JUNE 2018 FORBES ASIA | 35sell his remaining silk stock. “Someone had just let his company,”
recalls Bill. “He said, ‘You speak some hai, and you know silk.’ He
hired me on the spot.” When he mentions the date, we both laugh.
It was April 1—April Fools’ Day.
He says their styles were completely diferent. “I saw Jim every
day. It was a small company then, probably 50 people, and only a
few foreigners,” he says. “Jim was high up there; he knew royalty,
everyone. I was in a totally diferent crowd, you know, the sports
club.” In reality, though, it’s hard to imagine a boss who would be a
better steward for hompson’s vision. “All the time,” he concedes,
“we think: ‘What would Jim do?’ ”
From the start, hompson was one of hailand’s biggest boost-
ers, promoting tourism and supporting community charities.
And, of course, hai Silk would thrive if hailand thrived. Today
tourists visit the Jim hompson House and watch cocoons being
turned into the silk that’s woven into products they can buy at the
showroom on-site. hen they can dine at a hai restaurant—there
are six Jim hompson food outlets in hailand and one in Singa-
pore. Two more are franchise operations in Japan.
Upstairs is an art gallery, itting since hompson was a pas-
sionate collector of art and antiques from across Southeast Asia.
Yet these are contemporary works. Credit Eric, who walked me
through the gallery. He’s been collecting art since
1992 and has between 250 and 300 pieces, he says.
Collecting runs in the family: His hai mother, the
late Patsri Bunnag, was a notable fashion collec-
tor, and ater his parents separated, she married
French art collector Jean Michel Beurdeley. “It’s an
addiction,” says Eric, smiling, “but a good addic-
tion.” Two years ago, Eric and Beurdeley opened
Maiiam Contemporary Art Museum in Chiang
Mai. Besides works from the family collection,
the museum hosts hai exhibits that are oten
provocative and address pressing concerns.
One concern hompson had right at the
beginning was for hailand’s last traditional weavers. He found
some living in the Ban Krua neighborhood, so he started the
company and built his house there. He hired the weavers and gave
them shares in hai Silk; the original weaving families still own
more than 5% of the privately held company. (he Booths decline
to disclose the size of their stake or identify other shareholders.)
hai Silk invests heavily in research and development, crucial
for any company banking on trend-sensitive fabric and fashion.
But the investment extends all the way back to the farms—to the
worms, in fact. Most of the company’s silk comes from Isan, and
the majority from worm stocks it helped to develop. hese were
bred to be more resilient and easier for farmers to raise, producing
silk threads with the strength required for high-quality fabric. he
most expensive products typically are handwoven. “You can feel
the texture, the history in everything,” says Eric.
On a visit to Isan, Tamrong Sawatwarakul, manufactur-
ing director for the silk company, shows me around the Jim
hompson Farm and the production facilities half an hour
away. A vast complex has grown incrementally, with facilities
and machinery added as the company expanded into new mar-
kets and added more complex printing technology. Still, the
company occupies just a tiny niche in the world silk market.
China has dominated the silk trade for centuries. Bill estimates
that 90% of production comes from China, with India adding
5%. “hailand silk may account for 1%,” he says. “hat’s why
what we are doing now is so important. We really have to move
up, position ourselves at the luxury level. hat’s the only way to
succeed outside of hailand.”
he company markets the unique feel of hailand’s silk and
its handcrated products. “What Jim discovered in the 1940s was
that silk in the markets here was diferent from silk available from
China and Japan,” says Eric. “It was also hand-reeled, handwoven
and hand-dyed. And uneven. hat gave it this unique texture.”
Long ago the market moved to mass production and consistency,
but these days there is more interest in artisanal products, he adds.
“hat’s our advantage.”
In ive years, he says, the company will add stores in Paris,
London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai. A New York
store opened late last year to cater to the wholesale trade, largely
architects and interior designers. Eric travels regularly and has
ramped up the wholesale business, supplying fabric to designers
and distributing in department stores. And Jim hompson restau-rants will expand globally as well. “he future of Jim hompson is
overseas,” he says.
Will it work? Finding local examples is diicult. hai brands
Harnn and hann have expanded overseas. Both make lotions
and creams that beneit from the country’s association with
spas and massage. But there aren’t any real success stories at the
luxury level for retail. And going global may present surprising
challenges. “Jim hompson is already such a powerful brand,”
says Catherine Monthienvichienchai, strategy director for brand-
ing specialist QUO in Bangkok. “hey have great products and a
fantastic story with their history and the story of their founder.”
Being seen as a hai company with authentic woven goods is an
asset with visitors but may not have the same attraction overseas.
“hey may need to shake of some of this association, show they
aren’t tourist-driven.”
Concedes Bill: “his is something we probably should have
done earlier. It just makes sense. How many more stores can we
open in hailand?” And it’s really just the continuation of homp-
son’s work from 70 years ago, showing the world the luster of hai
silk. “His DNA is in everything we do.” FMaiiam Contemporary Art Museum in Chiang Mai, opened in 2016.