■ Number of orders soared fivefold in 2020, while POS locations tripled

■ LINE MAN Wongnai CEO Yod Chinsupakul announces plans to expand operations to every province in Thailand by end of 2021

 

BANGKOK – March 17, 2021 – LINE MAN Wongnai posted massive growth in 2020, setting the stage for an even more ambitious 2021 — that was the key message by LINE MAN Wongnai CEO Yod Chinsupakul, as he delivered his first company update since the merger of LINE MAN and Wongnai Media Co., Ltd. in July 2020. 

In terms of the number of orders placed through LINE MAN Wongnai, they were up five times from 2019, while the number of restaurants using the Wongnai Point-of-Sales (POS) system tripled in 2020. At the same time, the number of provinces where LINE MAN Wongnai services were available grew to 36, as the company plans to expand availability to cover the entire country by the end of 2021. Yod also announced the launch of a major branding campaigned called “LINE MAN Food Hero” and the introduction of the company’s first brand ambassadors. 

“Nothing could be a stronger evidence of the success of our merger than the incredible growth we achieved last year” said Yod. “Over the past half-year, we have worked hard to transform Thailand’s food ecosystem while supporting all the stakeholders on our platform, including our users, restaurants and riders.” 

 

Deliveries Surge Fivefold in Face of Pandemic

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the world, the delivery business is one of the few areas that has thrived. In 2020, the number of deliveries made on the LINE MAN platform rose five-fold compared to 2019. And although lock-down measures have eased, allowing for a return to in-store dining, food delivery continues to enjoy major momentum. 

LINE MAN also expanded to 36 provinces across Thailand last year, empowering local restaurants struggling to deal with the effects of COVID-19. In fact, the number of Wongnai POS systems tripled last year, with most of the new signups represented by local restaurants in the provinces where LINE MAN started operations.

In addition, that expansion helped create jobs, as the number of food delivery riders also surged. LINE MAN started operating its own fleet of riders in the beginning of 2020 and today manages riders in all 36 provinces where we operate. LINE MAN also announced its riders would enjoy employment benefits, including accident insurance.

Another major addition in 2020 was LINE MAN Kitchen, a “cloud kitchen” initiative that allows several restaurants to work together in a single food preparation facility, to facilitate better and cheaper food delivery. LINE MAN joined with PTT Oil and Retail Business PCL (OR) as its strategic partner to operate LINE MAN Kitchen at PTT gas stations. 

Furthermore, LINE MAN leveraged the strength of the LINE ecosystem by creating the LINE MAN MINI app for food delivery and integrating it into the LINE app. This offers an alternative and convenient way to order food in addition to the standalone LINE MAN application.

 

Restaurant POS Business Remains Strong Despite COVID-19

Wongnai manages a huge database of 600,000 restaurants nationwide, the largest and the most comprehensive restaurant database in Thailand. Although the restaurant-focused business of Wongnai was negatively impacted by the COVID-19-lockdown measures, its overall performance for the year was solid. In fact, Wongnai made a point of providing some much-needed support to restaurants last year, offering voucher sales, pick-up, and special deals.

All told, the Wongnai POS business grew by over threefold during the COVID-19 outbreak. And, using that momentum, the company will invest more to make the Wongnai POS the No. 1 restaurant operating system in Thailand.

 

2021 and Beyond

The year 2020 was only the first step by LINE MAN and Wongnai as a merged company, Yod explained. “We did not take long to integrate the different teams’ capabilities thanks to the energy of our talented employees and pre-merger collaboration,” he said. “Everything looks set for us to really take things up to a whole new level in 2021.”

In 2021, LINE MAN Wongnai plans to expand to all 77 provinces across Thailand. It will also push more marketing campaigns in the year ahead, starting today with “LINE MAN Food Hero,” the biggest-ever campaign by the company. The campaign will introduce the iconic food-reviewing duo of Hoy Salah & Lamsong as the first “Food Heroes” and brand ambassadors of LINE MAN. 

In the longer term, LINE MAN Wongnai will continue to grow and develop under its mission to “Help the Thai People Live Better.” With its comprehensive ecosystem and the integration with LINE app, LINE MAN Wongnai will empower local entrepreneurs across Thailand by connecting them to customers and the workforce, creating better lives for all stakeholders.

As a Thai tech company with local in-house engineers, LINE MAN Wongnai can respond to the needs of Thai consumers quickly and precisely. LINE MAN Wongnai aims to become Thailand’s most innovative e-commerce platform for services, highlighting food delivery with the most diverse choices and affordable prices.

 

 

■ About LINE MAN Wongnai

LINE MAN Wongnai, a merger of LINE MAN, Thailand’s No. 1 on-demand platform, and Wongnai, Thailand’s leading restaurant review and discovery platform, was announced in July 2020. Committed to becoming the No. 1 food platform in Thailand by building the best end-to-end food ecosystem, LINE MAN Wongnai brings together the full range of food-related services, including restaurant reviews, ordering and delivery services, other commuting services, and restaurant solutions.

 

■ About LINE Corporation

Based in Japan, LINE Corporation is dedicated to the mission of “Closing the Distance,” bringing together information, services and people. The LINE messaging app launched in June 2011 and since then has grown into a diverse, global ecosystem that includes AI technology, fintech and more. In Thailand, LINE introduced its messenger service in 2012, and quickly grew into the country’s leading social media platform. 

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