O2E Supply Co, an importer of high-end engineered wood for flooring and decorative interior walls, expects sales growth of more than 65% this year, driven by a robust luxury residential market.
Managing director Warunyu Chinda said demand in the high-end segment remained strong during the pandemic, with a shift from condos to low-rise houses.
The company last year posted 150 million baht in sales, up 10% from 2020 when sales fell 10% from 2019. It aims to secure 250 million baht in sales this year.
According to SC Asset Corporation Plc, which had the highest market share among low-rise houses priced 10 million baht and above, demand for low-rise houses priced 20 million baht and above doubled to 34 billion baht last year from 17 billion in 2020.
Demand for condos priced between 200,000-300,000 baht per square metre soared 163% to 22 billion baht, while demand for those costing 300,000 baht per sq m and above rose 71% to 6 billion baht.
The momentum continued in the first quarter this year with a quarter-on-quarter increase of 39% to 8 billion baht in market value in terms of demand for low-rise houses priced 20 million baht and above.
Demand for condos priced 200,000-300,000 baht per sq m and 300,000 baht per sq m and above saw a quarter-on-quarter rise of 4% and 92% to 4 billion baht and 3 billion baht, respectively.
Mr Warunyu said another key driver behind the company's sales growth this year is from sales backlog of 200 million baht carried over from last year.
Some of this amount had been affected by delayed delivery due to the closure of construction sites.
"The Russian-Ukraine war derailed our logistics from three to six months because our products are all imported from Italy and Belgium," he said. "We already raised prices by 5-10% due to logistics problems and inflation."
The company's products comprise engineered wood flooring with prices plus installation service costing around 1,000-2,000 baht per sq m, while handmade panels or decorative interior walls made from real wood are priced at 10,000-50,000 baht per sq m.
Key markets are single detached houses priced 15 million baht and above and condos priced from 200,000 baht per sq m. The firm's customers include residential developers, hospitals, international schools and end-users.
About 80% of sales come from engineered wood flooring and 20% from decorative interior walls.