Its owner, Kloset Design, has just received a large number of overseas orders, but its manufacturing capacity is quite limited and it has insufficient funds for further investment. It needs either to expand its production base or outsource the work.

However, it could also seek a new partner, and this would give the firm strength and sustain its business in the long term.

Munlika Ruengkrittiya, managing director of Kloset Design, says she feels compelled to find a new business partner in an attempt to jointly build up her Thai brand in foreign markets.

"Our current problem is we have limited manufacturing capacity, which does not match our rising orders. We also lack sufficient funds to invest overseas," she explains. "If we want to be successful, we might have to find a new foreign partner, and this might help increase our sales."

However, Munlika feels that any new partner must have both long vision and a strong desire to build up a Thai brand across the world.

"If we can find a foreign partner, this may be great as they will probably know the markets well. But we are wide open for anyone actually. We need to have our own brand in order to make our prices competitive against rivals from Cambodia, Laos and Sri Lanka."

Munlika says the partnership idea is just one of several solutions she has to study further. Seeking a partner, she adds, is not an easy task because there are many conditions that the company needs to take into serious consideration.

Kloset Red Carpet is a high fashion brand for women. Its main target group consists of women who enjoy dressing up, have high confidence and are independent. They are aged from 20 to 35, with monthly incomes of more than Bt40,000.

The growing Thai brand has become known in as many as 16 countries and has more than 40 foreign customers in countries such as in France, Italy and the United States - the international centres of high fashion.

In the domestic market, Kloset Red Carpet has a total of five outlets in leading shopping centres. Business expansion has been quite impressive over the past five years.

Munlika says she is willing to take business risks and is prepared for an aggressive investment plan. However, the company's margins remain low.

"I don't hope to be a super brand, but it's my dream to make it successful. I want my business to be self-sustained, if possible," she says.

Kloset Design usually attends about eight overseas exhibitions and fairs every year.

"Our investment is very limited, but we can expand our markets from time to time," she says. "The expense of joining these fairs and hiring PR agents is relatively high."

The two main fairs attended by Kloset Design are Who's Next, in Paris, and Designer and Agent, in the US. On one occasion, it joined the Atmosphere fair, in France, but attracted few potential customers.

"We kept our customer data base and sent e-mails informing them that we were moving to Who's Next. We got lucky as some old clients came to see us at the fair and we also met some new customers."

Being a person willing to take risks, Munlika says she has learned much from her mistakes - in a process of "learning by doing."

"We are learning by doing because we are not actual designers. We love design. We have a total of three designers. We learnt our business by our mistakes," she says.

For instance, the company manufactured 100 blouses, but they received a slow response from customers. This prompted Kloset Design to establish a "top twenty chart" as a regular measure of which products are currently popular. It is sent to the design team at the end of every month.

"We started the business from ground zero. Up until now, we can answer all the questions employees might ask. I think I am a fast learner and I love to look for new things. Finishing my MBA might have given me a broad base of knowledge, but experience has taught me a lot more," she says.

"Joining every fair is a great experience because we always get something back from the fairs, such as new marketing strategies, new designs, or new styles of management."

Munlika says Kloset Red Carpet has a firm foothold in overseas markets mainly because of financial support from the Export Promotion Department.

However, the business seems unable to grow any further, unless it can find a new partner.

Ancharee Promsakul

Bizweek