Better Way (Thailand), the country's leading single-level direct-sales cosmetics company, is increasing its efforts to penetrate further into Asean with Indonesia in its sights, but might not use its Mistine cosmetics brand there.
"We have started negotiations with a potential partner, who is a Malaysian investor and has a cosmetics business in Indonesia. We are now more than halfway through and expect to set up our direct-selling organisation in the country within two years," managing director Danai Deerojanawong said yesterday.
The company also plans to build a second factory in Burma in a joint venture with Saha Group.
The company will allocate about 100 million baht, excluding factory cost, to establish its foothold in Indonesia, but might introduce another brand.
"Our Mistine brand is known by consumers only in Thailand. In Indonesia, nobody knows our brand. So it's quite useless to promote Mistine in the market," he said.
Indonesia is attractive to foreign companies as the government there has a policy to support and encourage their investment.
"We will be more proactive in expanding our direct-selling network in Asean to cope with the open-trade environment within the region, when the Asean Economic Community is in full swing in 2015. We have just opened our international division to be directly in charge of overseas expansion," he said. Seven or eight years ago, the first factory in Burma was opened, followed by entry to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
"We're looking for expansion partners in Asean but the deals will vary from manufacturing to marketing and direct-selling," Danai said. In two years the second plant in Burma will be manufacturing makeup and skincare products. Better Way will hold 40 per cent of the plant. Its partner Saha plans to develop a 500-rai (80-hectare) industrial park in the country.
The first factory in Burma for fragrance products has reached its limit in manufacturing efficiency.
Better Way (Thailand) is also working with Wuttisak Clinic to create product formulas. The first fruit of the collaboration, launched yesterday, is Mistine White Spa Glutathione UV whitening lotion.
Better Way in the near future will be able to use Wuttisak's 115 beauty clinics throughout the country to place and sell its Mistine cosmetics, while Wuttisak can use the Mistine direct-selling network to distribute its cosmetic and skincare lines, Danai said.