Thonglor Pet Hospital is set to spend 500 million baht over the next five years on strategic plans to become Southeast Asia's leading pet hospital.
The move towards the goal was marked by the official opening of its new headquarters in Bangkok yesterday at a cost of 680 million baht.
Chief executive Kitika Chaisupatanakul said that 500 million baht will be spent over 2018-22, for plans including domestic openings and renovations, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions in the domestic and neighbouring markets, and the development of other pet businesses that support its core business.
Thonglor Pet Hospital is targeting revenues of 1.5 billion baht by 2022.
"The pet market has been growing across Southeast Asia, with top-three growth markets being Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. In Thailand, the growth continues with changing lifestyles of modern-day people, including growing populations of singles, childless couples and senior citizens," she said.
Dr Kitika said the purchasing power among people is also picking up, and they are increasingly interested in keeping pets, especially dogs and cats that total over 11 million today.
"As a result, pet-related businesses have been enjoying growth for more than 10 years. In 2017, the pet market is valued at 29.3 billion baht totally, a year-on-year growth of 10%. Of this, pet hospitals account for 9.3 billion baht, an increase of 10% from a year earlier," said Dr Kitika.
To keep abreast with the market growth and establish Thonglor Pet Hospital as Southeast Asia's leading pet hospital, the company yesterday opened a 680-million-baht headquarters on Phet Phra Ram Road. Located on a plot of more than six rai, the new hospital has a combined utility space of 17,000 square metres, which makes it the most spacious pet hospital in Thailand.
The new headquarters is fully equipped to provide pet healthcare services with a total solutions approach, bringing together clinics and centres that range from general to specialised veterinary medicines, namely for skin, eye, heart, neurology, orthopaedics, oral care, cancer, pet relocation and alternative medicine.
The headquarters not only provides general and specialised veterinary clinics and centres such as a cat clinic and intensive care units, but also a Pet City zone designed under the park and pool concept.
It features a swimming pool for pets, a lawn for them to run wild, pet-friendly restaurants and a pet grooming centre that highlights medical grooming services by groomers who have undergone specialised training to work with pets under specific conditions.
Dr Kitika said there are plans to expand and renovate Thonglor Pet Hospital's network of pet hospitals in Thailand, which totals 12, along with two new openings in store for next year.
"We will also invest in joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions both in Thailand and neighbouring countries, such as Myanmar and Vietnam, where talks are under way. Moreover, we will invest in other pet-related businesses that support our core business."
"The goal is to establish Thonglor Pet Hospital as Southeast Asia's leading pet hospital within five years with revenue of more than 1.5 billion baht per year by 2022," Dr Kitika said.