Hi Guys,

I'm after some advice. In a nutshell we are a producer of pool tables (they are made in China, best get that out of the way) based in Thailand, and we are considering making a push into the Cambodian market.

We have a new table currently in production that will be arriving in about 6 weeks time, this will retail for around $2000 (about 65,000 THB). We feel that this table in 7ft & 8ft sizes might be suitable for the Cambodian market, but there is debate within the company about where the buying price point actually lies - it's obviously very hard to know until you ask the people on the ground, hence the post.

So, what do you think - if we were to import a 7ft or 8ft table that sells for just under $2000, would there be a market? Or is Cambodia not ready for that type of table yet?

I note that there doesn't appear to be any branded pool tables being sold there yet with the exception of Aileex (Sharky's and Hops), and these were imported on a single deal basis, to the best of my knowledge.

I also can't seem to find any references to pool leagues in the country, which seems strange given the amount of bars and tables!

Thanks in advance,

Tom

Rhino Pool Tables
www.rhinopooltables.com.

RPT wrote: ↑Sat Feb 09, 2019 11:31 am
I also can't seem to find any references to pool leagues in the country, which seems strange given the amount of bars and tables!

thats because 95% of the pool tables in Cambodian bars have a horrible lean and ripped tables, ques without tips and balls that look like golf balls because they been dropped so many times

Tom,
Before deciding on a price point I'd recommend you get firm quotes as to your import cost. Thats the main reason you don't see many things that you may see being sold in Thailand. Its more expensive and not worth the headaches/hassles of dealing with Cambodia customs.

As for a hypothetical price of $2000 it doesn't seem unreasonable but your better off asking actual bar owners what they might pay.

Good Luck

So there will probably be a good market for decent house cues as well, by the sounds of it...!!!

phuketrichard wrote: ↑Sat Feb 09, 2019 12:19 pm

Jamie_Lambo wrote: ↑Sat Feb 09, 2019 11:35 am

RPT wrote: ↑Sat Feb 09, 2019 11:31 am
I also can't seem to find any references to pool leagues in the country, which seems strange given the amount of bars and tables!

thats because 95% of the pool tables in Cambodian bars have a horrible lean and ripped tables, ques without tips and balls that look like golf balls because they been dropped so many times

most of the tables in bars are 5 foot 8 ball tables and cheappppp.
There some decent khmer pool halls in PP with 7 & 8 ' tables thou
i'd look into partnering up with a Khmer

its not to do with the size or the price of the tables, they are just flat out not looked after

phuketrichard wrote: ↑Sat Feb 09, 2019 12:19 pm

Jamie_Lambo wrote: ↑Sat Feb 09, 2019 11:35 am

RPT wrote: ↑Sat Feb 09, 2019 11:31 am
I also can't seem to find any references to pool leagues in the country, which seems strange given the amount of bars and tables!

thats because 95% of the pool tables in Cambodian bars have a horrible lean and ripped tables, ques without tips and balls that look like golf balls because they been dropped so many times

most of the tables in bars are 5 foot 8 ball tables and cheappppp.
There some decent khmer pool halls in PP with 7 & 8 ' tables thou
i'd look into partnering up with a Khmer

$2,000 might be a bit high
https://www.alibaba.com/showroom/5-ft-pool-table.html

Hi Richard,

5ft tables don't really exist other than for kids to play on to the best of my knowledge, the smallest standard table on the market is 6ft (the alibaba link is just clickbait) The most popular table in the world is probably 7ft because of the bar boxes in the USA, but it's widely acknowledged in the industry that the best all round size for a pool table is 8ft.

I've seen 2 pool/snooker rooms in PP so far, TK and Q room. Both have a few generic 9ft tables in there that may or not be setup correctly, and for me the atmosphere in those places suck. For those of you familiar with The Sportsman bar in Bangkok, I set that bar up in 2008 in Washington square before it moved to Suk Soi 13 in 2013. By far the most popular tables in the bar when I had it were the 8ft tables - this is the size that I want to focus on in Cambodia and Vietnam going forward.

Freightdog wrote: ↑Sat Feb 09, 2019 12:30 pm

RPT wrote: ↑Sat Feb 09, 2019 12:10 pm So there will probably be a good market for decent house cues as well, by the sounds of it...!!!

Decent, maybe. Cheap, reliable and readily available as a disposable item might be more the market level. As Jamie mentions; tables, cues and balls are in pretty variable state, and as far as I can tell rarely get any form of care/maintenance.
Finding a cue that is straight, has a tip on one end, and lacking splinters at the other can sometimes be a challenge.
A spirit level wouldn’t go amiss

If you could provide coshes so that people beat each other with these instead...? Actually, no that wouldn’t work, there’d be no need to replace the cues so often, and your market would dry up

Hahaha.

We can sell decent playing cues that won't warp easily with decent tips for around $20 - is that too much?