The Leenutaphong family has been well-known for decades in the automotive industry. Its members have experience as importers for many car brands, including BMW, Volkswagen and Kia.
When any family member makes a move in the automotive business, he or she will attract the spotlight of Thai society.
In the past, the family served as the authorised importer and distributor for German luxury car brand Audi, but it failed to make the brand successful and competitive in Thailand and lost the rights to another company in early 2017.
Apichat Leenutaphong, the third-generation heir, is aiming to build a competent business with his own two hands. He is a son of Baromkot Leenutaphong.
The 43-year-old Mr Apichat serves as chief executive of Sharich Holding Co, with registered capital of 368 million baht.
The Sharich name once again drew attention in local business circles in March after Mr Apichat decided to restructure the company.
"We have various brands such as Italian big bike Ducati, Indian motorcycle Royal Enfield, Chinese electric scooter Niu and Chinese electric car BYD," he said, but Sharich recently secured the import and distribution rights for Italian supercar Lamborghini.
"We are also managing gadget distribution for the StylPro makeup brush cleaner and the iRobot smart vacuum," Mr Apichat said.
Yet another business unit, Sharenovation, converts motorcycles and cars from internal combustion to electric.
Special projects include e-tractors, e-speedboats and electric go-karts. Sharich has done 20 EV conversions since 2010.
Sharenovation also handles accessories and tuning for Tesla EVs.
Mr Apichat wants to position Sharich in the public perception as his own business, separate from the umbrella of the Leenutaphong family.
Inspired by auto passion
Mr Apichat loves cars and has a particular passion for car tuning.
"In 1995 I worked with my father and our family had a paint-and-body factory, so my car-tuning projects started then," he said.
Since the family imported BMW, he made modifications to the German cars.
"I turned a normal one to yellow," Mr Apichat said, adding that he was only 19 at the time and studying political science at Chulalongkorn University. "I did not get any salary, but I sold 400 BMW tuned cars."
In 2001, Mr Apichat went to the US for a Master of Business Administration from Clark University in Massachusetts.
By the time he returned home, the family business had switched from importing to distributing BMW cars after the Munich-based parent firm entered Thailand to take charge of manufacturing and imports.
"At that time, I gained more experience in selling BMW cars when BMW sent sales staff to the auto showcase and I sold 360 cars from that venue," Mr Apichat said. "Then BMW aimed for marketing motorcycles through BMW Motorrad and I had to learn how to ride a motorcycle before selling the big bikes."
Selling a 1-million-baht motorcycle was a tall order in 2001, but Mr Apichat managed to move 40 units of BMW's F650 and K1200.
German sojourn
In 2013, he went to take classes at the BMW Business School.
"In Germany, I met a friend from Venezuela who persuaded me to import Ducati big bikes," Mr Apichat said. "I flew to Bologna, Italy and decided to sign a contact to be the authorised importer of the brand."
Though he lacked the cash for the Ducati investment, he got partial support from his father as a 50% shareholder in Ducatisti Co with 5 million baht in registered capital.
Mr Apichat owned 1.25 million baht and the remaining capital went to his friends.
During the initial stage of 2003-09, Ducati was new to the Thai market and the company sold just 12 of the premium bikes in 2003 and 80 in 2009.
"I decided to separate Ducatisti from my family in 2009, and sales increased to 200 motorcycles in 2010 and 365 in 2011," Mr Apichat said. "In 2012, Ducati Motor Holding invested in its first overseas manufacturing plant in Thailand, resulting in greater benefits for our company, which achieved sales of 1,500 units after a 30% price decline."
Meanwhile, the local big-bike market has performed smartly.
Ducati sales hit a record high of 2,998 units in 2015, up 8.2%, before dropping to 1,553 units, marking the first contraction in 13 years.
Although local sales have been shrinking, Mr Apichat expects sales to hover around 1,500 motorcycles a year.
"This volume is 7-10% market share, and I think it is very competitive now for the current market, while the Italian firm understands the situation," he said.
The lure of EVs
After the sharp drop in Ducati sales, Mr Apichat hit upon two possible solutions: scaling down the business or seeking new revenue streams to achieve economies of scale.
He chose the second option, then restructured Sharich as a holding company.
"This restructured company is for the purpose of Sharich entering the EV business in which I am personally interested," Mr Apichat said.
In March, Sharich subsidiary Rizen Energy Co was appointed as the importer and distributor for China's BYD EVs in Thailand.
Sharich owns a 48% stake in Rizen Energy, while AJ Advance Technology Plc holds a 45% share.
"We signed a memorandum of understanding with EV Society Co to deliver 100 units of the BYD e6 for the taxi fleet in metropolitan areas," Mr Apichat said. "The MoU covers a total fleet of 1,000 battery EVs by the end of next year."
The BYD e6 is a five-seat multi-purpose vehicle that can drive in a range of 350km per charge and takes about 90 minutes to charge at a 40-kilowatt station.
The e6 costs 1.89 million baht. "With this retail price, the BYD e6 is suitable as public transport, which is worth the investment," Mr Apichat said, adding that Rizen Energy will not focus strictly on one model and is conducting a feasibility study of BYD's 24-seat minibus.
Also in March, Sharich introduced the Niu brand of Chinese electric scooters with prices ranging from 95,000 to 98,000 baht.
Mr Apichat expects to sell 1,000 electric scooters in 2018.
"It seems too early for EVs in Thailand, but I think in a different way because the cost of EV batteries has declined every single year," he said, noting that the cost stood at US$1,000 per kilowatt-hour in 2012 before dropping to $273 in 2016.
"In 2017, there were only 82 accumulated battery EVs; once Rizen Energy can sell 100 units in 2018, it will equal all the battery EVs sold in the past eight years," he said.
Mr Apichat envisions Sharich as the pioneer of battery EVs in Thailand.
Four-pronged enterprise
The executive said Sharich has "satisfaction goals" related to the four main players in the business: employees, partners, customers and shareholders.
"But employee satisfaction is the top priority, as I believe that manpower is more important than the company's system," Mr Apichat said. "If our system is not doing so well but we have good, happy employees, they can mobilise the organisation with much efficiency, as opposed to a good system filled with bad-attitude manpower."
The ultimate goal is for Sharich to be a company that every employee is glad to work for.
"We are not a large company, but being more profitable is one of the goals," Mr Apichat said. "At the very least, our employees must gain annual bonuses with good welfare, even though we might make a loss in that year."
Mr Apichat expects to make a net profit of 50-60 million baht on revenue of 1.5 billion baht in 2018 after the restructuring and investment in the EV brands.
Sharich's net profit is expected to reach 100 million baht next year on 2 billion baht in revenue.
"This profit will be a return to our four satisfaction goals," Mr Apichat said. "Although Sharich is a holding company, a listing on the stock market is not our priority, but it may be a possible plan in the future."
Niu is a Chinese electric scooter brand distributed locally by Sharich.
A mobile app lets motorists search for their Niu scooter or check the battery level.
Mr Apichat demonstrates how to charge a BYD electric car. Sharich Holding is the distributor of the Chinese brand in Thailand.