The pursuit of recreational leisure surfaced in Thailand a few years ago, and it continues today as consumers engage in a wide range of activities.
More sporting goods and sports fashion companies have entered the Thai market, both in Bangkok and provincial areas, introducing new marketing gimmicks beyond conventional imagination.
The customer experience has changed drastically, leading some business operators to think outside the grid. Some are providing shoe stores that not only sell footwear, but also offer extras as wide-ranging as haircuts and ice cream.
Moreover, equipment is being installed to help customers choose shoes suited to their lifestyles, with some brands transforming conventional stores with digital features to lure customers.
According to Siwat Vasantasingh, founder and chief executive of Boot Room, the owner of Ari stores for football and running shoes, new footwear items and accessory brands have been entering Thailand over the last few years, resulting in fierce competition in the sports store market.
"We're focusing mainly on niche markets to differentiate ourselves from others," Mr Siwat said. "We've positioned Ari as the speciality store for premium shoes and limited edition shoes. We also provide barbering services inside our football store."
The company has cooperated with hairdressers to design unusual hairstyles for customers and footballers who want hairstyles that reflect their personalities.
"The barber shop has drawn very positive responses from customers," Mr Siwat said. "The shop is full of customers on weekends."
Apart from offering barbering services at some football shoe shops, Mr Siwat has chosen to sell shoes that customers pursue desperately, like limited edition models.
"Some shoe models are sold only in seven countries worldwide -- one of these being Thailand, at Ari shops," Mr Siwat said.
Ari football store has up to 10,000 shoes priced at 7,000-10,000 baht, and running shoes priced at 5,000-8,000 baht, spanning over 50 brands.
Sales jumped to 500 million baht last year, from only 1 million baht in the first year of operations.
Mr Siwat said the sporting goods business still has high potential because people have struck a balance between work and life.
The company opened four stores this year and plans to open more upcountry next year. If a good location is offered, the company is also looking to open more barber-shoe hybrid stores under one roof.
Pornsak Chinawongwatana, chief executive of Sport Revolution, the distributor of sportswear brands including Nike and Under Armour, said the company is also looking to offer footwear at its outlets alongside ice cream or yoghurt in the future.
"We've tried to offer customers a new experience that technology cannot disrupt," Mr Pornsak said.
He said today's customers are more sophisticated than in the past. The company is offering a new system such as gait analysis to supply customers with the most personalised experience possible to meet their shoe needs.
Gait analysis is a method for identifying biomechanical abnormalities in the gait cycle -- a way to assess how people walk and run.
Using cutting-edge video technology, trained staff will help analyse the way feet strike the floor and determine whether the foot rolls inward (pronates), doesn't roll inward enough (overpronates/supinates) or stays neutral.
This information, combined with an understanding of injury history and the kind of distances regularly run, lets the staff correctly identify the appropriate shoe for customers.
"With the proliferation of social media and the digital era, customers choose products based on information and shoe specifications rather than design and colour," Mr Pornsak said. "This is vastly different from the past."
Tailor-made insoles have been offered at Sport Revolution's Megabangna store since last month.
BUCKING THE TREND
According to Mr Pornsak, the sporting goods business grows every year, bucking the trend of overall poor domestic spending.
The huge growth is driven by changing consumer behaviour as Thai people grow more concerned about their health and the government promotes exercise.
Fitness and health consciousness is growing fast in Thailand, as indicated by the increasing number of consumers who spend on a gym membership or fitness classes -- and, of course, sportswear.
Sportwear on display in Supersports at CentralWorld.
Thailand's sporting goods market is estimated at 30 billion baht this year, with next year's prospects set to be even more promising because of recovering purchasing power, economic improvement and, most important, the general election.
In keeping with changes in consumer tastes and sophisticated demand, Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, chief operating officer of Central Pattana, the developer of Central shopping complexes, said the company has rezoned space for sport product categories in the same area, starting at CentralWorld.
"The health trend is quite universal, with all customer groups taking an interest," Mr Nattakit said. "It is no longer limited to a small community."
Keeping in mind that sport has become a way of life, CentralWorld offers more than 35 sport and health stores in a space of over 10,000 square metres.
The largest Adidas Brand Center in Southeast Asia is already open at CentralWorld, as well as the refurbished Supersports store. In the coming months, a Fairtex store will open to sell Thai boxing products.
Apart from sportswear brands, fashion names like Uniqlo, H&M and Topshop are extending their products to sporting lines.
Central Pattana also provides many sporting facilities at several shopping complexes, including CentralPlaza Nakhon Ratchasima and CentralFestival Eastville.
Siraporn Wattana, vice-president for marketing at CRC Sports, the operator of Supersports, said the company recently reopened its store at CentralWorld.
Apart from various sports brands, store has allocated a special area as an energy centre that features digital screens and video enhancement to promote the latest products, plus a personalisation area for shoppers to test basketballs before purchasing them.
A running lab to help customers choose the right shoes is also available.
"These new facilities are preparations for changes as consumer needs become more sophisticated," Ms Siriporn said.
Mr Nattakit says the health trend is universal, with all customer groups taking an interest.
Strength training with dumbbells.
Stretching before running. WICHAN CHAROENKIATPAKUL
Supersports recently reopened its store at CentralWorld.