During the COVID-19 crisis, which has wreaked havoc on every industry, it has become a significant challenge for businesses to pivot and navigate through this situation.

However, for a major real estate player like SC, SC Asset Corporation Public Company Limited, it would be an understatement to say they merely 'survived' or 'got through' this crisis. The results from the first quarter of 2021 clearly demonstrate that SC has navigated the crisis beautifully, climbing to the top position in the single house market with a market share of 15%.

Total sales reached 5.7 billion baht, growing 188% (compared to the same quarter of the previous year: YoY), with horizontal sales at 4.606 billion baht, up 123% (YoY), and condominium sales at 1.094 billion baht, growing 1381%. (For the full report, see click here)

A notable point from this report is that these figures reflect growth in both 'revenue' and 'net profit', not just revenue alone. The total revenue reached 3.965 billion baht, growing 20% (YoY), with operational revenue comprising 95% from sales and 5% from rental and service income, along with a net profit of 417 million baht, growing 39% (YoY).

            These growth figures, under normal circumstances without any crisis, might not be particularly exciting, as SC is known as a quality home brand that has always competed closely with rival brands.

However, it is important to remember that the current situation is not normal. Just maintaining the same status quo is already quite challenging. Yet, SC has managed to grow against the trend in the single house segment, suggesting that these positive results stem from consumer trust in the brand, reflecting their commitment to quality and branding strategies that SC has consistently pursued.

            These figures may only serve as quantitative indicators, but if we delve deeper into the qualitative aspects, the success behind these results shows that SC has integrated solutions and adapted strategies to 'reach' and 'win the hearts' of residents in the New Normal era 4.0.

Let's take a look at the strategies employed...

1. Organizational Transformation: SC as a Powerful Living Solutions Provider from Within to the Outside: Over the past few years, it has been evident that SC has emphasized its identity as a Living Solutions Provider, which is the vision that SC uses to drive the organization, fostering a culture and unifying employees in terms of work, happiness, and quality of life.

This approach not only directly addresses the needs of the organization but also communicates the essence of being a Living Solutions Provider to all customers and residents, through the core message: “Creating a good morning for every customer.”

As Nattapong Kunakornwong, CEO of SC Asset Corporation Public Company Limited, once stated, “We aim for every employee to create a good morning for every customer, under the organization's vision to effectively drive the business in this era.”

This vision serves as the 'core' for creating various solutions to meet consumer housing needs. Although it has been a goal since 2018, it continues to work effectively, as evidenced by the results over the past years.

2. Attention to Products and Services: Developing Solutions through a Human-Centric Approach (Focusing on Residents) to Make SC Homes 'Worry-free Homes': SC has developed homes that cater to the lifestyles of all generations, responding to the changing living patterns of every demographic, such as designing homes for singles and shared living.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, SC conducted research with real estate research consultants to study consumer behavior and identify the 'right' functions for homes to address living needs, leading to the concept 'Home is Everything', which has resulted in a new conceptual design for future living spaces, considering three main aspects:

•  Proper & Green Space: Private areas, whether suitable workspaces or green spaces for favorite activities.

• Energy Saving: Addressing energy-saving needs or effective ventilation systems.

• Easy-Cleaning Material: Choosing materials that are easy to clean.

SC has applied these principles to enhance Product Design and New Feature Design for homes, such as transforming the second-floor hallway into a Work from Home function with a glass-walled area for meetings without external noise interference, accommodating new activities like Podcasting or Facebook Live, and a Movie Theatre function, creating a relaxing area with green space that enhances enjoyment at home as if in a cinema.

This rapid adaptation demonstrates SC's commitment to residents who are concerned and whose living behaviors have changed in the New Normal.

3. Post-Sale Care through RueJai Club: Services Tailored to True Resident Needs: Previously, popular services that received positive feedback from customers on this platform included basic services like drinking water, handyman services, gardening, etc. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, SC recognized the need to provide convenience to residents.

SC's strategy is not just to add or adjust a single service but to create a comprehensive solution, packaged as a 'helper' to simplify various household matters, ensuring that modern living is comfortable and worry-free, in line with the motto: 'Helping with Home, Managing Life' through a comprehensive application technology.

This has resulted in four special packages to meet the needs of every group:

  • “Single Lady” Package: Designed for single women who dislike handyman work, providing peace of mind with miscellaneous repairs and Fast Fix for urgent situations like burst pipes, power outages, or malfunctioning pumps, handled by specialized technicians.
  • “Relax” Package: Suitable for those who need to live life without worrying about home maintenance, offering management of three major household tasks: air conditioning cleaning, housekeeping, and water delivery.
  • “Rental Ready” Package: Facilitating those who want to rent out their property by improving and repairing the condition of their condo or house, checking electrical systems, plumbing, and walls to ensure they are in working order, along with a Big Cleaning to prepare for new tenants.
  • “Home Maintenance” Package: Keeping homes looking as good as the day they moved in, with a comprehensive HOME MAINTENANCE PACKAGE covering 8 categories and 38 items, all managed by a dedicated maintenance team to prevent issues from escalating.

4. RueJai Home OS on RueJai App: Another Key Innovation for Enhanced Resident Comfort: This technology, RueJai App, guarantees that residents can manage everything easily with just one app.

If you explore the features of this app, you'll find comprehensive services covering all aspects of life, both inside and outside the home. Many features are creatively designed to address significant pain points for homeowners effectively. This solution is another service that enhances peace of mind for residents.

For example, notable basic features in the app include professional 24-hour Customer Service, Home Care for reporting repairs both under and outside warranty, and an Air Quality Index service providing information on air quality in the areas where SC Asset residents live.

Another feature likely to win over customers and set to launch soon is 'Tele Medicine', providing convenience amid the COVID-19 situation. Many may worry about going to the hospital, so SC has partnered with Samitivej and DR Anywhere to offer privileges to SC Asset members through the RueJai application.

This is just a glimpse of the key successes that have propelled SC to become the champion of single houses. Achieving this has required time and various factors coming together like a jigsaw puzzle to curate and create the best experiences for customers and residents in the future.

As for the progress of SC's horizontal projects, there are 8 more projects valued at 9 billion baht, with two new projects worth a total of 1.145 billion baht set to open for booking in the second quarter, including the Bangkok Boulevard Signature project on Petchkasem-Pinklao, luxurious homes on large plots starting from 20-30 million baht, located near The Mall Bangkae, and the Workplace project on Sai Mai-Phaholyothin, a premium home office starting from 7-20 million baht, located near the Jatujak Expressway and Chalong Ratch Expressway.

Additionally, there are plans to accelerate the increase of housing stock to meet purchasing demand with another 57 projects, comprising 47 horizontal projects and 10 condominium projects.