Henkel Thailand expands footprint in consumer sectors

Henkel Thailand expands footprint in consumer sectors

Building on 45 years of success in Thailand, Henkel continues to expand its presence in the adhesives and hair businesses and is aiming for greater growth, especially in the consumer sectors.

Thailand has a large consumer market and a growing middle class, which are fueling the growth of various markets, such as automotive, beauty, electronics, food and beverage, and home appliances.

"As a market leader in adhesive technologies and an innovation leader in the beauty care hair market, we are well-positioned to serve these needs," said Erik Edelmann, President of Henkel Thailand.

The company's leading brands are Loctite, Technomelt, Bonderite, Teroson and Aquence for the Adhesive Technologies sector; and Schwarzkopf and Syoss for the Professional and Retail hair sectors.

To drive growth, Henkel focuses on four areas: superior customer and consumer engagement, leading brands and technologies, exciting innovations and services, and new sources of growth.

High-impact solutions

In the adhesives business, Henkel's strategy is to deliver high-impact solutions, such as improved safety for food packaging, high-performance adhesives for furniture manufacturing, and improvement to the production processes of the automotive industry focusing on energy and waste reduction. 

Mr Edelmann added that understanding market trends and offering total solutions are critical. For example, to meet the surge in demand for eye-catching food and beverage packaging, Henkel has developed an integrated hotmelt Supra series and equipment solution. This provides manufacturers with not only innovative adhesives that can be applied on many substrates, but also improved production processes that lower overall costs.

Henkel offers solutions to help customers reach the highest level of food safety.

With Henkel's recent acquisition of the global Darex Packaging Technologies business - which includes a production plant in Bangpoo Industrial Estate -  the company has also expanded its capabilities to serve producers of beverage, food or aerosol cans.

"Another growth area is the furniture business, where demand is coming from real estate projects, such as offices, hotels and resorts," Mr Edelmann said. To serve this market, Henkel has forged partnerships with its customers and machine makers to develop complete adhesives and manufacturing solutions for trendy furniture designs.

Manufacturing excellence, too, has been instrumental to Henkel's leadership in the adhesives industry. Henkel is a supplier and an innovation partner to a large number of automotive companies and original equipment manufacturers in Thailand - along the entire automotive value chain from press, body and paint shop to assembly and repair operations. Much of these automotive solutions are produced locally at Henkel's smart factory in Bangpakong, which is highly efficient and has high safety and sustainability standards.

Leading in hair colour fashion trends

Besides its adhesives business, Henkel is a leading consumer goods company in the Beauty Care Retail and Professional hair sectors.

"The beauty care hair market in Thailand is extremely vibrant. Thai consumers are sophisticated and are well-informed about beauty and fashion trends," said Mehmet Karamollaoglu, Country Manager of Beauty Care Retail, Henkel Thailand.

Mr Karamollaoglu noted that men and women across different age groups pay greater attention to their looks and are willing to explore. In hair coloration, there is a higher demand for performance, with consumers wanting better grey coverage and long-lasting colour results, but with less damage. Consumers are also willing to experiment with fashion shades. Further, the usage of hair repair products, such as oil treatment and serums, has grown. 

"From our experience, the hair colour market in Thailand is going through significant growth," Mr Karamollaoglu said.

Henkel is energizing the hair fashion scene with trend-setting products, such as Freshlight.

Riding on these trends, Henkel has been energizing the hair fashion scene with a range of trend-setting products. The Schwarzkopf Freshlight Milky series and Foam hair coloration line - developed with the world's leading fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld - have ushered in the adorable '"Blythe Doll" look for trendy women.

Henkel has also launched Schwarzkopf Colour Specialist with Omega Plex technology, an innovation that not only prevents hair damage after coloration, but also improves hair quality.

Omega Plex is an innovation by Schwarzkopf Colour Specialist that not only prevents hair damage after coloration, but also improves hair quality.

"In Thailand, as it is in many markets around the world, we are recognized as the leader in the hair colour category," Mr Karamollaoglu said.

He explained that innovative products, the use of digital marketing and social media, and instore customer services through the Schwarzkopf Beauty Care Advisors, were key success drivers.

"Digitalization is a key pillar of our strategy for engaging and building long-term relationships with our consumers," Mr Karamollaoglu added.

Through the Schwarzkopf Thailand Facebook page, the Henkel team and its social media ambassadors interact with more than 80,000 followers, advising them on tips and techniques about hair coloration.

Building a world-class hairdressing community

Every year, the Schwarzkopf ASK Academy in Thailand trains more than 2,000 hair professionals from Thailand and the neighboring countries: Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.

ASK' stands for Attitude, Skills and Knowledge, and the Schwarzkopf ASK Academy serves as a platform to develop these capabilities. Opened in 2001, the Academy's vision is to build a word-class hairdressing community in Thailand.

"Our goal is to enable our stylists and salon owners to be the most successful in the industry through our innovative solutions as well as training and education programmes," said Mr Dheerasak Tridhip, General Manager of Beauty Care Professional, Henkel Thailand.

In Thailand, Henkel's internationally successful Schwarzkopf Professional brands, such as IGORA, Glatt, Bonacure and OSIS+, are used by local hair salons.

A key focus for Henkel is to continuously impart the latest trends, hairdressing techniques and business skills to enable hair salons to deepen their relationships with existing clients while attracting new ones.

"We help them to grow their business as well as our own business," Mr Tridhip said.

Twice a year in Bangkok, Schwarzkopf Professional holds the 'Essential Looks' hair fashion show on the latest spring/summer and autumn/winter trends, which includes education and skills training workshops.

Schwarzkopf Professional’s Essential Looks Spring/Summer 2017 event in Phuket.

"With the support of brand ambassador Dr Somsak Chalachol, the 'Essential Looks' events have inspired and enabled Thai hairdressers to recreate modern runway looks for our fashionable masses," Mr Tridhip said.

Building on its success in Thailand, Henkel's Beauty Care Professional aims to accelerate growth by expanding its collaboration with hair salons in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.

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