SET-listed TV Direct (TVD), a home shopping operator, is gearing up for a harmonised channel strategy through e-commerce, home shopping and call centres to boost revenue and cater to personalised demand.
The company wants online sales to contribute 15% of revenue this year, up from 8% in 2020.
The strategy is necessary as the company faces various challenges, including the economic downturn and innovation-driven marketing channels through artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics, said Songpol Shanmatkit, TVD's chief executive.
The market also sees the broader sales scope, including consumer-to-consumer models through social platforms as well as direct-to-consumer models where brands can sell products and services to consumers directly, bypassing retailers or e-marketplaces, he said.
Under the strategy, the company will increase its e-commerce channels, reposition its home shopping channels and push up the number of call centre staff from 300 to 500, said Mr Songpol.
The harmonised channel strategy and online target are to serve consumer behaviour that favours 24-hour online purchases while the company could utilise all communication and media with better cost-effectiveness.
TVD operates business through omnichannel including digital TV, satellite TV, call centre, direct mail and catalogues, TVD shops, websites, social media, retailers and pop-up spaces.
Mr Songpol said the company will increasingly focus on sale activities on social platforms by developing creative content on platforms such a TikTok. TVD is also reworking its website www.tvdirect.tv and the TVD application.
The strategy includes a recent cooperation with a Taiwan-based home-shopping and e-commerce platform Momo.com to bring in tech and innovation features to enhance the capacity of TVD's sales on online platforms.
TVD also plans to reposition marketing perception through 28 satellite TV channels, divided into six categories: affordable products, mid- and high-market sectors, wellness sector, electronic goods, mass retail goods and brand name products.
"TVD call centre staff are estimated to number 500, up 70% from 2020 to enhance efficiency, serving 10.1 million active customers," he said.
According to Mr Songpol, business-to-business service operator AMPO, a subsidiary of TVD, is transforming to become a tech company.
AMPO has invested in Blockfint, a fintech and blockchain technology startup, which develops software and applications for digital banks, known as Neo banking, in the online banking system.
The company also invested in AI tech developer Eat Lab, which helps restaurants deal with consumer data analysis.
Last year, TVD had sales revenue of 3.7 billion baht, a slight decline from 4.2 billion in 2019, due to lower consumer purchasing power.
TVD booked a net profit in 2020 at 28.3 million baht or 111% up from 13.3 million in 2019.