Page 89 - myanmar
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Frustrations over a lack of connectivity – power, phone and internet services still come and go – are slowly dissipating. “Connectivity is improving significantly day by day,” Wasnik said. “There was one network provider a few years
back; now there are two new credible networks. That’s what competition does, and the pace of improvement is something we didn’t expect but welcome gladly.”
The speed with which Smollan has expanded has also taken the team by surprise.
Under the joint venture DKSH Smollan Field Marketing Myanmar, they now operate from two offices – Yangon to serve the lower part of the country and Mandalay covering the northern part of Myanmar – providing national coverage. The Myanmar business is already profitable, earlier than was planned or expected.
“We’ve been fortunate in being able to diversify our client base fairly quickly,” Leas said. Clients in Myanmar include Beiersdorf, Associated British Foods, Henkel, Myanmar Postal
and Telecommunications (MPT),
“For consumers, technology and access to information including social media is making a huge difference.
Fonterra dairy, Jordan oral care, FrieslandCampina, Sanofi Aventis healthcare, the Japanese baby and feminine hygiene brand Unicharm, and Mandom cosmetics and haircare.
Wasnik said that of all the developing markets Smollan works in, Myanmar most closely resembles rural India; consumers in India have had more exposure to brands, but real choice is only just opening up in both markets. Consumers are becoming more aware of the choices they can make, and more demanding of the brands and retailers they use and frequent. Affordability is a big issue in both markets.
Brand owners need to formulate the right range of pack formats and pricing structures to suit both the consumer market and retailers, who tend to be ‘Mom and Pop’ stores. “There’s a lot
of trust between shoppers and the people they buy from,” Wasnik said. “Visibility, brand advocacy and access will drive demand, and these small traders are in a position to become powerful brand evangelists.”
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