Apex plots expansion in Asean with TE Asia
Apex Profound Beauty seeks to increase its footprint in Asean in the coming year after TE Asia Healthcare Partners Pte Ltd, a Singaporean healthcare investment firm, became its shareholder.
The operator of Apex Medical Center in Bangkok and Phuket is interested in expanding its wellness and beauty clinics to nearby countries such as Myanmar and Vietnam, said Nantapat Supapannachart, founder of Apex Profound Beauty.
“There are a lot of opportunities for beauty treatments in the Southeast Asian market, especially in neighbouring countries after their economies have grown in the past years,” she said.
Thai beauty and medical treatment standards are widely accepted among Asean customers and not so different from South Korean preferences.
Apex is working on a business model for overseas expansions. It expects to benefit from TE Asia’s strong healthcare network in Southeast Asia and China. TE Asia is a partner in leading hospitals in Singapore and China.
TE Asia holds a 45% stake in Apex. If Apex diversifies overseas in future, TE Asia can provide financial support to the Thai company, said Dr Nantapat.
“We will study each overseas market before introducing our brand and service,” she said. “We’re confident that our brand in the Thai beauty and wellness business is quite strong and we have a lot of customers from Southeast Asia.”
With 20 years of experience, the 300-million-baht flagship Apex Medical Center in Phloenchit claims to be one of the leading beauty, wellness and rehabilitation treatment providers in a single clinic building in the region. The clinic provides beauty treatments for skin, teeth, hair, weight-loss, anti-ageing, allergies and rehabilitation.
Apex has 17 beauty clinic branches in Thailand.
Dr Nantapat said medical tourism is also growing in Thailand as many tourists from Europe and the Middle East come to the country for medical treatments and then visit tourist attractions.
“Thailand has very good doctors and medical treatment fees here are not expensive. Beauty clinics here use modern techniques similar to those available in Europe and the US,” she said.
Domestically, she said Thai women are very concerned about looking good, so demand for beauty treatments are always in demand.
Anti-ageing trends are on the rise and Thais want to live healthier lives in the face of the stress of city life, she added.