OWNDAYS Thailand has entered its 3rd year in the country with 13 shops and 130 employees nationwide. Tonight, everyone gathered at VARAVELA for the annual OWNDAYS SUMMIT 2018 IN THAILAND. In line with the Great Gatsby theme, it was a night of luxury and glamour with delicious Thai dishes prepared for the guests and a lineup of exciting programmes!
Fluke, Nice, Dear and Fon, the 4 beautiful girls from the headquarters, welcomed everyone with bright smiles. After the registration, guests were led to the cocktail reception area where snacks and drinks were served. There was also a photo booth with custom-designed OWNDAYS backdrop where guests could have their photos taken and printed right away. The guests were having a good time flaunting their style at the photo booth.
Doors opened and guests headed into the VARAVELA Chamber. It was a large hall with gorgeous architecture and decorated with lighting in beautiful colours. We had a western style seating arrangement with long tables and chairs. Catching everyone’s eyes was the large LED screen at the centre of the stage.
The moment everyone was waiting for finally arrived. The familiar summit opening theme song blasted out from the speakers. The door to the middle of the hall swung open and a contingent beginning with the 8 final round I.R.A.C. contestants walked in. They were followed by the 22 shop manager election candidates, Pamm Sirirat Pattanachot and Peanut Ratchakit Deachanetirat as the MCs for the night and lastly our Managing Director Umiyama san and Group CEO Tanaka san.
“OWNDAYS Thailand is most beautiful in the world!” Umiyama san’s first sentence had already gotten the staff screaming in delight. “I am very happy that OWNDAYS Thailand has grown so fast last year! We have 15 shops now and it’s great. Hopefully, we’ll have 25 shops by next year. Keeping fighting, make it the best!”
“Since entering Thailand in 2015, OWNDAYS has expanded quickly and now we have 14 shops and 1 pop-up store. In 2018, we will continue to focus on these concepts: Simple Price, Quick, Valuable and Assurance.
The shops we have opened and will be opening this year are:
1. Central Rama III (pop-up store) on 9 Feb
2. The Mall Bangkapi on 1 Mar
3. Central Plaza Westgate in May
4. Central Festival Phuket in Sep
5. Terminal 21 Pattaya in Sep
6. Gateway Bangsue in Oct
These are the locations we have confirmed. Let me end my speech with ‘Keep you faith! Seeing the unknown future with OWNDAYS!’”
OWNDAYS I.R.A.C. is a contest to find the one with the highest technical skills among the staff in OWNDAYS around the world. The champion in the Thailand stage will represent the country to compete in Japan every April. This year, more than 40 contestants from all over the country competed in the qualifying round and the top 8 would be fighting for the much sought-after champion title in the final round tonight. Standing tall with full confidence were:
1. Bell from Zpell@Future Park Rangsit
2. Kathy from Seacon Bangkae
3. Nick shop Gaysorn Village
4. Preaw from Seacon Bangkae
5. Ris from Seacon Square
6. Ruth from Central Festival Eastville
7. Ton from Gaysorn Village
8. Toy from Seacon Square
Jib Pailin Chompoo and Ken Chan Sai Hung took over as the MCs for this segment. They informed the guests that the time limit would be reduced from 20 minutes to 15 minutes this year. The MCs also explained the scoring criteria.
“We would like to invite all the guests to come forward to the front of stage to cheer for the contestants. 15 minutes will pass by very quickly. When the time is up, contestants, you are not allowed to touch the glasses anymore...Some contestants have completed their glasses before the time is up. Excellent!!”
Everyone was hungry after the I.R.A.C. and it was time to power up! Meals were prepared outside the hall for the guests. Let’s get started on the food, desserts and beer!!!
After a delectable dinner, we had the award segment. First up was the Best Sales Achievement Award given to the shop that had achieved the highest revenue over the past one year and the winner was OWNDAYS Gaysorn Village. Next, we had the Best Customer Service Award given to the shop that had demonstrated the most excellent service and the winner was OWNDAYS Central Festival Chiangmai. The two winning teams received their award certificate from Tatsuya Koga san, the Executive Operating Officer from OWNDAYS Japan.
Tul Pakorn Thanasrivanitchai, the good-looking ambassador of OWNDAYS in Thailand, picked out the best dressed guests for the night. The guests who caught Tul’s eyes were:
3rd place: Nat Panicha Thamasith from head office
2nd place: Jay Nathapol Ruenrom, the newest staff from Gaysorn village
1st place: Judie Juthamat Titthatham from Central Festival Chiang Mai
Flying in from Chiang Mai just to attend the summit tonight, Judie was not only the best dressed according to the theme of the night, but also the most gorgeous person among all the guests present. Indeed, we were all blown away!
Who could eventually take home the champion title and become the proud representative of Thailand in the OWNDAYS I.R.A.C. world stage in Japan? Would it be a female staff just like last year?
We welcomed the 8 final round contestants back on to the stage as our beautiful optician trainer JIB prepared to announce the results. The winner this year went to Preaw Chanika Cheywut from Seacon Bangkae shop. The only female contestant tonight had defeated the other men! Group CEO Tanaka san handed Preaw the champion title as the audience cheered on. Congratulations Preaw!
We had reached the highlight of the night. It was time to find out the ones who were chosen as leaders of the shops. Of the 22 final round candidates, the top 15 candidates would be appointed shop managers. General Manager Evan announced the results to an excited audience.
Coming in 1st place was Bow Suparat Bandit while Chitipat Bunlai and Aom Siriporn Hinsote shared the 2nd place with the same score. The other successfully elected candidates were:
8th place: Ojo Pattrawarin Promsurin
9th place: Kip Kittipong Silakhot
10th place: Nhong Piyanan Pum
11th place: Mc Nimit Kaokaew
12th place: Jig Sukanda Dangsawat
13th place: Joy Pornluk Chompoo
14th place: Nick Parakorn Jamjumrus
15th place: Aor Chaninat Taiyarat
Congratulations to all the candidates who were elected. As to the remaining candidates, there would be 3 assistant shop manager positions available to you. Moreover, there would be other opportunities to run for shop manager with new shops opening in the year. All the best everyone!
While everyone was still immersed in the excitement over the shop manager general election, the lights in the hall dimmed unexpectedly. A video came on to the LED screen, catching everyone by surprise. It was the announcement of the winner of OWNDAYS by OWNDAYS, an award given out by the GM to the staff who had exhibited the most OWNDAYS traits this year. The winner was Nut Peeraplus Chaipornchompoonuj.
"I hope everyone could look ahead to our future while paying attention to the present and learning from our mistakes. It may be challenging but difficult challenges will make us grow. Only then will we be able to pass down our knowledge and teach the next generation. To tell them what should be and what should not be done so they will have a good future ahead of them,” Nut shared his thoughts with everyone.
"We have OWNDAYS in many countries but I can see that in Thailand, you have the best teamwork! In five years, let’s open 100 shops in Thailand! Fighting!!!"
After Group CEO Tanaka san’s speech, we had our usual event tradition – the OWNDAYS cheer. Everyone stood up and shouted, “Yeah! Yeah! OWNDAYS!!”
Everyone gathered at the front of the stage for a group photo. OWNDAYS Thailand has grown with every event. Let’s aim for a bigger event with more staff next year! Meanwhile, it’s time to party like Gatsby!
OWNDAYS SUMMIT IN THAILAND 2018！
The staff stayed on for the after party after the OWNDAYS SUMMIT closed.
OWNDAYS Thailand is set for more growth in the coming year. Till the next OWNDAYS SUMMIT is THAILAND!
