Despite a spate of negative factors at home and abroad, Saha Pathanapibul Plc, one of the country's top consumer goods companies, remains upbeat on prospects for consumer products.
The firm also announced an investment of 1 billion baht to build a warehouse on 60 rai of land in Sri Racha, Chon Buri this year to support future growth.
"It is the highest-ever investment in the past decade," said company chairman Boonchai Chokwatana.
The new warehouse, which occupies 46,000 square metres, will start construction soon and is scheduled to open later this year.
The facility is to accommodate growth in the company's consumer products business and increase logistics efficiency.
Saha Pathanapibul reported modest sales growth of 4% in 2018 and 3% in 2019, but the company believes that the consumer goods sector has ample room to grow, as such products are daily-use items.
Saha Pathanapibul is the marketing and distribution arm for consumer products under Saha Group. It markets various products, including food, drinks, oral care and household items. Some of the popular brands are Pao detergent, Mama instant noodles, Kodomo baby products, Systema oral care and Lipon F dishwashing soap.
"Our sales growth was lower than the target for two years, stemming not only from the economic slowdown but also higher competition," said Mr Boonchai, who voiced support for the government's stimulus packages, particularly the Taste-Shop-Spend scheme.
He said the government should launch as many stimulus campaigns as possible to spur the country's economic growth in the short term, adding that the format of the campaigns should create benefits to a wider group of people, including those in tourist destinations and small-scale shops nationwide.
Mr Boonchai said that regardless of the economic situation, the company seeks to increase sales by 6.8% this year.
Sales in the first nine months of last year totalled 25.24 billion baht, turning a net profit of 1.28 billion baht.
New strategy
"We will no longer set a growth sales target for the management team to follow, but instead allow each team to set its own growth target," Mr Boonchai said. "By pursuing this strategy, it will encourage them to actively find the key to business growth opportunity."
The company has talked to Thai President Food Plc, the maker of Mama noodles, and Lion Corp Thailand, the maker of Pao detergent, about expanding production capacity.
Limited production capacity at the two firms led Saha Pathanapibul to lose a huge sales opportunity last year, though certain products posted strong sales.
In addition, the company will explore more business opportunities from the export market, doubling export sales to 2 billion baht and expanding via the online channel this year.
Although Mr Boonchai voiced optimism about the company's sales opportunities, he still expressed concern about the unabated trade war.
"Although the situation appears to have eased up a little, we are not sure how long it will be sustainable," he said.
He also urged the central bank to stay alert in tackling the strong baht.
Moreover, the political situation may result in a hiccup in consumer spending because the uncertain political landscape will lead people to be more cautious in their spending.
"I do not worry much about the future of Saha Pathanapibul," Mr Boonchai said. "Our business now is more stable than in the past three decades. We post profit every year and can invest without relying on bank loans.
"Technology is one my life's challenges, but through learning by doing, new generations of the Chokwatana family believe they can handle this challenge and together usher in Saha Pathanapibul to become a 100-year-old company as is our dream, up from our current 70 years."