Ichitan was announced last week as the new official sponsor of ChiangMai FC. With branding at the stadium and as the main sponsor on the front of the club match day kits.
There has, as yet, been no indication of how much support Ichitan has offered.
So who are Ichitan?
Ichitan company was founded by Tan Passakornatee who was the original founder of Oishi Group. Ichitan company was incorporated on 3rd September 2010.
Captain Tan turned up in his trademark sailor’s cap for CMFC’s T3 North match last evening with Phitsanulok FC. With plenty of handouts, a speech from the man himself and half time dancing girls it was quite a party.
Tan, now in his mid 60s, was a serial entrepreneur from the age of 22 when he started a newsstand in his hometown of Chonburi.
He founded Oishi which opened its first all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant on 9 September 1999. Oishi was successful in tapping the rapidly expanding market for Japanese cuisine, which previously only comprised Japanese expatriates and tourists, and opened it up to the middle class.
The company was registered as Oishi Restaurant Co., Ltd. on 5 January 2000, and expanded to include several restaurant chains spanning different price ranges over a course of four years. Tan noticed the popularity of the green tea drinks served in its restaurants, and began to produce them as bottled drinks. The move was very successful, and Oishi quickly became the leader in Thailand’s emerging green tea market. The company experienced a 2,000-percent rise in net profit in 2004, thanks to the ready-to-drink tea product. It was listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand as Oishi Group on 3 March that year 2004.
Beginning at the end of 2005, billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi moved to acquire a majority stake in Oishi through several holding companies. The takeover was long and contentious. Tan and his partners sold most of their stake in the company for 3.352 billion baht (US$100M), with Tan staying on as company president. The sale was finalized in 2008, and Charoen’s beverage giant ThaiBev came to own a 89.93% stake in Oishi Group.
Tan left Oishi in 2010, setting up his own green-tea drink brand Ichitan in June 2011.
The two fiercely competed for market leadership over the next few years, with Ichitan overtaking Oishi in sales in 2013 and Oishi regaining the position the following year. The companies continue to lead the domestic market.
The ready-to-drink tea market shrank during the latter half of the decade, due in part to health concerns and newly imposed taxes over sugar-sweetened beverages. But the industry has stabilised with the addition of zero or low calorie/sugar alternatives.
CMFC’s previous owner was Yosmaetha Jantaraviroj. His business interests included being the local distributor for ThaiBev. Is it just a coincidence that Khun Tan’s business is the new club sponsor?
Ichitan was heavily marketed using Tan’s own public persona and prize campaigns, bringing heavy competition to Oishi, which responded with its own similar campaigns.
Fronting up the marketing and social media for his businesses Tan became a celebrity. His trademark Navy cap helps his to stand out in most crowds. People like to know what he does. He knows how to turn every action into a story.
Tan’s first fortunes came from real estate and a business in wedding-photo studios; that first fortune was lost in the 1997 financial turmoil.
The came Oishi – sold to ThaiBev.
And now Ichitan. And of course his other business interests.
Tan is also still active in the commercial property market and was one of the early investors in Chiang Mai’s Nimmanhaemin Road developing the Eastin Hotel and Think Park opposite the site that is now the Maya Mall.
At 65 Tan shows no sign of slowing down though his interests are now more philanthropic through his Tan Pan Foundation, which focuses on education and environmental causes. “Ichitan is a company with a mission to give back to society,” he told Forbes Magazine a decade ago. “My old image was more the businessman. Oishi was a business to make money. Now I’m part teacher, part entertainer.” His Facebook page is very active and has over 12 million followers.
For CMFC to have sealed a sponsorship deal with such a high profile entrepreneur is quite a coup. Though it should be noted that Ichitan are sponsors and not owners; that is a very different level of investment and commitment.
There are also questions that should, but will not be answered. The euphoria over the club’s new sponsor will bury any questions.
But at least a thank you would be welcomed by the Brazilian sponsors who bought into the club at the start of the season when there was no other investment amid the damage caused by Khun Sand.
Did the Brazilians think that they were the kit sponsors for the full season? Has someone even told them that they have been removed, as has any trace of Brazilian investment or involvement in the club?
Clearly the local fans think this is very good news. But this is a rebuilding process and maybe we should get to the end of the season before assessing the state and the future of the club.