Footwear company Ecco have said that the global economic slowdown will result in their total sales falling below the low turnover already set. Kitti Chaiwattanatorn, deputy managing director of Ecco (Thailand), said that the company had targeted sales growth of 8% this year, but total sales had expanded by only 2% since the start of the year. He attributed the downward revision to the global economic slowdown, particularly in the United States, the company’s second largest export destination.
Kitti added that the sales target was close to that of the Ecco Group, their Danish parent, so the below-target growth applied to both firms. He also forecast that the company would return to double-digit growth next year.
The company also plan to enhance production efficiency to cut costs, saying that they are now in a position to compete on cost with producers in China. The group plans to adopt an aggressive marketing strategy in Thailand early next year. They are now considering setting up a distributor or opening their own shops to boost competitiveness because Ecco footwear is expensive in relation to the local purchasing power.
