Major air conditioner brands including LG, Haier and Mitsubishi have decided on active strategies to restart sales growth in the first four months of this year, usually the peak sales season for air conditioners.
The three players are all upbeat, projecting Thailand's air conditioner market's resumed growth this year after a 13.3% fall to 26 billion baht in 2020.
All three brands have increased their marketing budget, plan to launch new products and have expanded distribution channels to reach more customers using heavy promotion campaigns from February to April this year.
Amnaj Singhachan, go-to-market head for LG Electronics Thailand, the marketer of LG air conditioners, said the company will double its marketing budget to 120 million baht to promote sales this year.
"Our sales contracted by 10% last year because of the pandemic. We aim to resume our sales growth by 15-20% to 1.8-2 billion baht this year,'' Mr Amnaj said.
To fulfil its sales goal, the company will launch 20 new models of air conditioners with features that are related to health, specifically the virus and PM2.5 dust. LG will also start selling air conditioners via e-commerce platforms like Lazada, JD Central and Shopee next month while strengthening its small dealer network across the country.
Piyasak Sribua, director of air conditioners at Haier Electrical Appliances Thailand, said his company will also start promoting air conditioners by the middle of next month and introduce big sales campaigns by the end of March.
"The promotion campaigns will be adjusted in accordance with the government's measures. If schools are allowed to reopen sooner, parents would cut their spending on air conditioners temporarily. If the schools remain closed, we may have more demand for air conditioners from early next month. We will monitor the outbreak situation on a weekly basis," Mr Piyasak said.
With people being more cautious about their spending, the company will offer more product lines with longer monthly instalment options in order to make the company's products more affordable.
Some Haier air conditioner models allow buyers to make payments for 24 months in instalments. The company will also increase its marketing budget by 20% to 200 million baht. It aims to increase sales of air conditioner products by 29% to 4.12 billion baht this year.
The company reported sales of its air conditioners in 2020 grew by 20% to 3.2 billion baht.
Shinji Kamiya, managing director of Mitsubishi Electric Kang Yong Watana, the distributor of Mitsubishi electrical appliances in Thailand, said the company has recently introduced the new Mitsubishi Electric Mr Slim Series to the market and will strengthen its IT system to interlink service centres nationwide to support fast and efficient after-sales services.