Thai beauty giants Srichand and Karmarts paint the world with global expansion plans

Srichand United Dispensary Co and Karmarts Plc, two Thai beauty corporations, are preparing for global expansion. Srichand’s Chief Executive, Rawit Hanutsaha, disclosed plans for aggressive international growth, particularly in Indonesia due to its large beauty market and population.

The firm is in the process of identifying suitable Indonesian distributors and is also considering Malaysia.

Srichand has already established a global presence, with its products available in over 2,000 drug stores across Beijing, Laos, and Japan. Rawit is convinced that if the brand can gain traction in Japan, global expansion into other countries should be less challenging. However, exports currently represent just 5% of Srichand’s total sales.

The company is also engaging actor Supassra “Kao” Thanachat to endorse Sasi, a beauty brand under Srichand, targeting 15 to 30 year olds. Rawit stressed the importance of creativity and differentiation in Thailand’s competitive beauty market, which is worth over 170 billion baht and grows annually by 5% to 6%.

“This impressive market size is accompanied by fierce competition, as new entrants continually make their presence felt. However, we believe our brand will become more compelling if we develop our products with creativity and differentiation from rivals.”

Srichand is also considering a new health and wellness brand, leveraging global trends and Thailand’s growing older population. The firm anticipates sales reaching 1 billion baht this year, up from 730 million baht last year, with the Srichand brand contributing 70% and Sasi accounting for the remaining 30%.

Meanwhile, Karmarts, the producer and distributor of Karmart beauty and cosmetic products, has formed a strategic partnership with Marubeni of Japan and Quadriga Private Equity.

The collaboration aims to boost its sales to 4 billion baht within three years, according to Wongwiwat Theekhakhirikul, Assistant Managing Director of Karmarts. Wongwiwat said the firm aims to raise overseas sales to 15%, from the current 11%, exporting its products to 19 countries including Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, the Philippines, Middle Eastern nations, China, and Taiwan.

“With the existing capabilities and expertise of our new business partners, we see greater opportunities to expand our business through mergers and acquisitions, co-development with brand owners, or providing original equipment manufacturer services.”

Karmarts expects its sales to touch 2.4 billion baht this year, with overseas sales contributing about 270 to 280 million baht to the total, reported Bangkok Post.

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