Bangkok--18 Oct--4D Communications
Brother Thailand held a press conference to introduce its new managing director. Mr. Tomoyuki Fujimoto will succeed Mr. Takao Shima, who will complete his five-year tenure on October 31, 2013. Under Mr. Tomoyuki’s management, the company will continue its plan to become a leading producer of printers and sewing machines and a frontrunner in customer care, maintaining its excellent service quality to create a strong foundation for Brother’s stable growth.
Mr. Takao Shima, Managing Director of Brother Commercial (Thailand) Ltd., delivered a farewell speech saying his five-year tenure as the company’s managing director has so far been the most important part of his life, proving his management skill that has resulted in the company’s continuous growth. Under his management, Brother Commercial (Thailand) has been enjoying an annual growth of about 15% while the company’s growth doubled in the first year of his tenure. His other important achievements include building up Brother sewing machine’s brand and product awareness among Thai consumer and the development of the company’s customer service networks that cover most parts of Thailand. After his tenure ends at the end of October, he will return to Brother Japan to assume a new position.
At present, Brother Thailand employs 96 staff. It has 149 authorized service centers in 76 provinces, which is higher than any other brand, and 5 Brother Service Centers—in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, Rayong, and Had-Yai. “Under my management, I wanted to bring stable growth to Brother Thailand and strike a balance between sales growth and the development of our continuous customer service. Last year, Brother Thailand had a customer satisfaction survey and the results showed that the 5 Brother Service Centers across Thailand received a 95.4% customer satisfaction rating, while our authorized service centers received a 96% rating. In the meantime, the on-site service for corporate customers received a rating of 97%. These figures are proof that the quality of Brother customer service is efficient by both quantitative and qualitative measures. Apart from our commitment to business success, Brother puts importance on social contribution. We have organized several social activities, including the planting of mangrove forests, which has been carried out for three years, and our assistance for young cancer patients,” Mr. Shima proudly said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Fujimoto, the new managing director of Brother Commercial (Thailand) Ltd., said he would officially resume the position on November 1, 2013. His main goal is to see Brother Thailand as the leading producer of printers and sewing machines in every product category. The vision for the company’s business consists of three parts: doubling the growth in the next five years, maintaining the leadership in customer service, and making Brother Thailand become one of the organizations in the country where people want to work for, which entails continuously initiating social activities. Mr. Fujimoto has been working with Brother for 21 years, starting in 1992 in the sales and marketing department. In 2001, he was assigned to be in charge of sales and marketing of Brother USA, the position he held for seven years before returning to work in Japan for another two years. Then, he was assigned to oversee the sales and marketing as well as IT services in the ASEAN region at Brother Singapore in 2010.
Founded in 1908, Brother is today 105 years old. The company is operating in 44 countries across the globe and has factories in 17 countries and 52 offices. Its headquarters is based in Nagoya, Japan. For Brother Thailand, the company offers a variety of printers and sewing/embroidery machines. The global sales of Brother for 2013 have been projected at 155 billion baht, while the global sales in the next three years (in 2016) are expected to reach 225 billion baht. The main source of revenue will come from the printer business, which amounts to over 50% of the sales volume. Following the sales of printers are those of industrial sewing machines, of which 80% are from Europe and 20% from emerging markets, which include Thailand. However, Brother Japan has planned to increase the revenue from emerging markets from 20% to 30% in the next three years.