Toward developing cosmetics business in Thailand

Q.Why did your company decide to take on interns? What did you aim to achieve?

Our company has handled various products in e-commerce business until now. Last year we discovered a Chinese cosmetics product with an interesting concept, and after starting to handle the product, there was a strong reaction, and it became a hit product. From this experience, we felt latent potential of cosmetics as a product, and internally we established a new Cosmetics Department. In addition, in our business development going forward, we were looking to enter markets in Southeast Asia, and were considering Thailand as an entry market destination. Since there were no Thailand staff enrolled by the company, there were limits to information that could be collected regarding the cosmetics market in Thailand. We then learned about this program, and decided to apply with a view toward first accepting interns from Thailand, having them conduct marketing research on the cosmetics market in Thailand, and have them be the stepping stone for entering the Thailand market.

The point is simplifying and clarifying goals!
Presentations and discussions at meetings once a week

Q.What kind of internship did you run? What difficulties did you face and how did you resolve them?

We established 3 goals for the internship. The first was to import 1 cosmetics product from Thailand. The second was to export 1 Japanese cosmetics product to Thailand. The third was to plan 1 cosmetics product. We had the interns conduct various research in order to accomplish the 3 goals. Although this was an internship, we were in the position of having them teach us about the Thailand market, so we gave them unrestricted autonomy to conduct their activities. Specifically, we first had them create schedules for activities during the period of the internship, and then had them carry out the activities according to their schedules. Also, we decided themes for each week, and had the interns make presentations in meetings held once a week on Fridays, and then held discussions about the details by all members. Monday through Friday was devoted to research and preparations for their presentations. Themes ranged from basic information about the cosmetics market in Thailand, to product planning based on marketing data across a wide range, and contents were fairly in-depth. We believe that clarifying goals at the outset, and then creating opportunities for regular output, discussions and feedback led to the success of the internship.

Ready to enter the Thailand market based on opinions and suggestions from the viewpoint of concerned parties and their strong research abilities

Q.Comparing before and after the internship, what effects did it have on you, your employees, or your organization?

The biggest success was obtaining detailed information about the market in Thailand. Regarding the first goal of “importing 1 cosmetics product from Thailand”, the interns selected the product, and went as far as handling negotiations with the local distributing agent. For the second goal of “exporting 1 Japanese cosmetics product to Thailand”, as a result of having them research the sales route, logistics, regulations on tax and legal aspects etc., we discovered there were some difficult legal issues, but based on the research by the interns, we were able to identify the issues that needed to be resolved in order to achieve the goal. Regarding the third goal of “planning a cosmetics product”, we had them consider planning for 3 types, and currently we are in negotiations with a manufacturer. Based on information provided by the manufacturer, the interns thought about costs, sales price, promotion methods etc. While the 3 goals are quite simple, we knew there were high hurdles along the patch to achieving them. However, over the past several months, the interns moved the process forward to nearly reaching the achievement level. Considering the situation was basically starting from scratch before the interns came, they left behind a great achievement.