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MARKETING

Singha signs Bt409m sponsorship deal with Chelsea FC

By Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn

The Nation

Seen in photo: Piti, far left, paints a bright prospect for the company in the years to come.

Singha Corporation, the manufacturer of Singha and Leo beers, yesterday announced an 8-million (Bt409 million), four-year sponsorship deal with Chelsea Football Club as part of the company's strategy to grow its international business.

Marketing director Chatchai Wiratyosin said Singha Corp planned to double its international business within three years.

The company previously signed a 6.3-million, three-year sponsorship contract with Manchester United, also in the English Premier League.

"Sponsoring Chelsea and Manchester United will be our tools in boosting and securing our presence in the international markets, especially in Europe. However, both Chelsea and Manchester United have their own strategies to promote fans in Asia as well," Chatchai said.

Singha will spend about Bt2 billion in the next three years in marketing and sponsorship activities together with Manchester United and Chelsea, he said.

"We want to reduce the contribution from the domestic market, which is now at about 95 per cent of the company's total sales, to 60 per cent in the next three to five years, by securing sales in international markets, including Europe and Asia," Chatchai said.

He added that Singha had positioned itself as the beer for people who love football. The company also wanted to compensate for advertising restrictions set by Thai authorities. If the company is forced to curtail advertising of its beers to the local public, this will result in the Thai beer industry seeing negative performance for two consecutive years, he said.

The company has also sponsored 16 local football teams in the Thai league.

Marketing group manager Piti Bhirombhakdi said that to expand its international business, the company was looking for overseas joint ventures with local brewery houses in potential markets such as the UK, Vietnam, Burma and Cambodia.

"The policy set by our president and CEO Santi Bhirombhakdi is not taking over those brewery houses but forming joint ventures with them by acquiring stakes of between 20 and 40 per cent so that we are able to control the product manufacturing process. It is our five-year plan to ensure growth in international markets," Piti said.

He said that under that vision, Singha wanted to be in the top three beer brands in Asia in the next three years, and to become a top-50 global brand within five years. This would be in line with the policy to diversify into non-alcoholic beverages and other new businesses.

He said that in the next five years, about 70 per cent of overall contributions would from alcoholic beverages, while 20 per cent would be from non-alcohol products and 10 per cent from new businesses.

Currently, 85 per cent of total contributions are from alcoholic beverages and 15 per cent from non-alcohol products.

-- The Nation 2010-08-06