Weber barbecue grills slotted for Thailand
The Barbecue Store has inked a deal with grill maker Weber to bring the American brand to Thailand for the first time.
The company will be the sole distributor of Weber grills in Thailand, though the contract is not exclusive, clarified Brian Hendricks, vice-president for Weber in Asia-Pacific.
The Barbecue Store, one of the largest grill distributors in the region, is currently working with a number of brands, but these will be phased out once the current inventory is sold off, said Brad McElroy, manager of the Barbecue Store.
Weber grills represent a “bump” in terms of price compared with the products the store currently sells, but Mr McElroy said he does not expect the higher price to affect the company’s client base.
“I think the people we work with will not be put off by the premium price,” he said. “They are willing to pay for quality, and the difference is not very large when you divide over the 10 years a grill is usually used for.”
Weber has never been officially present in Thailand, but the brand has made inroads in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines and Malaysia.
“While the process of barbecuing is similar everywhere, the food and the customers are different, which is why we think it’s necessary to partner with established players with deep local knowledge,” Mr Hendricks said.
“The importance of family life in the region has propelled the acceptance of grills,” he said, noting that barbecuing is a communal activity similar to Asian-style family meals, whereby the food is placed in the middle of the table rather than in individual servings.
The market for grills in Thailand has been growing at 10-15% year-on-year on average during the last few years, though it remains relatively volatile, moving in step with the overall retail market.
“For example, 2016 was not a good year for us, but we more than recovered in 2017,” Mr Hendricks said. “For 2018, we expect a growth rate similar to that of 2017.”
When the business started 20 years ago it had the market to itself, and that market consisted almost exclusively of expats. Thais, however, have been warming to the idea of barbecue grills, particularly in the last five years.
“Now over 50% of our customers are Thai,” Mr McElroy said.
Factors driving the change include the growth of the country’s middle class and the growing number of Thais studying and working abroad, he said. Individual customers now represent about 80% of sales, with the balance going to hotels and resorts.
Grills are increasingly seen as pieces of outdoor decor. “More and more people come into our stores along with their interior designers to identify pieces that fit with the overall design of the house,” Mr McElroy said.