Brother Thailand, a unit of the Japan-based printing company, has diversified into home entertainment by introducing the BMB home karaoke.
The business expansion is line with the direction taken by its head office Brother Japan, which has added sewing machine to its printing business, said Teerawut Suppapunpinyo, director for sale and marketing of Brother Thailand.
"Thailand is the 17th country for the BMB market after it was acquired by Brother in 2009," he said, adding that BMB is strong in the commercial and professional karaoke market, but it just entered the home karaoke segment early this year.
Brother's study found that 60% of home karaoke systems are commercial models.
A unique feature of new BMB products is embedded Bluetooth in the amplifier so they can pair with the Bluetooth signal from a smartphone or tablet to play YouTube karaoke music.
Two models are available, with the basic one costing 29,900 baht, and the advanced version priced at 39,900.
Mr Teerawut said the new products would help the company meet its sales target.
In the past three quarters of its fiscal year, Brother Thailand grew 5%. But it is confident of achieving 11% growth with the rise in the number of newly registered firms. Small and medium-sized enterprises and new entrepreneurs will drive demand for sewn products and printing machines, he said.
"We are moving in the right direction, shifting beyond consumer printing and focusing more on government and corporation printing solutions," Mr Teerawut said.
Printers and scanners are still major revenue contributors for Brother Thailand at 85%, followed by 10% from sewing machines and 5% from label printers.