GS sets sights on 60% market share

       Siam GS Sales, a leader in the storage battery market, is confident of maintaining its lead in the aims for market share of at least 60% market share this year as the local replacement market for automotive batteries continues to grow.
       Prakasit Phornprapha, director of Siam GS Sales, part of the Siam Motors Group,said the company's broad product range and increased marketing budget would help the firm meet its goal.
       The company expected to see its sales climb by 10.7% to 3.3 billion baht this year from 2.98 billion in 2008 despite a sluggish automotive market.
       The company will spend 25 million baht on marketing for the rest of the year, bringing the annual total to more than 100 million.
       Part of the marketing budget has been used to launch an integrated marketing campaign using rock singer Peter Corp Dyrendal as a product presenter. The new ads use a "World Class Technology"concept to promote the brand among independent buyers.
       "This will help boost brand recognition, especially among our target group of those on their first job, and support our dealers nationwide in terms of product promotion and sales," said Mr Prakasit, a son of Mr Phornthep, the group chairman of Siam Motors.
       Siam GS Sales managing director Saran Chinprahat said the replacement market for automotive batteries grew significantly in the first half this year.
       But demand from automobile makers for batteries dropped as a result of poor automotive sales both abroad and at home.
       "As consumers delay buying new vehicles, increased maintenance spending,including replacement batteries, for the existing eight million units on the streets is inevitable," said Mr Saran.
       Because sales reached nearly 2 billion baht in the past seven months, Siam GS Sales increased its sales target to 3.3 billion.
       "The success can be attributed to the variety of our marketing activities," said Mr Saran.
       "The activities include monthly sales promotions, roadshows, free inspection service and new products offering consumers more choices emphasising product quality and reasonable prices."
       The company introduced the D-Tech series of maintenance-free batteries yesterday for passenger and pickup vehicles.
       The new series was a joint development between GS battery in Thailand and Japan featuring Dry-MF Technology (D-Tech).
       Mr Saran said he is confident the new battery will help the company gain an additional 10% market share this year.
       The retail price of the D-Tech series is about 3% cheaper than a conventional maintenance-free battery.