political manner and conflict of interest between his business and the state.
The Miss Mobile beauty pageant is one of Jaymart's activities for building brand awareness.
Q: How do you motivate yourself?
Whenever challenges or crises come, I always tell myself: "Don't give up." A basic principle of running businesses is that "you have to stand your ground".
Q: How do you spend an average day?
During weekdays, I spend the first half of the day with my parents before going to work. I spend my time at the company from the afternoon until the evening. The late evening is time for meeting socially. And I like to work on business strategy at night.
Downtime is when I pursue my passion: I'm a sportsman. I play football at the weekend. I have a five-rai private stadium where I can play football and badminton.
'Don't give up' is Mr Adisak's mantra.
Q: Where do you see Jaymart Group in the near future?
I intend to retire by 2020, becoming an adviser on the board of the company when I am 65. By that time, my son Aekachai will be in charge of the group. He is now deputy chief executive of J Ventures, a Jaymart subsidiary that develops technology and digital platform services.
I would like to see Jaymart Group as a recognised business model in the country that reflects the success of business diversification and synergy driven by technological innovation.
Mr Adisak: "I am a sportsman."
