Thai billionaire & Red Bull founder dies

Chaleo Yoovidhya founder of the Red Bull energy drink & 3rd richest Thai died this week at age 89.

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Thailand's third richest man, Chaleo, dies at 89

18/03/2012

Chaleo Yoovidhya, the founder of the renowned energy drink Red Bull, or Krating Daeng in Thai, and one of the nation's richest men, died at Chulalongkorn Hospital yesterday. He was 89.

Funeral rites will be held at Wat Khrua Wan Worawiharn in Bangkok Yai district from today until Friday. A cremation will take place next Saturday.

Her Royal Highness Princess Soamsawali yesterday provided royal bathing water for the funeral ceremony.

Chaleo was ranked third among the four richest Thais on the 2012 Forbes billionaire list and was ranked number 205 on the Forbes global list. 

Forbes estimates Chaleo's wealth at about US$5 billion (150 billion baht). 

He was ranked as the top billionaire in Thailand in 2008.

Chaleo was the founder of TC Pharmaceuticals and the originator of the Krating Daeng energy drink. Mr Chaleo knew he had a success story on his hands when his new concoction, introduced to the market in 1976, took only a year to overtake all but one of its competitors and reach second spot behind Osotspa's Lipovitan-D.

Just one year after that, Krating Daeng had snatched the largest share of the competitive tonic segment.

The most important factor behind the drink's meteoric rise was Chaleo's business savvy in positioning his product to appeal to labourers and blue-collar workers. His sales pitch was simple. He offered a low-cost product, advertised it heavily and offered popular giveaways among the working classes.

Not content with countrywide success, Chaleo moved aggressively into the international energy drink market. In 1984, he co-invested with Austrian businessman Dietrich Mateschitz to set up Red Bull GmbH based in Austria to produce and market the tonic under the iconic Red Bull brand in more than 70 countries worldwide.

In his Thai-language autobiography, Chaleo wrote that Red Bull gave him an income of 11 million baht per day, every day.

The proper translation of "Krating Daeng" is "red gaur," a familiar phrase in Thailand that refers to the nearly extinct, cattle-like animals found mostly in the region of the Thai-Cambodia border. When the drink went international, however, "krating" was translated as "bull." 

Born the third of five children in 1923 to a poor Phetchaburi family of Hainanese descent, young Chaleo and his family moved to Phichit in search of greener pastures.

However, the relocation did not improve the family fortunes and Chaleo and his siblings were forced from a very young age to do whatever they could to supplement the family income. Chaleo and his elder brother later arrived in Bangkok to seek their fortunes

Chaleo worked as a salesman for Ladder Ray Co and FE Celix Co, the distributors of the antibiotic Aureomycin before resigning to set up his own firm, TC-Mycin Limited Partnership.

The company imported medicine from abroad and later began producing cheaper local antibiotics under the brand name TC-Mycin.

Armed with a knowledge of the key distribution channels gained during his days as a salesman, Chaleo soon grabbed a significant share of the antibiotics market.

Apart from its energy drink business, Red Bull also owns two football teams, Red Bull Salzburg in Austria and the New York Red Bulls in the United States, and a Formula One stable of the same name.

(Source: Bangkok Post, Thailand's third richest man, Chaleo, dies at 89, 18/03/2012, link)

Business Success Vocabulary

Chaleo Yoovidhya - เฉลียว อยู่วิทยา (See Wikipedia)

Red Bull - กระทิงแดง (See Wikipedia)

energy drink - drinks in little bottles that are advertised to increase your energy, contain stimulants (See Wikipedia)

founder - a person who establishes an institution, business, or organization ผู้ก่อตั้ง
renowned - famous and admired for a special skill or achievement ที่มีชื่อเสียง

Chaleo Yoovidhya, the founder of the renowned energy drink Red Bull, or Krating Daeng in Thai, and one of the nation's richest men, died at Chulalongkorn Hospital yesterday. He was 89.

funeral - a ceremony that takes place after someone dies งานศพ
rites - a traditional ceremony, especially a religious one พิธี
cremation - the burning of a dead body การเผาศพ (งานพระราชทานเพลิงพระศพ)
ceremony - a formal public event งานพิธี

Funeral rites will be held at Wat Khrua Wan Worawiharn in Bangkok Yai district from today until Friday. A cremation will take place next Saturday. Her Royal Highness Princess Soamsawali yesterday provided royal bathing water for the funeral ceremony.

global - throughout the world ทั่วโลก
estimates - guesses of what the size, value, amount, cost, etc. of something might be การประมาณค่า
wealth - how much money and assets a person or country owns

Chaleo was ranked third among the four richest Thais on the 2012 Forbes billionaire list and was ranked number 205 on the Forbes global list.  Forbes estimates Chaleo's wealth at about US$5 billion (150 billion baht).  He was ranked as the top billionaire in Thailand in 2008.

on his hands - to have something big and important that you have to deal with (example: We have an emergency on our hands)
concoction - a strange and unusual mixture of different things
overtake - go faster and pass someone
competitors
reach second spot - be in second place in a race

Chaleo was the founder of TC Pharmaceuticals and the originator of the Krating Daeng energy drink. Mr Chaleo knew he had a success story on his hands when his new concoction, introduced to the market in 1976, took only a year to overtake all but one of its competitors and reach second spot behind Osotspa's Lipovitan-D.

snatch - grab- take quickly and with force (example: the thief snatched the lady's purse right out of her hands)
share - to have or use something at the same time as someone else ใช้ร่วมกัน
competitive - involving competition มีการแข่งขัน
tonic -
segment - a part of something ตอน a separate part ส่วนต่างๆของสังคม
market segment - a smaller part of a larger market, meeting the special needs of a group of customers (See Wikipedia)

Just one year after that, Krating Daeng had snatched the largest share of the competitive tonic segment.

factor - a fact or situation which influences the result of something ปัจจัย
meteor (non) - a large rock flying through outer space (See Wikipedia)
meteoric (adjective) - rising fast like a meteor
meteoric rise - rising or increasing very fast
appeal - to cause someone to like or want something ดึงดูดใจ ทำให้สนใจ
blue-collar - connected with workers who do physical work in industry (See Wikipedia)
white-collar - people who work in an office, who wear white shirts (See Wikipedia)
sales pitch - to try to persuade someone to buy something or do something กล่อม
simple - easy to understand; not complicated ง่าย,ไม่ยุ่งยาก, ไม่ซับซ้อน
giveaways - free things things that a company gives to customers to make them  buy their product
working classes - people who do manual labour in a factory (or other low income job)

The most important factor behind the drink's meteoric rise was Chaleo's business savvy in positioning his product to appeal to labourers and blue-collar workers. His sales pitch was simple. He offered a low-cost product, advertised it heavily and offered popular giveaways among the working classes.

content with -
not content with -
aggressively - done with great energy and intensity
international - ระหว่างประเทศ between countries
brand - a type of product made by a particular company ตรา, ยี่ห้อ
income - money that people receive from work or some other source, used for household consumption and savings
iconic -
the iconic Red Bull brand
autobiography

Not content with countrywide success, Chaleo moved aggressively into the international energy drink market. In 1984, he co-invested with Austrian businessman Dietrich Mateschitz to set up Red Bull GmbH based in Austria to produce and market the tonic under the iconic Red Bull brand in more than 70 countries worldwide. In his Thai-language autobiography, Chaleo wrote that Red Bull gave him an income of 11 million baht per day, every day.

proper - actual or real จริง (พระราชพิธีพระราชทานเพลิงพระศพจริง)
proper translation - the real, actual and correct translation

gaur - a reddish brown cow-like animal slightly larger than the bison กระทิง (See Wikipedia)

cattle - cows (female) and bulls (male)
border - the official line separating two areas, regions or countries เขตแดน อาณาเขต

The proper translation of "Krating Daeng" is "red gaur," a familiar phrase in Thailand that refers to the nearly extinct, cattle-like animals found mostly in the region of the Thai-Cambodia border. When the drink went international, however, "krating" was translated as "bull." 

descent - being related to a particular person or group of people who lived in the past การสืบเชื้อสาย
search - to look somewhere carefully in order to find something ค้นหา
in search of greener pastures - looking for a better place to live (with more business opportunities)

Born the third of five children in 1923 to a poor Phetchaburi family of Hainanese descent, young Chaleo and his family moved to Phichit in search of greener pastures.

relocation - the process of moving someone or something to a new place การย้ายที่ใหม่
improve - to make better ทำให้ดีขึ้น
fortunes - luck โชค
family fortunes - 1. the luck of the family; 2. the riches and wealth of the family
siblings - brothers and sisters
supplement - add to
supplement the family income - add to the family income
elder - older ที่แก่กว่า
elder brother  

However, the relocation did not improve the family fortunes and Chaleo and his siblings were forced from a very young age to do whatever they could to supplement the family income. Chaleo and his elder brother later arrived in Bangkok to seek their fortunes

antibiotics - a drug that kills or inhibits the growth of bacteria (See Wikipedia)
firm - a business or company บริษัท
resigning - leaving a job

Chaleo worked as a salesman for Ladder Ray Co and FE Celix Co, the distributors of the antibiotic Aureomycin before resigning TC-Mycin Limited Partnership. to set up his own firm, The company imported medicine from abroad and later began producing cheaper local antibiotics under the brand name TC-Mycin.

key - important คนสำคัญ
distribution - giving or delivering things to many people การจำหน่ายออกไป
distribution channels - ways that a company has for getting its products to customers
significant - important สำคัญ ที่สำคัญยิ่ง
grabbed a significant share of the antibiotics market.

Armed with a knowledge of the key distribution channels gained during his days as a salesman, Chaleo soon grabbed a significant share of the antibiotics market.

Formula One - (See Wikipedia)
Formula One stable - a collection of racing cars competing in auto racing events

Apart from its energy drink business, Red Bull also owns two football teams, Red Bull Salzburg in Austria and the New York Red Bulls in the United States, and a Formula One stable of the same name.