Abstract
This paper concentrates on Singha beer of Thailand and the current business climate in the country. Politics, technology, societal trends, regulation and the economy of Thailand are dealt with in the paper. The paper will especially be useful to marketers who are always positioning their brands in the market on the face of stiff competition.
Introduction
Singha beer is the most popular beer brand in Thailand. Before Chang was introduced, Singha was the flagship product for Boon Rawd Brewery of Thailand. The company has unsuccessfully tried to expand its operations across borders due to stiff competition and unfair business practices (Cummings, 2003).
The beer brand however remains the most popular in the country owing to the largely efficient and well-funded marketing campaigns organised by the Boon Rawd Brewery.
Thailand according to the US State Department is the 24th largest economy in the world. Despite the impressive figures posted by the economy, different factors have ensured negative impacts on the country’s businesses like manufacturing where brewing fall under.
Unstable political climate, dynamic social trends and the ever-changing technology have had different impacts on Singha beer and its position in Thailand.
Politics
The Asian continent has many trouble spots as far as political instability is concerned. Thailand is one of the countries in the region that has experienced political upheavals that have been quite disruptive to business and the economy. There is a lot of uncertainty in Thai politics with especially with the meddling from the military (Siengthai & Andrews, 2009).
The most were the anti-government demonstrations led by the red shirt movement. However, some businesses like the food and beverage industry have developed in the last 20 years and are easily cushioned against such political shocks (Siengthai & Andrews, 2009). Singha beer should therefore take advantage of the resiliency shown by economy to increase its market share.
Economy
According to the Oxford Business Group (2009), Thai beer industry is one of the most rapidly developing industrial segments in the country. The sector holds a lot of potential for growth in the future in the economy of Thailand. The economy of Thailand is rapidly growing and so is the middle class.
There is growing competition from Chang the main competitor of Singha. The government also is increasingly targeting the industry with increase of tax on beverages, which hurts the growth of the industry and the brand. However, it is the packaging and the positioning of the brand that is most important in trying to keep up with the times.
For instance in 1997, Chang took advantage of Singh’s complacency to rebrand itself as the beer of the moment, while branding Singha as that of the past. This was targeted at the growing middles class Singha was clearly caught off guard (Roll, 2005). Because of the dynamism of the economy, rebranding will help Singha ward such unfair attacks by opponents hence keeping its share of the market.
Societal Trends
With such branding Chang proved to be wary of the emerging trends in the society and the apparent preference of anything new in the market by the population. The simple assumption here was that people no longer perceive anything old as “gold” hence the need to do away with them.
The Thai social culture is an interesting one. Thailand boasts the biggest sex industry in the world. The industry is so critical to the economy that even the government acknowledges it cannot do without it. Tourism and entertainment therefore are big in Thailand and so are the accompaniments that come with them like drinking.
Singha may be the best-known brand of beer in Thailand but they can also establish long-term presence if they subtly linked taking of their beer with the country’s most famous activities. World over, the age of drinking is rapidly declining. More and more young people are adopting the drinking culture legally or otherwise.
Most of these young people are culturally parallel with their parents who can safely be described as “old fashioned”. Being “cool” is what young people want. Repackaging Singha to look cool before any one who drinks will ensure long-term loyalty from current generation consumers.
Technology
Technology is a crucial element in the success of any business in the 21st century business environment. With an economy expanding at an average of 4% per annum, Thailand’s manufacturing sector is one of the areas where new technology is introduced regularly including beer production.
Singha is arguably one of the beers that are brewed using state of the art technology. In the 1990’s after the failed expansion to Germany, Boon Rawd Brewery retained some of the European technology it used to produce beer (Protz, 1995). In Thailand the factory where the beer is manufactured also boasts state of the art equipment that have helped the company maintain an output of over one billion litres per year.
Regulation
Regulation in the beer industry is necessary. Moreover, not all regulations are anti-business. For instance, the government of Thailand in 2001 enacted the Thai Health Promotion Foundation act popularly known as ThaiHealth.
The act sought to help industry players like Singha beer manufacturers to regulate themselves (Lewis, 2010). Boon Rawd Brewery can take this advantage and boost its promotional activities while at the same time passing on a message of responsible drinking. Corporate social responsibility will endear the brand t the public and boost its loyalty among the population while netting new fans.
Conclusion
The current economic climate is very dynamic and somehow unpredictable. For businesses like Singha beer to keep running, there needs to be a level of innovation and perceptive business decisions to counter the shocks of the current world economy.
References
Cummings, J. (2003). Thailand. London: Lonely Planet. Melbourne; London: Nd
Lewis, R. (2010). Beverages in Asia – Issues for Responsible Investors. London: Responsible Research.
Oxford Business Group. (2009). The Report: Thailand 2009. Oxford: Oxford Business Group.
Protz, R. (1995). The ultimate encyclopedia of beer: the definitive guide to the world’s great brews. New York: Smithmark.
Roll, M. (2006). Asian brand strategy: how Asia builds strong brands. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Siengthai, S. & Andrews, T. (2009). The Changing Face of Management in Thailand. New York: Routledge.