Page 57 - MASALA Magazine Vol.15 Issue 5 | June - July 2024

Do you believe that your passion came
from a standard that was set by your father?
Yes! I was fortunate to see a man who did
not complete his formal education grow
into the great businessman that he was, like
it was second nature. Getting into fabrics,
finding the right resources, moving products,
distribution, all of it. It seemed like he and
his brothers knew nothing else; this was their
passion. I was in awe of their commitment to
their craft. People knew they always delivered
on their word, and their progress was so
meteoric that sometimes, I wondered if it
was possible to live up to that expectation or
that level of success.

Surely, there are always plenty of challenges
along the way to meeting expectations.
What were some of the challenges in this
journey, and how did you overcome them?
Let’s take exporting, for example. We
weren’t too successful on that front; that was
incredibly challenging. Rather than boring
you with the details, all I’ll say is we learned
from past challenges and failures. You learn
that if something fails, it doesn’t necessarily
mean you should stop. You have to carry on and take different paths selection and proper assortment of goods. For example, if you had
that eventually do work out. 10 outlets, you would have to produce enough goods (each item in

Secondly, the support of my family is another factor in my ability every size) for each of those outlets. You couldn’t pick and choose
to overcome some of life’s challenges. Imagine building a hotel because whatever was being advertised in print media meant that
from scratch, what a massive undertaking that is, and how difficult consumers were expecting the same product in each of those 10
it would have been without a support system. I have been blessed outlets. The difference between then and now is that these outlets
with many things, both in life and business. Fortunately for the latter, no longer carry the same variety as the next outlet. Now, there is
you could say I have two fathers looking after me and guiding me, an actual network, where each outlet can provide or transfer the
both in my father and my chacha. Moreover, my three cousins are amount of goods needed for another branch’s request or demand. It
like brothers to me, and working with them is always a pleasure. doesn’t need to be all in one place. You also have more online sales,
There was always mutual respect between us all. All our business which means brands can first make samples, take orders, and then
decisions are done together, regardless of our differences in age create the amount they need. That’s where pre-sales come in as well.

and experience. The rest of my family gives me both emotional Where do you see the textile industry going next?

and intellectual support, allowing me to juggle both my private I feel that the middlemen, the bridge between manufacturers or
and professional responsibilities.
brands and the average consumer, will shrink drastically. Additionally,
Professionally, at the end of the day, a business person works for the I don’t see much growth in Thailand for a couple of reasons. Firstly,
bottom line. Whichever business is doing better, your priorities will many of the factories have either downsized or shut down and
shift slightly in favour of that business. That doesn’t mean you let stopped investing in R&D because it’s too costly and overseas
the other businesses go. However, when making decisions and to competition makes it even worse. In Thailand, there is no duty
avoid future challenges, it’s also important that whatever you get on textile imports, which makes things even more very difficult.
into, you’ll know how to get out beforehand. If there’s an entrance, If you’re going to depend on textiles in Thailand, it’s not going to
there should be an exit – if there isn’t one, don’t get into it. look too bright for you; there honestly isn’t going to be a comeback.

That unity must have been crucial, especially in different phases Secondly, this is a very labour-intensive industry, which is a worldwide
of your career. Things have changed in how business, such as issue. There are cheaper alternatives for these organisations now.
textiles, was done decades ago compared to now. Unless you already have a firm grip on sourcing imported goods for
Absolutely. If you look at the 70s and 80s, the volume of textiles in supply in Thailand, it’s almost impossible. It will only get increasingly
Thailand depended on two main outlets. First, retailers. Most of difficult to conduct business in this field.

the provinces had a good number of retail outlets that you could Thirdly, is obviously the rise of technology. People are now saving
supply to; it was easier to distribute to those retailers. up money to pay for all sorts of bills and expenses that we didn’t
have in the past. What used to be a hefty budget for clothing is
And the second was the garment manufacturers, which came in
two forms, one of which was in exports. In that era, we didn’t have now being cut down because of monthly subscriptions to streaming
today’s multinational brands; no Uniqlo or Marks & Spencer, just platforms or the convenience of ordering online. Adding to that is
local brands that didn’t deal with large volumes. The volume in the end of the printing industry. Everything now is reliant on digital
Thailand came mainly from department stores. In those days, the printing. We used to need 3,000 yards of fabric to print a design.
networking between department stores was basically non-existent. Today, for the same design, we only need two yards. When digital
If you wanted to supply those stores, you would have to have a printing began, they used to be priced around 100 Thai baht per
yard. Now, they are doing it for quarter of the price.

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