Porcelaines Philippe Deshoulieres, the leading French porcelain manufacturer, has made its debut in Thailand, where it hopes to benefit from the continuing growth of the Thai hospitality industry.

William Baret, managing director of Porcelaines Philippe Deshoulieres for the Asia region, said several international hotel chains had expanded into the Kingdom while Thai lifestyles were changing to incorporate more art and lifestyle products.

Both Thais and French people pay attention to product details and integrated designs, he said. Thais also have a good perception of French product design, he added.

Thailand has become Deshoulieres' fifth Asian location, after Hong Kong, Taipei, Japan and South Korea.

"Though there are several Thai-made porcelain brands available in the market, we are confident that the Deshoulieres brand will be an alternative because of its unique product design. Moreover, our porcelain manufacturing is sensitive to the environment and 100% of raw materials can be recycled," Mr Baret said during his recent visit to Bangkok.

Deshoulieres generated 22 million in revenue in 2009, of which 60% came from France and the remainder from exports.

About 80% of Deshoulieres branded products are sold in the high-end retail market, with the rest going to the upper end of the hospitality market.

Currently, the company has five representatives in France, 10 agents in the rest of Europe and another 10 agents across the rest of the world.

Deshoulieres products are now available at top French restaurants worldwide and in department stores such as Printemps, Galeries Lafayette, Harrods, Bloomingdales and Zen Department Store in Thailand. Deshoulieres tableware products in Thailand are priced from 900 to 10,000 baht.

Mr Baret said Asia currently provided less than 5% of Deshoulieres' porcelain sales. But the company will pay more attention to the region because of its high purchasing power and large population.