Thai flood begins to show adverse effect on consumer goods industry: Gfk

Nevertheless, it expects to see a rebound in the industry, with increased consumer spending when the flood is finally over. Wichit Purepong, general manager of GfK Thailand, noted that this would be due to the seasonal festive buying in year-end, as well as increased consumer spending to replace appliances and gadgets that were spoiled during the disaster.

“For the manufacturers, that is the light at the end of the tunnel,” he added.

The recent Thailand flood has caused a severe impact across the country, forcing seven key industrial estates (housing several hundred factories) in upper central Bangkok to shut down.

“Besides a dearth in output due to production suspension, there were also logistical issues faced by manufacturers that prevented their products from being delivered to the dealers’ shops, hence resulting in product shortage,” Purepong noted.

GfK Thailand’s October retail audit figures showed a general downward trend across all product categories, with retail sales all declining or registering weaker growth.

“The flood has definitely affected the technical consumer goods industry in several ways. For one, residents facing the crisis would have probably lost any mood to shop, especially when it comes to big ticket items. On top of this, traveling and transportation at places where the situation is more extreme has become a huge challenge and deterrence for consumers,” Purepong said.

Sales of 'bulky' products, such as air-conditioners, washing machines, television sets, desktop computers and printers, fell in the month of October, with the air-conditioner segment also plummeting 36 per cent in volume over September.