Deesawat reveals how a brand can still thrive even during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has paralysed many businesses across the world, Deesawat, Thailand’s leading wood products brand, has been able to maintain its business momentum as the company continues to receive orders from its international customers.
“Hotels, hospitals and nursing homes for the elderly in several countries including France and Japan have placed orders with us during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Jirachai Tangkijngamwong, R&D & Marketing Director of Deesawat Industries, says. “Some hotels are under construction and others took this opportunity to renovate their facilities so they needed new furniture and decorative items.”
Tangkijngamwong believes that in the post-COVID era, people will be more realistic in their furniture choices, and prioritise the functionality of their products over aesthetics.
“Good design is not only about beauty, but also functionality,” he adds. “At Deesawat, our furniture is not over-designed. We focus on functionality and to ensure that our furniture should work both outdoors and indoors.”
According to this principle, Deesawat has designed many functional pieces of furniture to satisfy customers’ need. For example, Brace Stool is designed to match the height of more elderly people, and it comes with a side handle enabling the user to sit safely and stand up easily. Another example is Living With Pet, a modular sofa featuring a seating area for humans and a small compartment for their pets.
Founded in 1972 as a teak wood furniture manufacturer, Deesawat has positioned itself as a specialist company providing all wood products from furniture to doors and flooring.
“The market has changed significantly. At Deesawat, we regard customers as our friends because we have to work together to achieve mutual goals and benefits,” Tangkijngamwong explains. “When customers come to us, we ask what their problems are so we can help solve them. At the end of the day, customers must get good quality products at a reasonable price.”
He believes that customers from across the globe are sourcing products from Thailand because they are not searching for the cheapest items, but require trusted quality products and are confident that Thai suppliers will not copy their designs.
About 80% of Deesawat’s customers are international, mostly from the US and European countries. The company provides both OEM products (40%) and its own brand products (60%) to the market.
Tangkijngamwong hopes to see Deesawat furniture passed down from one generation to the next.
“We want to be the Rolex of the furniture industry. For people to buy our products because they want to pass them on to their heirs. Our furniture must have a timeless design, and be suitable for any era,” he says. “We will not stop exploring new ideas, and creating new designs for our customers.”
Deesawat has won many domestic and international awards, including DITP’s DEmark Award, the Prime Minister’s Industry Award and Japan’s G-Mark Award.
For more information, visit www.deesawat.com
Words by Somhatai Mosika
