CHIANG MAI – Behind the popular elephant pants, a highlight product of Thailand, are a wife and a husband from Chiang Mai: Kingkarn Samorn, Managing Director, and Jakkaphum Samorn, Director of Chinrada Garment Company. This local company from Chiang Mai has its production site in the Chaengdoi sub-district in the Doi Saket district.
The couple’s business began with Kingkarn wanting to have her own business and have time to raise her children. She gave up her regular job and looked around for opportunities. Her mother was a tailor and took up stitching work, while Jakkaphum studied textiles at Rajamangala College of Technology Lanna and was able to draft patterns and design clothes.
They expanded from a small home office in 2013 to a modern factory in 2018 on a 4 rai property to accommodate production capacity for all product groups, over 100 items, of more than 600,000 pieces per year.
The entrepreneurial couple spoke to “Prachachat Business” about their plans for 2024, where they are preparing to market “elephant pants” as soft-power fashion items targeting the online livestream market in Thailand and the global market.
Kingkarn said Chinrada Garment is 80 percent wholesale, divided into 40 percent domestic market and 40 percent international market (Korea, Japan, Taiwan, US, Australia, China, France, Canada, Netherlands).
These above-mentioned customers buy for resale. The remaining 20 percent is sold by the company itself through online channels (15 percent) and a store in the factory (5 percent). The domestic market includes all regions in which customers resell to tourists.
Customers who are just starting to sell can order as few as 12 units to try out the sale. Wholesale prices are 40, 60, 80 and 100 baht per item, so sellers do not need to keep too much in stock. All items can be mixed and matched in terms of patterns and colors, except for OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) orders, which require a minimum quantity of 100 pieces. Some young people have become sales people before they graduate from high school and take the company’s products with them to sell.
Nowadays, many provinces are developing their own local clothing symbols. According to Chinrada Garment, this does not detract from the popularity of the elephant pants and they are not seen as competition, but rather as a way to make Thailand better known through various symbols and also to increase awareness of the elephant pants. This gives the company the opportunity to produce products for other provinces as well.
Recently, the company has accepted the production of “cat pattern pants” licensed by the “Nakhon Ratchasima Chamber of Commerce” The company has contacted the Nakhon Ratchasima Chamber of Commerce, which has released the license rights to allow vendors to produce cat pattern clothes because they want the cat pattern pants to become as popular as the elephant pants. This has resulted in the company receiving a large number of orders for the production of cat patterns.
Currently, no other factory in Thailand can produce such complete products as Chinrada. The company now produces items with cat patterns, including pants, skirts, hats, bags, etc. for its own sale. There are also requests for the production of pants with monkey patterns.
Kingkarn said that for the 2024 plan, they will make products for all ages and target groups, from children and teenagers to seniors.
They will add 10 more garments that are easy to wear and sell well, with the elephant pattern fabric being the main selling point. They will produce more stretchy fabrics such as elephant pattern leggings, elephant pattern yoga pants and elephant pattern sleepwear.
At the same time, they will use elephant pants for a fashion line to appeal to the growing number of Thai teenagers who are becoming online live stream sellers. Examples include elephant patterned pants, mini skirts and minimalist dresses with elephant or cat patterns. They are also preparing to tap into the international market, such as winter coats with elephant patterns.
In addition to the Bemberg fabrics, they have now added Italian silk to their production of elephant pants and other patterned garments. The company has set a sales growth target of 50 percent for this year. Currently, the company has a production capacity of about 2,000 pieces of elephant pants and all other garments per day or more than 600,000 pieces per year and aims to reach 1 million pieces per year in the near future.
She added that elephant pants are 100 percent soft power. She wants the government to promote Thailand by making elephant pants a well-known symbol. She wants it to become a global trend.
As an entrepreneur who has been making elephant pants and shirts for more than 10 years, she has seen that the elephant pattern is not a trend, but a garment that everyone can wear, from children to the elderly.
“It is soft power. Wearing elephant patterns is now very popular among Thai people, especially teenagers who are more responsive to the elephant pants. It has become a lifestyle and has led to job creation,” the business woman said.
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