USA Fair 2009

The AMCHAM and the US Embassy in Thailand are organising the USA Fair 2009 for the 4th year in a row on November 19-22 at the Royal Paragon Hall, 5th floor of Siam Paragon shopping complex. The high-profile exhibition will feature top renowned American brands offering their wide range of consumer products and services, with an expected number of 103 exhibitor booths. The fair has been attracting huge crowds every year and becoming ever more popular amongst buyers looking for American treats that are not usually available on local supermarket shelves. It is advisable to go during the early days of the event as the much-demanded goodies get over very quickly. Recollecting the event coupla years ago, more than half of the booths were sold out and closed on the last day of the fair.
The theme of the 4-day annual event this year is 'Clean & Green', and there will be 4 main zones as follows :-
- Lifestyle USA - Electronics and ICT, Cars and Accessories, Sports and Leisure, Financial Institutions, Consumer Products, Household Appliances, Home Devices, Health and Beauty, Fashion and Garments
- Travel USA - Airlines, Travel Agents and Cruise Liners, Visa processing and Immigration, Car Rentals, Hotels
- Education USA - Universities, Colleges, International Schools, Language Centers, Research Institutes, Special Skills Universities
- Taste USA - Food and Beverages, Restaurants, Wines, New Lifestyle Foods

For more information, please visit www.usafair2009.com

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Commart Comtech Thailand 2009

Commart Comtech is back this November from Nov 5th - 8th (10am - 8pm) at the QSNCC (Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre). As usual, Commart exhibitions are famous for all gadget geeks to check out the latest innovations in gadgetry technologies as well as newbie buyers or discount hunters looking for good bargains. Needless to say, the 4-day week-ending extravaganza is expected to be a crowd-puller, packed by hordes of people; so if you are planning to visit, better brace up! There is a website with some info, but in Thai language: www.commartthailand.com

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Jeans Expo at Robinson

Robinson Department Store is having an "I Go Jeans Expo" from October 30 to November 9 at all branches having discounts of upto 30% on participating jeans brands.
Purchase of 1 pair of jeans will avail you 20% off, with 2 pairs you get 25% off, and 3 pairs will get you 30 percent off.
Some exclusive jeans are also to be featured including Levi's latest "Black Story Collection" (inaugural at this event), and other Limited Editions from Wrangler, Mc, Big John, Lee, Hara, Playboy and Dapper. Other brands on sale include Lee Cooper, Rock Express, Nobody, Jeans Studio, Pacific Union, Adidas, Heavy, ESP, etc.
For more of Robinson's promos, visit their website, www.robinson.co.th

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HomePro Expo

There is a HomePro Expo going on from October 16-25, with sale and discounts of upto 80 percent at the Impact Muang Thong Thani (Hall 5-8). For complete details and online catalogue, go to www.homeproexpo.com

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A 'Fake' Sale

Not every sale is genuine. If you are wondering how on earth a sale could be 'fake' it shows that maybe you haven't lived in Bangkok long enough. I don't know if they happen in other countries.

There were times when even supermarket sales here often had the reputation of being dodgy - I have heard that sellers would inflate prices of goods and then discount them - thus selling them on the same price but fooling the buyer that they have been discounted. But such instances (in supermarkets, that is) are unheard of these days - maybe because the sellers have realised that shoppers aren't that dumb after all.

But the same can't be said of department stores. I have had first-hand experience of witnessing these dodgy kind of sales at a popular department store (say Store A - Sorry, will not reveal name, I am petrified of defamation suits) - not once, but at least twice now - though only at one particular branch, as I haven't had the opportunity to check out other branches.

My most recent stint was 2 weeks ago, when they were having a store-wide promotion and a 30% sale on their hair accessories. All pieces - every hair clip no matter how tiny - were labelled with their price stickers. So I picked a very simple tiny clip and saw the price was 80 bucks. I was quite sure that it was the original price and after discount would cost lesser by 30%. So I asked the sales assistant whether the label was already discounted, or they will deduct 30% from the label price. The sales lady said that it was already discounted (WHAT?).

Now imagine this - the label was looking quite old, and seeing that the sale had just begun the day before, it means that they their personnel managed to change ALL THE PRICE TAG STICKERS ON ALL THE PRODUCTS into their new discounted prices OVERNIGHT! but that still does not explain why the price stickers looked old? I just knew it was not right. Two years ago, I had this same experience in their bedding section with '50% discount'- and of course, the label was already discounted! Wow, they changed all their labels into their new discounted price labels overnight - must have been quite a feat to watch!

The next day I went to another popular department store (another group) having a sale too. Now here was a 'genuine' sale - because the stated discount was availed on the labelled price. Thus something worth 80 bucks, after discount would cost you say 65 bucks - that makes complete sense. Some months ago, I had even bought a nice blouse at a famous local brand having 80% sale! The original price was over 1000 bucks - and I got it for around 300 - a real steal.

Most other retail establishments have genuine sales - I haven't yet experienced bogus sales anywhere else other than in the above mentioned Store A. I hope they stop thinking that they can fool the customers this way.

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Beauty Buffet

Beauty Buffet - most of us aren't aware of what on earth this is, even though might have unknowingly passed their shops a hundred times while walking the aisles of the countless Bangkok shopping malls.

Beauty Buffet is a brand of a local company Cosmeda that offers a complete range of beauty products - cosmetics, body care, skin care and hair care products; and whats more, the products are claimed to be made from all natural ingredients and are quite affordable too.

It is hard to miss Beauty Buffet shops as they are an eye-candy for us females, being decorated with a myriad of pinkish cosmetics of all varieties, to appeal to our senses, of course. There are more than 26 retail store branches in Bangkok alone (which itself speaks volumes about the popularity of the brand - mostly among the youth, I think) and many more in other provincial cities outside the capital.

You can find some of the outlets located at popular hangouts of Bangkok:
Mahboonkrong Center (MBK), Fl-2
Central Ladprao, G62
Seacon Square, 2ND FL, 2037 and 2096.
The Mall Bangkapi, GS-C19
The Mall Ramkhamhaeng 3, 1B-R4,5
The Mall Thaphra, 1B R10-11 Fl-1
Central Pinklao, G12 Ground Fl.
Neo Siam
Siam Square (Lane 4) 292/2
Big-C Huamark, 156 FL-1
BTS Sala Daeng, S2-20/7

To view their product catalogue, a complete list of store locations, or for more info, check out - www.cosmedashop.com or www.beautybuffetshop.com

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Amarin Brand Sale

Amarin Plaza has come up with a promotional event running for almost 2 months from September 22nd to November 12th, with a tagline of "Refresh your Wardrobe" featuring sales of upto 80% off on 4 brand styles - each running for 10 days. Details are as follows:

Days: September 22 - October 1
Theme: ACCESSORIZE - Beauty Wish List
Brands: Only Sugar, Century 22, Rococo, Morgan, Lollipops, Burberry fragrance, Paul Smith Parfums, Gianfranco Ferre, LeSasha, Charles & Keith, etc.

Days: October 12 - 21
Theme: SIGNATURE - Young Designer Brands
Brands: Rebecca, Klar, headquarter, Shaka, Oak, Theoddyssee, Workshop, K&Bros, etc.

Days: October 23 - November 1
Theme: ACTIVE FASHION - Quiksilver & Roxy
Brands: Quiksilver, Roxy

Days: November 3 - 12
Theme: SHOES & BAGS REFRESHMENT - Shoes & Bags Sale
Brands: Apple Choice, Villains SF Footwear, crazy Step, Tango, Kipling, Tracy & Belle, etc.

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AUSSINO End of Season Sale Oct'09

Aussino - popular Australian brand for beddings - is having an End of Season Sale with discounts of up to 70 % off from October 1 to 28 at the following 3 branches of Aussino House in Bangkok:
- Chidlom Rd.
- Central Ladprao (Fl-3)
- Fashion Island (Fl-1)
Also, if you make purchases of 4,000 baht, you'll get a free bath mat (floor mat).
For more info, check out their local Thai website knkn.biz/aussino

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Bangkok Gift and Houseware Fair October 2009

The popular Bangkok International Gift Fair and Bangkok International Houseware Fair 2009 (BIG & BIH) is returning for a second time this year (the previous exhibition was in April 2009) at the Challenger hall, IMPACT Muang Thong Thani, during the following dates:

Duration : 13-18 October 2009
Trade days : 13-16 October (4 days), 10 am - 6 pm
Public days : 17-18 October (2 days-weekend), 10 am - 9 pm

Organized by the govt's Department of Export Promotion, this 28th BiGBiH event will feature approximately 750 companies / 1,900 exhibitor booths - both local and foreign - presenting the latest and innovative designs of high quality products.

List of exhibits:
- Artificial Flowers / Plants and Potpourri / Spa products
- Christmas Festive Decorative Items and Candles
- Gifts and Handicrafts
- Home Textiles, Fabrics, Decoration Accessories, Ceramics
- Household Products (Tableware, Kitchenware, etc)
- Toys and Games
- Stationery
- Others

Visit their website for more detail, www.bigandbih.com

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Bangkok Electric and Electronics Fair 2009

The 3rd Bangkok Electric and Electronics Fair (Bkk E&E 2009) is taking place at the Impact Arena Muang Thong Thani on the following days:
Trade days - October 07-09 (10 am – 6 pm)
Public days - October 10-11 (10 am – 6 pm)

Organized by the Thai govt's Department of Export Promotion, approximately 70 companies / 125 booths are expected from domestic and overseas companies featuring the following products:
- Home Appliances
- Audio and Visual Appliances
- Lighting
- Industrial/Parts/Accessories
- IT and OA
- Communication
- & others

Running parallel to the BEE Fair on the same days is the 7th Bangkok Refrigeration, Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning Fair (Bangkok RHVAC 2009). Approximately 180 companies / 525 booths from domestic and overseas companies will feature the following products:
- Air-Conditioning
- Refrigeration
- Heating
- Ventilation
- Part, Material and Service
- Tools & Equipment
- & others

For more info, check out: www.thaitradefair.com

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Mega Sale at SiamParagon and Emporium

There is a Mega 'Wild' Sale at Siam Paragon and Emporium Department stores from September 30 - October 11, themed "Hunt for Discount".

Discount structure in the sale features :-
- 15-60% off on participating brands
- 20% off on regular counters
- Upto 10% additional 'on-top' discount for M Card members.

There are many brands on sale; some of them are Angey, Bebe, Ligne, Crazy Step, Reebok, Portland, Pierre Cardin, Lee, FCUK, FQ&L, F&M, Hush Puppies, Geox, Aldo, Timberland, G2000, John Langford, Mc, Vanheusen, and many more.

For more info, visit www.emporiumthailand.com or www.siamparagon.co.th

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Central Denim Festival 2009

The Central Denim Festival 2009 is taking place from October 2nd - 18th at the sections of jeans, casual menswear, men's accessories and luggage (bags, etc) at every Central store and ZEN (focusing more on the 'for-men' stuff).

The more you buy, the more discounts you avail, as follows:
- 20% off with purchase of 1 item
- 25% off with purchase of 2 items
- 30% off with purchase of 3 items

There are more discounts on world-famous brands:
- 15% off Calvin Klein Jeans
- 20% off Bossini, EDC Men's, Giordano, Guess, Esprit, Kamimura, MK Homme, and Muji Jeans.
- 40% off BG Lab and Defry 01 Men
- Up to 30% off at the men's accessories and luggage sections.

The 1 Card members get 5% on-top discount.

There is also a new jeans Levi's 508 Slim Fit Jeans Limited Edition debuting in Thailand only at Central, for which you get additional 5% discount when buying with the 1Card.

Other sales currently going on include Private Sale (till 6th Oct) and Central BED 'N' REST FAIR with 20-80 % discount at Central Chidlom (October 1-18). For more promotions happening this month, check out their site http://www.central.co.th/

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