Brushing aside the political protests, the Japanese office-furniture maker Itoki Corporation plans to use Thailand as a production base to tap Southeast Asian markets in a partnership with Modernform Group, one of this country's top furniture firms.
Masamichi Yamada, chairman of Itoki Corporation, said the joint effort will begin next year.
"Thailand is situated in the centre of the region," he said yesterday. "It has economic power, growth potential and a large population. The office furniture market is still young here, while it is mature in Japan."
Itoki is looking not just at the Thai market, but neighbouring countries as well. Annual sales growth in Thailand is expected to rise to 30%, up from 5% since the company entered the country six years ago.
Last year, Itoki recorded 300 million yen (95.4 million baht) in revenue from Thai operations.
Thailand will be the second production branch outside Japan, following China.
Modernform chief executive Thaksa Busayapoka said Japanese corporate customers in Thailand are a new market for his group.
Partnering with Itoki will help Modernform expand the office furniture segment to 7-10% of annual sales volume this year, up from 1-2%.
The goal is 100-150 million baht in sales from Itoki office furniture.
"Japanese always prefer Japanese products," said Mr Thaksa. "We see a huge opportunity to tap Japanese firms in Thailand and Southeast Asia, given the acquisition in Bank of Ayudhya by Mitsubishi last year and the entry of many Japanese firms in Myanmar."
He said Modernform expects sales growth of 15% this year. But if the political unrest extends to the second half, growth could fall below 10%.
Last year the company's revenue grew by 25% during the first 10 months and declined sharply in the final two.
Modernform raked in full-year revenue of 3.6 billion baht, up 16% from 2012, for a net profit of 420 million baht, up 3%. Exports account for 4% of revenue, but the company plans to increase its share to 10% within three years.