Witaya 'Tong' Kitidee -Our CEO!
Witaya International Design Co Ltd
Chief Executive Officer : Witaya "Tong" Kitidee
Khun Witaya Kitidee Witaya was born in 1979 in Chiang Mai in the northern Thailand province of Chiang Mai. As is customary in Thailand, Kitidee uses a nickname ("Tong") socially and in business.
His parents were farmers and owned a small orchard in the province. They decided that their two children, Tong and a younger sister, needed better education opportunities and experience and were sent to live with grandparents in the Thai capital city of Bangkok. Tong went there in 1992, when he was 13 years old.
Additional income was essential for his family, which was far from rich. Having quickly adjusted to Bangkok's tempo, Tong began to operate a local market stall in his spare time. His innate interest in fashion jewelery had provided Tong with a hobby, and the young trader included his own hand-made trinkets among the sale items.
Customer reactions were positive, and Tong developed other inexpensive product lines that sold well. Within a year, he was running several other market outlets in the inner suburb of Ramkamhaeng, home to two universities and a fast-expanding nightlife scene, this district and his many young residents provided Tong with both artistic inspiration and a perceptive market.
Constantly enhancing his design skills, Tong also gained new understanding of the dazzling potential in the various raw materials used to manufacture fashion jewelery, and starting his first major business at the end of the 20th century, Tong soon established himself as one of the most creative and innovative figures in Thai fashion jewelery industry.
His initial showcase shop was opened in 1999 in the world-famous Chatuchak Weekend Market, a magnet for tens of thousands of bargain-hunting foreign visitors and Bangkok residents.
Growing recognition of his designs' exceptional marketability and Tong's high quality-control standards attracted the attention of major department stores in Bangkok. Tong's ever-growing range of fashion jewelery was soon available seven days a week in various downtown locations. Witaya Fashion Jewelery also started a thriving wholesale and export business, shipping products to select outlets in Europe, Australasia and North America.
Tong's designs have been displayed at trade shows from Frankfurt to London, Hong Kong to London and he has been the recipient of major accolades for his work.
In one decade, a one-man enterprise has grown into a major business. Witaya International Design Co Ltd, the holding company, is headed by Tong as CEO, but over the past 6 years includes a German-American as President with decades of experience in international retail and manufacturing. The company has also put up , in addition to Bangkok , factories in Lampang and Chiang Mai employing skilful artisans in handmade jewelery.
However, it's the personal touch and utmost attention to detail that continues to give Tong's creations their special appeal in this dynamic world of fashion jewelery.
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