Aviance pitches expansion to Asean

       Aviance, the direct-sales unit for cosmetics and beauty products of Unilever Thai Trading Limited, will approach its parent firm about expanding its directsales business to neighbouring countries by the end of this year.
       Managing director Suchada Theeravachirakul said that Aviance would propose to its parent firm through its regional head office in Singapore the expansion plan in Southeast Asia after establishing a strong foothold in the Thai market.Once the plan is approved, it would take one or two years to start the directsales business overseas. The top three priority markets are Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia.
       Currently, India is the only other country in which Unilever conducts direct sales. In Thailand, Aviance has grown by 30% a year since its establishment eight years ago. The company did not disclose sales figures.
       Mrs Suchada said that n the first seven months of this year Aviance Thailand's sales grew by 18%,3% higher than its earlier projection.
       "Quality brands generally do well amid the economic downturn because customers stop trying new brands and give up on those they do not use regularly.Besides, repurchase orders from existing customers are on the rise," she said.
       She added that the average spending of customers had risen 12% to between 8,000 and 9,000 baht per purchase.
       Aviance targets customers in the medium- to high-end income groups.Although these groups are cautious about their spending, they do not hesitate to buy if they find the products offering real value for money.
       Other sales drivers in the first half of the year were the introduction of new shampoo, weight-control and skin-care items in the first half of this year and the increased frequency of promotional campaigns. New sales representatives rose by 13% to 350,000 people in the first seven months of this year.
       Sales this year are expected to grow by 15-20%, partly because the company diversified into food-supplement and weight-control product lines.
       In 2008, the overall market of food supplements through all distribution channels in Thailand was valued at 21 billion baht. Of the total,47% are sold through the direct-sales channel. In terms of growth, beauty food products rank the highest.
       To tap the fast-growing demand in this segment, the company yesterday launched Aviance Perfec Radiance, a new line of food supplements after a successful introduction of the Slym weight-control product line in May.