Malaysia Retailer|Vol 5|No 3|2017|Dato Seri Ivan Teh FUSIONEX by Harini Management Services Sdn Bhd

Vol 5 No 3 2017

MASTER OF DATA

Dato’ Seri Ivan Teh, Founder and CEO of Fusionex

Opportunities in Cambodia & Vietnam MRCA’s Strong Foothold in Johor

WM RM9 / EM RM11

Eversendai’s Tan Sri AK Nathan Stars in CEO Night

CMY

CONTENTS / VOL. 5 NO. 3 12

5 President’s Message

30 Flexibility And Independence

IN FOCUS 6 Master of Data

Fusionex’s Dato’ Seri Ivan Teh lets us in to the heart of his company.

FEATURES

12 The Only Way Is Up –

ON THE COVER

Photography: Song @Picture This Studio

Malaysia Retailer Vol 4 No 1

Dockers®

38 Security for Cash Management

A follow-up on the association’s southern chapter. American online fashion house opens outlet in Johor Bahru.

A look at the company’s successful business strategies. A Malaysian company with great ambitions. Dr Renesial Leong is highly sought after for her insight.

28 Legal Eagle Flies High

SNS Network (M) Sdn Bhd making its presence felt.

MRCA delegates see potential in two countries.

26 Asia’s Property Darling

Malaysians

Vietnam

24 XeerSoft’s Overseas Success

Fusionex International CEO and Managing Director Dato’ Seri Ivan Teh

34 Anticipating IT Needs of

For Gintell

On ZELL-V’s products and services

36 Innovative Khaki Pants From

22 How A Business Pivot Worked

Health

Eversendai’s Tan Sri A. K. Nathan shares experiences in building his organisation.

20 Making a WOW Impression

32 Helping Consumers Manage

18 MRCA Gains Foothold in Johor

Self-checkout counters are popular around the world and are now coming to Malaysia.

CEO Night 2017

16 Exploring Cambodia and

With Self-Checkouts

Dato’ Manjit Singh shares common legal pitfalls involving retailers.

Say bye-bye to crinkly pants without the hassle of ironing them. Ramaicorp’s latest security products for SMEs.

40 Baliayu Spa Ushers 10 Years

Luxury Balinese spa celebrates its anniversary in style.

42 CheQQme Out

How can online marketing services help retailers reach their audience.

44 Aladdin Street – Dedicated to Halal Merchandise

An online marketplace with halal principles.

45 Collectco – 800 Collection Locations

Supporting services to spur e-commerce growth in Malaysia.

MRCA Corporate Patrons

Event

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PRESIDENT Dato’ Garry K.S. Chua ROTOL FOOD-CHAIN (M) SDN BHD

FOUNDER PRESIDENT Dato’ Eddie Choon POH KONG HOLDINGS BHD

IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Dato’ Liaw Choon Liang, JP FOCUS POINT HOLDINGS BHD

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BOARD OF ADVISORS YB Dato’ Sri Liow Tiong Lai PRESIDENT OF THE MALAYSIAN CHINESE ASSOCIATION YB Dato Sri Mustapha Mohamad MINISTER OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE & INDUSTRY MALAYSIA Dato’ Dr. Jennifer Low, JP GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR, QUILL GROUP OF COMPANIES Tan Sri Lim Wee Chai CHAIRMAN, TOP GLOVE CORPORATION BHD Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum GROUP MD, GROUP CEO, MAH SING GROUP BHD Tan Sri Barry Goh Ming Choon CHAIRMAN OF MCT CONSORTIUM BHD Tan Sri Datuk Tee Hock Seng JP GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR OF BINA PURI HOLDINGS BHD

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5 President’s Message

President’s Message Dear MRCA members,

Dato’ Garry KS Chua, President, 2016-Present, Malaysia Retail Chain Association

I would like to applaud the Organising Chairmen and Councils for their hard work and support in ensuring a record three months thus far. Since our last issue of Malaysia Retailer, MRCA has organised 14 milestoneworthy events. Our most important event of the year, MRCA Retail Conference and MIRF 2017, are in the last leg of preparation. We are greatly encouraged by the response of local and international governments and companies which are going to participate in our conference and exhibition. We are hosting the biggest names in their sector to share experiences and challenges, all on 12 June. It is rare to have all these names gather in one place to speak. Mark your calendars and don’t miss this. Meanwhile, the MIRF 2017 is a great platform for like-minded businesses to gather to explore commercial growth together. We have large delegation of companies from Taiwan and South Korea, who will be showcasing products and franchise opportunities. Malaysian companies are also on the look out for oversea partners as the exhibition draws trade visitors from near and far. I am grateful to the KPDNKK and the Ministry of Tourism for being the supporting sponsors for MIRF 2017. I couldn’t be more proud of the organising team who have worked very hard to ensure things would run smoothly. To celebrate our double events, we also have two covers this issue – Fusionex’s Dato’ Seri Ivan Teh and HRDF Chief Executive Dato’ CM Vignaesvaran Jeyandran. Both companies are staunch supporters of MRCA and our endeavours. Fusionex recently signed on as our Corporate Patron while HRDF is our partner for the MRCA Retail Conference for the second year running. After more than a year in planning, our Southern Chapter is finally going to be ready for unveilling. This is due to no small efforts by our members in Johor, especially long-time member Marrybrown. Apart from that, a large MRCA delegation visited Cambodia and Vietnam, courtesy of the ASEAN Business Community. We saw for ourselves the vast opportunities in these two countries. It is also a testament of MRCA’s strong reputation that garnered the unique invite. I was fortunate to have represented MRCA, as part of the Prime Minister’s landmark visit and tour to Alibaba’s HQ in Hangzhou, China, further solidifying the relationship between Malaysia and the Internet giant. Two other important developments are the signing of an MoU with MaGIC Malaysia to help spur the entrepreneurial spirit among the young people in the country. The Tourism Ministry has pledged to become MRCA’s Corporate Patron next year, for the association’s activities in enhancing the retail and franchise industry especially tourists from abroad. We will be celebrating our 25th anniversary in style, with a grand dinner in November and the unveiling of our MRCA “Who’s Who” Directory, showcasing members’ listing, franchising, products, etc. It is a project to raise funds for MRCA to acquire its new own building. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our Muslim members and friends Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

“ENRICHING MEMBERS FOR THE FUTURE”

Malaysia Retailer Vol 5 No 3

In Focus

MASTER OF DATA No local technology company has achieved the milestones like Fusionex has. Behind every success is the steady hand of its Founder and CEO Dato' Seri Ivan Teh. Photography Song@Picture This

Malaysia Retailer Vol 5 No 3

7 echnology giants are often synonymous with its founder or CEO, intrinsically tied to each other, for good and bad. For example, Amazon and Jeff Bezos, Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg, Apple and the late Steve Jobs, as well as Uber and former CEO Travis Kalanick, not forgetting Alibaba and Jack Ma. These are just one of the many such examples. One cannot help but noticed most tech giants of the world are Silicon Valley based and Asian ones, although doing innovative work, are under recognised by the greater public. But this challenge doesn't stop Fusionex and its head honcho Dato' Seri Ivan Teh. When met at his headquarters in Section 13, Petaling Jaya recently, it is evident he is a wanted man – buried under his work and attending to numerous calls for his attention. No one said running a business empire that stretches well beyond Malaysia, was easy. His staff described him as the hardest working in the company, responding to emails deep into the night, and even putting off a corporate photoshoot for years, describing that “he has other more important work” to attend to. So for him to spend a couple of hours with us, indulging our sometimes ridiculous requests for different poses and venues – after all the company occupies four levels in the MSC Cybercentre building, all decked out in a futuristic design – was a rare opportunity to observe the man in his lair. The Fusionex dream that he built is an award-winning company, specialising in Analytics and Big Data to help its clients manage, make sense of and derive useful insights and information from the vast amounts of structured and unstructured data at their disposal. But what makes the man tick?

Why did Fusionex come about and how did it achieve its current enviable status? It all started as a problem statement. Before Fusionex, I worked in MNCs where we used complex and very costly systems to cater to business needs. Long hours, sleepless nights, large teams and expensive technology were the norm. One day (after years of ploughing through various projects), I thought, “if

we could find an innovative way and breakthrough to overcome this business challenge, i.e. data tsunami, as well as get rid of this major headache most companies endured, wouldn’t that be great?” Naysayers were abound, telling me, “don’t bother, you are a capable man but this problem is just too huge to solve”, while others said, “I believe you will be able to do something great!” Essentially, I wanted to solve the most complex “business and data” problems through the effective use of software and technology. The objective was also to do it in a manner that was faster, more “humanised”, intuitive and affordable compared to what was offered by the mega vendors. In principle, we wanted to bridge the gap between business and technology. Incidentally, the word “fusion” refers to a fusion between business and technology, and “ex” stands for experience and excellence. Hence, Fusionex was born. Competing against the largest and strongest players in the industry (most of them being western mega vendors) was no easy feat, when one considers at the beginning, Fusionex possessed no track record, no brand presence whatsoever, with zero external funding except that of personal savings, which I almost exhausted at one point. We didn’t want to be a jack of all trades, master of none. Instead, we focused on a key segment – data – which we believed (years ago) was going to become the new “crude oil”. By focusing on providing the much needed business value that Fusionex’s products offers to our customers, the team has succeeded in establishing a strong brand for us in the global IT industry. Being in a space traditionally dominated by Western companies, how did you beat them at their own game? The Western companies have good software. However, their products are normally complex, costly and sometimes, an overkill. At Fusionex, we focus on delivery of value with ease. GIANT 2017 and Fusionex ANT were developed from ground up to be powerful, high-performance, userfriendly and yet affordable. We believe if anyone, and by that I

mean literally anyone, from whatever walks of life, can use GIANT 2017 or Fusionex ANT with ease, then the product will sell by itself. We want to provide large corporations as well as small and medium enterprises a platform to grow their businesses via the effective use of technology. In essence, we provide our partners and customers with technology anytime, anywhere, anyhow and literally any form. That, we believe, is a key differentiator. Market research firm Gartner predicts enterprise data will grow 650% over the next four years with analytics taking the centre stage. How would Fusionex solidify its position as the region’s top big data analytics player? Fusionex is the pioneer and early mover for Big Data Analytics in this region. We have had the good fortune and advantage to be involved in Big Data and Analytics before it became one of the hottest coined terms on the Internet. Fusionex has also been cited as a vendor of interest by Gartner alongside White Papers written by International Data Corporation. With the years of R&D, experience and the head start in this region, Fusionex will continue to invest and strengthen the awareness in this space. We hope to be able to solidify our position as the leading go-to big data analytics player, not just for enterprises, but for anyone and any company who is keen to benefit from the insights and information of data technology and the Internet of Things. How does Fusionex leverage on opportunities available beyond Malaysia? Fusionex has established and will continue to work with parties and partners to establish footprints in jurisdictions outside Malaysia. Interestingly and as a matter of fact, we started our business internationally before returning to Malaysia to share our global experience. To continue growing, we will expand to selected geographies via direct engagement as well as through strategic partnerships and collaboration. Such partnerships will add value in terms of scalability of opportunities beyond local shores.

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In Focus

In light of recent use of AI, AR and VR in the retail industry, how would Fusionex bring these technology to the ASEAN retail industry? Consumers in the retail space are confronted with a plethora of choice. In order to attract and encourage such consumers and prospects to remain loyal to one’s brand, it is important for retailers to constantly upgrade their offerings and to provide end customers with the best (hopefully personalised and relevant) user experience. To achieve that, retailers need to be kept up-to-speed on how various methods and technologies such as effective and targeted e-commerce, AI, AR, VR, big data analytics, digital marketing, digital payment services and so on that can help them stay ahead and remain relevant in this fastchanging landscape. At its heart, Fusionex is a data company. Our vast experience and superior technology allows us to tap on our huge resources to help our customers achieve their goals (such as market access, customer reach, targeted marketing and understanding patterns/ trends etc) much more easily, quicker and more cost effectively. On top of that, Fusionex’s extensive partnership network allows us to facilitate integration and connectivity for other areas of technology and businesses as well.

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Being a Big Data Analytics specialist, how can a retailer benefit from your solutions and insights? With all retailers, the key to success is to know what your clients want, when they want the products, and how to encourage them to remain or start being a loyal or repeat customer to you. Data management, digital marketing and analytics would help provide such essential insights and information to retailers. In this digital era, it’s important for retailers to leverage on both online and offline channels, as well as to reach out to prospects and customers in a scalable manner. Fusionex recently agreed to sign on as the corporate patron of MRCA? What value will this partnership entail for the association and your company? Fusionex believes the potential of retailers in Malaysia is immense and will continue to grow. We believe MRCA plays a pivotal role in the retail sector, where MRCA has and continues to provide a highly supportive environment for the development and growth of the retail industry. We are honoured to be a corporate patron of MRCA, and we believe the partnership will bring further value to the industry and the wider ecosystem. We believe that a journey of a thousand steps begins with a first step

and now is the time for us to leverage on this partnership to bring about a positive impact to the retail industry. In your opinion, what technology can Malaysian retailers adopt quickly to improve their business and operation efficiencies? There is a convergence of a few technologies which we refer to as the “nexus of forces”. Technology such as mobility, social media, cloud computing, data analytics, IoT, e-commerce and so on are no longer a luxury, but becoming a necessity. The notion that “I don’t know what I don’t know” is no longer good enough, simply because the competitor can exploit this power of data and knowledge to win. At Fusionex, we believe the effective use of the right technology could provide a perfect storm and a huge competitive advantage to virtually any company willing to embrace technology to make a difference. We’ve seen great use cases and customer success stories where sales and marketing could be enhanced with effective technology. Likewise, we’ve also helped customers improve operational efficiencies through automation, data analytics and AI. Far-sighted retailers are beginning to realise that gone are the days where they can just rely on a closed loop and in-house skills.

How will the Digital Free Trade Zone change the business landscape for retailers in the coming future? The world is increasingly become more and more digital and inter-connected. Free trade, open trade and globalisation provides a window of opportunity for local brands and retailers to reach out to international prospects/customers; yet at the same time if retailers don’t upgrade themselves with modern skills, techniques and technology, this also inevitably constitutes a potential threat as the window will naturally also be open to other brands as well to enter the markets. This is just the very nature of how free trade is. DFTZ, with the right plan and execution, and once in full mode, has the objective to allow retailers to trade more conveniently and efficiently without the hassle of unnecessary delays, encumbrances that come with the usual physical process and alongside that, reduction in costs by all parties. It’s noteworthy to highlight that in this digital era where disruption is taking place in almost every space thinkable, we could either sit back (while being left

“We want to provide large corporations as well as SMEs a platform to grow their businesses via the effective use of technology.”

behind), or we could look at this as an opportunity to increase our competitive edge and reach. Can you share the idea behind the launch of GIANT 2017 and Fusionex ANT, especially its natural language processing capability? Fusionex GIANT 2017 is an enterprise Big Data Analytics successor to the earlier version of GIANT, equipped with the latest state-of-the-art technologies to stay ahead of the curve in terms of

Fusionex being the market leader for data analytics and usage of this with ease. We recognise, however, SME players may not require a full slew of offerings that come with GIANT 2017, and hence, Fusionex ANT was launched – a lightweight Analytics offering but with the power, leanness, efficiency and muscle (similar to how strong ants are for their size!) to deliver what we believe is necessary to SME owners in terms of data management and insights. How would you get SME owners to understand cutting-edge technology and its benefits? Fusionex has set up a Data Technology Academy which is aimed to empower SME owners to understand how data technology can help them improve their businesses in today’s competitive climate. To that end, we provide training, awareness programmes, mentorship and other forms of assistance with the goal to help SME owners and decisionmakers understand technology and how this could benefit their businesses.

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In Focus

Fusionex is looking to increase our investments to support the SME space, as we believe there is great potential and we believe that SMEs will continue to drive significant growth in most countries, including Malaysia. Over the last few years, Fusionex has signed on many high profile MoUs, partnerships and so on. Firstly, how do you do it, and secondly, what do you expect from these decisions? Fusionex is fortunate and blessed in that it has a good relationship with many partners, associations, institutions and parties, which has in turn led to the further introductions and facilitations of new relationships. We believe each decision to engage in a MOU or partnership opens a new door or opportunity for us as well as our partners. We advocate good, synergistic partnerships/ collaborations, and together we can bring about a more concerted, positive impact to the industry and ecosystem. As technology progresses very quickly, how much has Fusionex reinvested in developing/upgrading facilities and manpower? In our field, being ahead of the curve and investments in R&D is key to a technology company like ours. We

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constantly invest in our facilities, infrastructure, and most importantly we invest significantly in our great people. Training and R&D wise, we’ve invested more than RM100 million over the last few years; We expect to invest RM200 million or more over the next few years on our people. On Glassdoor.com, an employment review website, Fusionex scored 3.6/5. How do you keep a large number of staff in and outside Malaysia happy and inspired? Thank you. I am honoured by the compliment, but the truth is a lot of work for this should be attributed to our hard-working and ever-committed HR team, or the talent management team, as we like to refer to them. Naturally, I would not go so far as to say that our team is perfect, but I have a lot of appreciation for both the talent management team and the fantastic employees that I am proud to work alongside with. There are many aspects in relation to employee satisfaction that’s important to understand. But for us, I believe in empowering our people to excel and to scale new heights; I believe in giving them a conducive working environment (where people work, eat, play and have fun), the facilities, support and resources to hone their talent and to challenge themselves.

Are there any business decisions you've made but regretted? How do you come to terms with that? Generally, I don’t make business decisions lightly. I try to consider as many angles as realistically possible, and would give careful thought before coming to a decision. I believe any well-thought-of decision is better than no-decision. I personally don’t believe in regretting business decisions. That’s not to say that we’ve made 100% perfect decisions in the past. Neither does that mean that we have not made mistakes. Rather, my point is once a decision is made and once we have carried out a plan, there is really no point in regretting it. I believe sometimes you make the right decision, at other times you make the decision right! In other words, if we make a call, we are committed to see things through and be responsible for the decision. I believe fear of regrets hinders the decision-making process. Failing doesn’t mean that we’ve failed, it just means that we haven’t found a way to succeed yet. We will get there (eventually) if we persevere. I’ve learnt from many mistakes in the past, and will continue to keep improving as I believe learning is a lifelong process.

GIANT 2017 –

Enhanced And Simplified New capabilities allow users of any skill level to unearth insights in their data.

usionex launched its GIANT 2017 platform at its headquarters in Petaling Jaya on June 1. The enhanced Big Data Analytics (BDA) platform is the latest addition to Fusionex GIANT and boasts all-new search-driven analytics capabilities that allow users of any skill level to unearth insights in their data. Using an intuitive and easy-to-use search function, users can simply key in requests and GIANT will deliver the analysed results. Dato’ Seri Ivan Teh, Fusionex CEO said, “Today’s announcement marks a milestone for Fusionex as we push the boundaries of how data can be analysed and extracted by anyone. This will revolutionise the way businesses use data in the future as it with a simple request; they will be able to discover complex insights into their data.” The platform is able to understand user queries and immediately churn data insights using the natural language processing (NLP). NLP capability is an artificial intelligent (AI) component that businesses will now be able to leverage on to gain leverage over their competitors. “With AI capabilities, enterprises will be able to reach out to their customers with more comprehensive insights that were easily retrieved in a short period of time. “Time is of essence in a data driven consumer world, where trends and customer needs change rapidly. Businesses need their data analysed faster and easier and Fusionex will now be able to provide these capabilities,” said Teh. “Where self-service analytics capabilities and data integration is concerned, availability of skilled resources is a common roadblock to

BDA initiatives among APEJ (Asia Pacific excluding Japan) organisations. “This is where Fusionex GIANT’s offerings stand to add tangible value,” said Chwee Chua, AVP, Analytics, Big Data and Cognitive Systems research in IDC Asia/Pacific. “The barriers of artificial intelligence, machine and deep learning are rapidly dropping. As such, cognitive systems, the likes of Fusionex GIANT’s natural language processing capabilities, will soon be powering data-driven applications across a wide spectrum of solutions. “This new generation of tools and capabilities is capable of offering intelligent assistance, advice, and recommendations to end users; thus enhancing their competitive edge or supplementing information for better decision making,” said Chwee. Fusionex GIANT 2017 will give nontechnical users the ability to crunch petabytes of corporate data without the need for lengthy technical trainings. The powerful analytics capabilities

of GIANT will enable users to forecast future trends and confidently make data-backed decisions and enjoy an increased rate of accuracy in inventory management, personnel deployment, energy consumption, route planning, and much more. With deeper and more meaningful insights, users will now be able to compare, contrast, and seek out minute correlations which might have escaped the naked eye. These insights are then translated to data-driven decisions, aimed at increasing operational efficiency and organisational revenue, as well as achieving a greater understanding of market movements and customer behaviour. With a much richer visualisation palette – charts graphs, dials, heat maps and more – are automatically selected by the system to best present data concerning making comparisons, drilling down from worldwide to regional, country, and city data, and chronological displays.

(L-R): Chen Keat Ming (Fusionex VP, Marketing); James Martin (Fusionex Programme Director); Dato’ Seri Ivan Teh (Fusionex Managing Director); Raju Chellam (Fusionex VP, New Technologies); James Houng (Fusionex Senior VP, Solutions Development).

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Feature

The Only Way Is Up Eversendai Corporation Bhd Executive Chairman and Group Managing Director Tan Sri A.K. Nathan shares his bumpy road in leading his organisation to become a reputable global turnkey contractor.

s part of MRCA’s annual event calendar, the glittery CEO Night is one of the most important ones. Established 10 years ago, the event offers a rare opportunity for staff of member companies to hear from captains of the industry. This year, more than 700 participants were lucky to have Eversendai’s Tan Sri A.K. Nathan to share his road to success. Eversendai was first established in 1984. Today, it is recognised as a global leader in turnkey contracts, delivering high-rise buildings, power plants, and oil & gas upstream and downstream. The company has 10 regional offices with a workforce of 15,000, an enviable list of more than 300 highprofile projects in 15 countries and seven fabrication facilities with an annual

capacity of 234,000 tonnes. Like Rome, Eversendai’s achievements did not materialise in a day. Before the main man took to the stage, MRCA President Dato’ Garry Chua was invited to give his welcoming speech at the E-City Hotel in Subang Jaya. “We have been very fortunate to have been able to host various leaders over the years, AirAsia, Pemandu, Sunway, Berjaya, Top Glove and many more. The founders of these organisations were generous in opening up their schedule to speak to our members, sharing the ups and downs, and challenges in business. “Modern CEOs come with different leadership styles, some innovate, motivate, and some inspire. Success also means differently for different leaders, depending on level of achievement,

A group photo with Eversendai’s CEO Tan Sri A.K. Nathan.

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maturity, wisdom, comfort zone and spirituality. “Some of the most exemplary CEOS not only make the most, but also give the most. On the local front, the pioneer in ‘giving’ would be (Tan Sri) Jeffrey Cheah and his foundation. “To sum it up, like Aristotle said, educating the mind and not educating the heart, is no education at all. A good mind should have a kind and generous heart as well,” he said. Before Tan Sri Nathan took to the stage, PEMANDU CEO Dato’ Sri Idris Jala and Media Prima’s Datuk Ahmad Izham Omar “hijacked” the band to play two sets. Dato’ Sri Idris showed off his guitar skills and vocals while Datuk Izham replaced the keyboardist. Their performance thrilled the crowd to no end.

Q&A Session. From left: Tan Sri Datuk Danny Ooi, Dato’ Garry Chua and Tan Sri A.K. Nathan.

PEMANDU CEO Dato’ Sri Idris Jala showed off his guitar skills and vocals.

Persistence Is Key Before leading Eversendai to a record year with a RM2 billion revenue target for 2017, Tan Sri Nathan was a young man of humble means. But through sheer determination, self-realisation and persistence, he went on to complete the structure for the Burj al-Arab, Dubai’s crown jewel, that opened its doors in 1999. Now it stands third tallest in the world. “Who would’ve ever thought a Malaysian with a humble beginning would go on to build the tallest and largest structure in the world at that time,” he said. “In a meeting with international engineers and top execs, they didn’t quite believe a Malaysian company can do the job. But after showcasing our methodology and capabilities, they were amazed and I got the job.” When he was 15, his family sent him to India for studies but sadly, he was forced to return to Malaysia at 20. His

father met with a devastating accident, cutting short young Nathan’s education. However, his burning desire to succeed came months before returning to Malaysia. “Due to my family’s financial constraints, I had to subsist on a meal a day for months when I was still in India, waiting to return home. It was really tough. Deep down I told myself I have to get into business and be successful.” Not knowing quite what to do, he ventured into a printing business in India. He joined a printing company to learn the trade. He felt he must know the technical intricacies of the business. When he returned to Malaysia, he went to work for a printing press as a machine operator in Segambut for half a year. “The salesmen in that company said I had better potential of being in sales, rather than getting all dirty as a machine operator. They instilled some confidence in me and I went on to become an insurance salesman for AIA.

“One of the key take away from this is, what made me who I am today is my self-realisation.”

Stumbled Into Construction In 1982 He had no knowledge in engineering or technical expertise that one would expect a head of a successful turnkey contractor to have. But that didn’t stop him from banging down doors to secure work. He credited his employees and clients, from whom he learnt the tricks of the trade inside and out; not discounting his hard work. In the early days, he had to do A to Z, including writing proposals, accounting, procurement and so on. Later when Eversendai was formed two years on, Tan Sri Nathan benefited from Malaysia’s Look East policy. There he worked with Japanese clientele who taught him their core philosophy on work.

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Director General of Tourism Malaysia ( seated centre) Datuk Seri Mirza Mohammad Taiyab was among the invited guests at the CEO Night 2017.

No building was ever built in a day. He didn’t hit the big time immediately. The company’s reputation was built over time but his big break came when Malaysia wanted to build the Petronas Twin Towers. “When I didn’t get the first tower, I was demoralised. But I remembered there was still the second one. Of course, it didn’t fall on my lap. Apparently, the management had decided to award the project to someone else. But it wasn’t finalised yet. He went to see them more than a dozen times where he was spoke to harshly. But his persistence paid off when they gave him a chance to present his company’s portfolio. “I suggested they follow me to Singapore to see the project I was working on at that time, so they could evaluate and see for themselves. I said I would drive. Of course, I made detours to the KL Tower we were working on and the fabrication facility. Since they were stuck with me, they had no choice but to follow. “They were impressed with what we had done in Singapore. After rounds of discussion, we got the contract.” Eversendai was contracted to carry out fabrication and erection of steel

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Datuk Wira (Dr) Ameer Ali Mydin of Mydin Mohamed Holdings Bhd (left) was among the guests at the CEO Night 2017.

structure for Tower 2, followed by the sky bridge that connects the two. That was the turning point. After Tower 2, he said it paved the way to the Middle East market where the company did structural steel erection works for Burj al-Arab, Emirates Towers, Etihad Tower, New Doha International Airport as well as Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.

‘There’s No Secret’ Many have asked him about his secrets to success, especially him not being an engineer and have never been to a university. “I’m just a human being like the rest of you. There’s no secret. The only thing is I use my brain more than others. If someone says it can’t be done, I think very hard about how to get it done. I’m a go-getter, don’t give up and when I set

my mind to do something, I make sure it is done.” Again he reiterated his Japanese clientele taught him three basic philosophies. “They didn’t just tell me. I learnt it the hard way, from my mistakes, scoldings and going through a lot of pain. “First, don’t deviate from compliance. Compliance to safety, conformance to quality and adherence to time schedule are very important. Even today, I check on quality when I visit the fabrication facilities. “For the last 30-odd years, Eversendai has never missed a delivery date.” For all his success in the Middle East, the company doesn’t have a marketing and business development division for that region as work pours in by the strength of Eversendai’s reputation. “We are invited to bid for the jobs, more often that not we get the job. It’s not because we’re the cheapest, in fact, we charge premium pricing. Clients believe Eversendai is able to deliver the job with no-nonsense and they can rest easy. “We are flying the Malaysian flag very high in the Middle East.”

Eversendai Recognised As Largest Multinational Steel Fabricator n 25 May, the Malaysia Book of Records awarded Eversendai Corporation Berhad as the Largest Multinational Steel Fabricator at the 10th edition of the Malaysia Retail Chain Association (MRCA) CEO Night 2017, at the E-City Hotel, Subang Jaya. Receiving the award on behalf of Eversendai is Tan Sri A.K. Nathan, its Executive Chairman and Group Managing Director, after his keynote speech on global expansion frontiers for Malaysia to inspiring entrepreneurs and MRCA members. The award was presented by Malaysia Book of Records chief operating officer Christopher Wong. Tan Sri Nathan is a prominent figure in local and global high-rise structural steelwork industry, especially in the Middle East. He transformed Eversendai from a modest structural steel erection specialist in Malaysia into one of the world’s leading integrated structural steel turnkey contractor. To-date, it has 10 regional offices with a workforce of 15,000, an impressive portfolio of more than 300 accomplished projects in 15 countries and seven fabrication facilities with an annual capacity of 234,000 tonnes.

“If you want to do a business or anything else for that matter, you must have the technical knowledge. Going through that process of difficulty, I came to a lot of self-realisation. That’s the time that ignited my desire to become successful and the only way I knew how was to venture into business,” he said. Dato’ Garry Chua, President of MRCA, believes that such information sharing will benefit the audience, comprising mostly members cum entrepreneurs, tremendously. Audience will also get valuable insights to the challenges and opportunities in the entrepreneur

world by the keynote speaker especially on holding their stance in the global market. Since its inception in 2007, the MRCA CEO Night has provided avenues for business leaders and the like to listen and gain insights from Malaysia’s best and most acclaimed CEOs of various industries such as Dato’ Idris Jala, Tan Sri Vincent Tan and Tan Sri Dr Lim Wei Chai. MRCA CEO Night is proudly presented by Gintell, and in association with MRCA Corporate Patrons – Maxis, Maybank, Mastercard, Fusionex, and Quill Automobiles.

Tan Sri Nathan received a certificate from Malaysia Book of Records COO Christopher Wong while Dato’ Garry Chua and Dato’ Sri Idris Jala looked on.

MRCA’s top brass were all smiles after Tan Sri Nathan’s rousing speech.

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Dato’ Garry Chua presenting a token of appreciation to Tekreth Samrach, Cambodia Secretary of State.

Delegation enjoying their dinner on a cruise ship.

President of Malaysia Business Council of Cambodia, Teh Sing, receiving a token of appreciation from Dato’ Garry Chua.

MRCA delegation having discussion with Tekreth Samrach, at his office.

A birthday celebration.

Exploring Cambodia and Vietnam MRCA delegates join ASEAN Business Community representatives to visit the two countries, exploring retail opportunities.

ambodia is one of the most potential developing market in Southeast Asia, attracting many foreign investors to conduct business in the country. Its economy grew at average over 8% in the last 12 years, mainly driven by the garment sector, construction, agriculture, and tourism. Just last year, the Asian Development Bank called Cambodia, “Asia’s new tiger economy.” The country’s GDP is expected to grow at least 7% this year, according to the bank. Services, the second biggest contributor to growth, grew by an estimated 7.1%. The finance,

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transport and communications sectors all grew by about 8%, and tourist arrivals rose by 6.1% in 2015. Meanwhile in Vietnam, economic growth has been increasing since 2011, while inflation has remained in single digits. Wellbalanced macroeconomic policies have helped restore stability and investor confidence. Despite uncertainties in the global environment, Vietnam’s economy remains resilient. The country’s medium-term outlook remains favourable, with GDP expanding by 6% in 2016, while the country’s fundamental drivers of growth –

ASEAN Business Community representatives with Dato’ Garry.

resilient domestic demand and export oriented manufacturing – remain in force. Its GDP growth is projected to be 6.5% in 2017 and 6.7% in 2018. Seeing that the ease of doing business has improved and with the launch of the ASEAN Business Community, MRCA was invited to meet its peers for association members to look into taking their ideas and solutions to the two neighbouring countries. The five-day trip, from 23-27 April, saw delegates visiting government officials, business associations, popular malls, among others.

President of Malaysia Business Council of Cambodia, Teh Sing

Dato’ Garry Chua presenting a token of appreciation to Dato’ Theng Bee Han, President of Malaysia Business Vietnam. With them is Dato’ KK Chai, Vice President, MRCA.

A briefing at a shopping mall.

A group photo after the briefing at the shopping mall.

CAMBODIA Among the malls, MRCA delegates visited was the AEON Mall in the capital city Phnom Penh. It was learnt that China is planning to build the biggest mall in the Cambodia, so retail opportunities are ripe for the taking. To further understand government policies and directions, the delegates were at the office of its Secretary of State Tekreth Samrach. It was a fruitful meeting as delegates were able to get first-hand information on the country’s economic direction while government officials gained understanding on the challenges foreign companies might face. Later, there were presentations by real estate giant CBRE Cambodia, corporate services Crowe Horwath (KH) Ltd, RHB Indochina Bank and law firm SokSiphana & Associates (a member of ZICOlaw in Cambodia). The Malaysia Business Council of Cambodia hosted a networking dinner. The following morning the delegates were taken on a city tour to get a taste of Phnom Penh, inspiring them to explore opportunities here. In the afternoon, the group flew to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

VIETNAM The following morning, MRCA delegates had an early start with back-to-back meetings with CIMB Bank, Deloitte and MATRADE. Each of these organisations had given the delegates a clear picture of what doing business in the country would entail, from the financial, legal and trade perspective. After lunch, the delegates were taken on a tour of three popular malls in the city – Takashimaya Vietnam, SC Vivocity and RomeA Centre. Here they saw how the retail industry has flourished the years, while allowing for more to be done. Later that night, the delegates were treated to a networking session at Club Royale, hosted by the Malaysia Business Chamber Vietnam. MRCA delegates had the opportunity to meet Malaysian business owners in the country who shared their challenges and growth. Getting first-hand information from those who tasted success in Vietnam is a valuable experience the delegates are thankful for. Organising chairman for the trip, Dato’ KK Chai, Vice President of MRCA, said, “It was a memorable and successful trip that benefitted the delegation.”

“Cambodia has great potential for MRCA members because of its strong annual GDP growth for the past two decades, bolstered by low corporate tax of 20%, young and dynamic labour force, open economy, no capital control and favourable preferential trading status with many countries. “As for the challenges, you have to be here for the long haul. One may be caught in new laws or government decrees that could affect your working capital and bottom line. For the retail sector, smuggling is still a problem. The borders are porous where parallel imports are rampant. “However, the ASEAN Business Community has succeeded in continuously bringing in trade groups. Our association in Cambodia is a conduit for Malaysian businesses to meet and share and exchange business experiences “This is especially useful for new Malaysian investors. We organise many business meetings with government agencies to facilitate Malaysian businesses.”

President of Malaysia Business Chamber Vietnam, Dato’ Theng Bee Han The Chamber is a nongovernmental, not-for-profit, non-political organisation, with the objective to bring Malaysians together from diverse businesses, to promote and enhance personal and professional development and engage in community service initiatives. Established in August 2000 to assist Malaysians with valuable contacts in the community and build stronger business relationships with the Vietnam authorities and other foreign companies. It is an excellent platform for its members to meet and exchange ideas, information and expertise.

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Group photo after the presentation.

MRCA Gains Foothold In Johor The establishing of a southern chapter is becoming a reality, thanks to efforts by many supportive businesses in the state.

ack in August last year, MRCA’s top executives and active members took a two-day trip to Johor in an effort to start a southern chapter. The setting up of the chapter is part of MRCA President Dato’ Garry Chua’s plan to push the association’s reach. The delegation visited various areas that were undergoing massive development as well as meeting influential heads of companies that are headquartered in the southern state. After the official visit, there were a lot of behind the scenes work to get the recruitment going. After nearly a year of hard work, great beginnings are coming to fruition. An MRCA delegation led by Dato’ Garry visited Johor again in early June to officially get things going. Upon reaching Johor, the delegation witnessed a soft launch of WoW Couture, a brand brought in by fellow member company to AEON Tebrau City. Amid the mall’s bright lights and a slew of local celebrities, the MRCA delegation

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were delighted to help officiate the auspicious event. One of the highlight of the first day was a dinner and networking session hosted by UMLand Bhd at one of its hotel, Amari Johor Bahru. Representatives of more than 80 companies joined the delegation to kickstart the southern chapter. The night started with a welcome speech by the Organising Chairman of

the southern chapter, Michael Liew of Marrybrown. He shared a committee helming the chapter would announced this year. It was followed by a speech by Azlan Salim, Senior Manager of UMLand, who thanked MRCA for the opportunity to play host. He also presented retail and commercial development plans UMLand has for Johor. Soon, it was Dato’ Garry’s turn

Dato’ Garry Chua with some of the attendees.

Having a hearty meal.

to take to the stage. He strongly encouraged companies in the southern region to join the association, saying, “MRCA is able to be the bridge between the retail industry and policymakers. “We have a good working relationship with various ministries and government bodies. By joining MRCA, we can help to highlight any issues our members face to the relevant authorities. This continuous engagement has helped us identify and resolve challenges involving the retail and franchise businesses. “The association is also a good place to start enhancing network. Our growing number of members are there to help each other in terms of resources. The younger business owners can stand a chance to meet captains of industry such as Marrybrown, Nelson’s and more to learn from them. Moreover, members can also learn from each other on many topics as the industry continues to evolve.

Dato’ Garry Chua presenting a plaque to Marrybrown Founder and Chairman Dato’ Lawrence Liew.

“Not forgetting, MRCA members enjoy talks, seminars and more which are claimable under HRDF (Human Resource Development Fund). This will benefit staff training and progressively development which in turn benefit your company,” said Dato’ Garry. The last speech was by MRCA Vice-President Shirley Tay of Sunrider International (M) Sdn Bhd. She outlined the association’s history and activities past and soon to come. She also shared information on business trips overseas that are available to members, as well as their visit to Penang and Ipoh in hopes of forming a northern chapter. As the night goes on, guests were feted to a buffet dinner in the hotel. Most importantly, Dato’ Garry presented a plaque to Marrybrown Founder and Chairman Dato’ Lawrence Liew, making his appointment as President’s Advisor (Southern Chapter) official.

Dato’ Garry Chua addressing the attendees.

Azlan Salim, Senior Manager of UMLand receiving a token of appreciation from Dato’ Garry Chua.

Dato Joshua Liew, CEO of Marrybrown and Datin Nancy with Wayne Lunt, General Manager of Amari Johor Baru.

Shirley Tay, MRCA Vice President shared information on the association’s history and activities.

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Making A WOW Impression Los Angeles fashion brand opens first outlet in Johor Bahru.

OW Couture, a US based online fashion brand that counts celebrities such as Mariah Carey as its customer, recent opened its first retail outlet at Aeon Tebrau City in Johor Bahru last week. Until recently, the brand was only available online, but now, it found a partner in Ad Vogue Enterprise Sdn Bhd which is bringing the brand to Asia with Malaysia being its first stop. As a stepping point, it will be targeting shoppers from Johor and Singapore with its brick-and-mortar outlet. It held a soft launch in mid June, in conjunction with a visit from the MRCA entourage, who were there to see to the setting up of the association’s southern chapter. MRCA President Dato’ Garry Chua and MRCA delegates were at the outlet to offer support to their fellow member. Aside from MRCA delegates, the launch was attended by celebrities such as Amber Chia and special guests from Hong Kong and Taiwan. The brand’s entry into Asia is a significant one as online retail brands are seeing value in investing in omnichannel options outside of their home countries. WOW Couture outfits are designed to fit women of all ages and sizes, placing emphasis on natural curves. One of its signature pieces is the Bandage Dress,

Dato’ Garry Chua with guests & celebrities including Amber Chia (left).

a sexy tight-fitting style that will add pizazz to your nights out, whether to important evening occasions or just out having a good time. WOW’s dresses are known to have plunging necklines and cool cut-outs to lure those who love to experiment with fashion. One can also opt for bodycon dresses, rompers, jumpsuits, bodysuits, party dresses, evening gowns and so on. The products are expertly cut by a design team known as fashion innovators worldwide. WOW Couture is also available online at www.wowcouture.asia. Soon, the brand will have a second second retail outlet in Klang Valley.

(From left) Edison Choon, Adelina Chan, Dato’ Garry Chua, Nicholas Chong & James Bak.

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WOW Couture at AEON Tebrau City.

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How A Business Pivot Worked For GINTELL Founder and Managing Director Dato’ Goh Cheh Yak shares the how a change in direction turned his organisation into of the leading brands in Malaysia.

INTELL (M) Sdn Bhd wasn’t always the recognisable household name for massage chairs that counted international celebrities as brand ambassadors. In fact, it wasn’t even called GINTELL when Dato’ Goh Cheh Yak started his own business in the ‘90s. When met at his headquarters in Bandar Sri Damansara, the affable boss was adamant we had Chinese tea before diving headlong into the interview. His office is filled with trophies and certificates his company was awarded over the years. While he was quick to put us at ease, there were a number of calls desperate for his attention, no doubt about important business decisions he had to make on a daily basis. Dato’ Goh shared he finished schooling without a plan or aspiration to run his own business. Taking up a position as a salesman, he had to earn every cent by going door to door peddling sewing machine, televisions, refrigerators, washing machines and etc. But circumstances chartered Dato’ Goh’s his path to entrepreneurship when he was 28. It started with Intelljaya. He had an outlet in Sungei Wang Plaza, Kuala Lumpur. “I took stock from a lot of brands but I didn’t have any company branding. All the branding I had was from the products itself. Initially business was all right but as technology evolved, so did the demand for my products,” he said. Soon, he found the company would not survive for long since many of his products would be rendered obsolete in a few years’ time. His problems were also compounded by the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997.

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Going Niche Many times retailers look to diversify their product portfolio. But for Intelljaya, it was the opposite. Dato’ Goh found he had too many products and a company without a strong branding. Intelljaya hung in there until 2003. As the economy improved, so did the appetite for healthcare products. On March 28, 2003, Intelljaya was rebranded as GINTELL, with a focus on healthcare products such as massage chairs and treadmills and even changing the look of its outlets to reflect the new direction. “Back then massage chairs were luxury items, each priced very high as they were made in Japan. They were out of reach for the middle income class. I found it to be an opportunity waiting to be seized. Besides healthcare products will serve us well in the long term as society becomes more health conscious. “I bought in more affordable ones that were manufactured in Taiwan, for us. I’d like to think we were lucky to survive until today. Most of the big boys in the early days had fizzled out or switched to other line of products, especially in Malaysia.” His sharp business acumen saw that the imported products were not quite hitting the sweet spot for Malaysians after a while. In 2006, GNINTELL invested in having its own designers while keeping manufacturing overseas. With this pivot, Dato’ Goh poured the company’s profits into branding exercises. He felt very strongly about it, correcting his misstep with Intelljaya. “Advertising is not enough. GINTELL invested a lot in staff training and after sales service so customers can truly experience our products in our

outlets. Also we began investing more than RM10 million into marketing and branding efforts, especially with the first bank note acceptor Vending Massage Chairs stations called “Rest N Go”. They were first placed at most of the shopping malls, airports, transportation hub and anywhere with significant foot traffic. It also enable the public to enjoy and experience sitting on our vending massage chair at anywhere and anytime. “We don’t profit financially having these massage chairs in these areas. The fee is to just cover part of the maintenance cost. More importantly, we want the public to experience what a massage chair can do.” Currently there are more than 6,500 units of such vending massage chairs across Malaysia and over 2,500 in “Rest N Go” stations in Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Brunei and Philippines.

Combating The Soft Economy GINTELL has embarked on various marketing efforts to weather the cutback on consumer spending for the last few years. “Most retailers were hit badly when GST was implemented in April 2015 and the impact of the depreciating Ringgit”. Luckily for us, we were able to bring in new innovative Sofa chairs with massage function at affordable pricing and that products did well with the public. The demand for this massage items is still here to stay. In addition, GINTELL is confident consumer spending will pick up, especially for healthcare products. The company recently introduced the DéSpace UFO massage chair priced at RM25,000. Dato’ Goh assured us

“Most retailers were hit badly when GST was implemented in 2014. Luckily for us, we were able to bring in smaller massage related products that did well with the public.”

this model is currently the best in the market, hence its price. We had a chance to try the massage chair, and it was definitely an out of the world experience. Despite that, GINTELL is not sitting comfortable enjoying success. “We launch two or three products each year. The market has become so competitive that we need to address market demand quickly. When we first started a model can sustain sales for two to three years, but it doesn’t work that way now. “In every year, GINTELL will invest

more than RM3 million in research and development of new products. So our R&D and design team and supply chain play a very important role in ensuring we meet the product launching dates,” he said. Dato’ Goh might have stumbled his way into entrepreneurship but he has been steering his company with a decisive hand. There are “15 years expansion plans” in place, not just in Malaysia but the ASEAN region and in a decade or so – Asia. He revealed a possible listing exercise might come to fruition as well.

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Overseas Success XeerSoft’s CEO Wong Wai Kit shares his company’s expansion in Thailand and its focus in Malaysia.

efore becoming an internationally recognised software solutions and services provider, XeerSoft CEO Wong Wai Kit, who has a keen interest in numbers and technology, started a small IT business in Malacca in 1990. For a mere RM500, he wrote a programme to help a traditional Chinese medicine business with its inventory. More and more projects came his way, due to his way with concepts and numbers, which made his programmes unique and encompassing in nature. However, XeerSoft didn’t come about until 2002. Wanting to take it his vision and abilities to the next level, Wong invited investors from Thailand and Japan. “Xeer” is a play on “seer”, and “soft” denotes the company’s hybrid IT solutions. It also points to Wong’s futurist mindset. With his Thai investors, XeerSoft in 2005 began to offering customised IT solutions to education clients. Over the years, the company has built a solid reputation in the Land of Smiles, which led to the building of its headquarters. Situated in the heart of Bangkok, the six-storey office also provides training for tertiary students in IT software, accounting and more.

Retail Solutions While its aggressive expansion is ongoing in Thailand, Wong and his company didn’t forget their home country. Now, spending more time to develop his solutions and business in Malaysia, the CEO has big plans, starting with reaching out to the education industry, retailers and SMEs.

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XeerSoft CEO Wong Wai Kit

Among its solutions that are popular in Malaysia, are related to accounting, HR and payroll, inventory, GST, middleware, and more interestingly, its Total Online Retail System. Its retail solution for higher visibility of retail businesses, empowers control from any locations as well as flexibility of implementation coupled with support and training. One can choose to have the entire suite or just modules such as XeerSoft WebPOS, web-based F&B POS system, WebEDI, purchasing with Auto Ordering System, Membership System and Loyalty Program with Voucher Security Management, consolidation of accounts in multiple stores with multiple company names and more. Business owners can access those information on their phone/tablet via a mobile app or a browser on the computer. Retailers can make informed decision with instant inventory reports from multiple locations, customised pricing and promotions, eliminate redundancies, posting of POS transactions to accounting, ABC analysis, e-payment and more. His product team will analyse clients’ internal and external processes to ensure their solutions are customised for each organisation and departments. The wonderful flexibility and deep level of personalisation have been XeerSoft’s edge over its competition.

Building A Legacy In the near future, Wong hopes to be able to have partnerships with at least 100 universities and colleges in Malaysia to adopt his accounting solutions as part of the syllabus. Aside from nurturing young talents to use his innovative solutions, he hopes they can also be his unofficial ambassadors when they join the workforce after graduation. Wong’s foresight and investment value in this is a long-term measure in ensuring XeerSoft’s legacy. In fact, an internship at his company is highly sought-after. He only takes in 100 interns a year and only hires 10 of those, sometimes less. It is highly

Mr Wong Wai Kit, CEO, (left) and Mr Thanin Apithorn, co-founder, of XeerSoft.

““Xeer” is a play on “seer”, and “soft” denotes the company’s hybrid IT solutions.” ~ XeerSoft CEO Wong Wai Kit

sought-after not just because of the company’s ongoing cutting-edge IT development, but also its flexible work hours, benefits and corporate culture. Housed mainly in a nondescript shoplot in Taman Shamelin Perkasa, Cheras, one can’t tell that an innovative organisation has made it is HQ in Malaysia. The company also have offices in Malacca and Johor Bahru. All

in all, it has more than 100 employees in Malaysia. Employees at XeerSoft enjoy myriads of benefits such as office trips, yoga lessons, gym and even clubhouse facilities at a luxury condo just five minutes away. The company bought two units that serve as hostel for employees coming from overseas. The staff can go for a swim at the infinity pool and we hear, the badminton court is popular too. Wong even holds meetings and discussions at the clubhouse, just for a change of scenery. He believes in nurturing the young talent he hired so they are able to do their best at his organisation. In addition, fostering healthy competition is important too. Ad hoc creativity contest are held with redemption coupons to be won. There is a roster of prizes that can be redeemed. With this, it is no surprise that employee turnover is extremely low while morale and positive mindset run high.

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Asia’s Property Darling Up close and personal with Dr Renesial Leong and her informative workshops on property investments.

o her adoring fans, she’s their shepherd – imparting wisdom on property investments – and a dream they like to emulate. Her workshop participants and her fiercest supporters are hoping “never to work again”, in a conventional sense. Incidentally, that is also her tagline. However, that might not necessarily be true. Asia’s Queen of Property Dr Renesial Leong did not have it easy. She often shares tales of her humble beginnings, especially how it inspired her to look for ways to improve her family’s livelihood. She worked three jobs to save up enough money to purchase her very first property for investment purposes. Like the saying goes, the rest is history, but not without some bumps on the road. Her moniker didn’t come immediately though. She was looking for books and guides on property investments and come up short. Back in the day, there were none. Well, she decided to publish her own. “My first draft was nearly 1,000 pages long. My dad, being a teacher, said who is gonna read something so long. It wouldn’t make sense. So painstakingly we worked on it together, fine tuning the draft from midnight to 3am, after I’m done with work. “Serendipitously, I met a influential news editor. I boldly asked him to have a look at the draft. He told me I can make a lot of money from the knowledge I have. It was him who gave me the title ‘Asia’s Queen of Property’. I have him to thank for that,” said Dr Leong, when met at a seminar in late April. During her seminars and talks, she displays a sense of showmanship, backed up with ample research, numbers and uncanny understanding of the economics of property. She doesn’t

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Dr Renesial addressing the audience.

endorse or sell any particular developer or project but allows the audience to come to their own conclusions what they can afford to do. Over the years, she has published five books that are outselling its print run every time. Her seminars now are for charity. The fees she collects at the door are donated to charity organisations of her choice, living up to a personal promise she would help others when she has achieved success. These days she spends her time travelling, partly to oversee her properties around the world and playing tourist too.

Insights On Retail Development It is no secret that the Malaysia is facing a glut in retail space. Too many malls and commercial projects being developed and launch at the same time, right in the midst of a soft economy.

“There are some malls who are not doing so well and if you have signed on for an outlet or more, then you will need to figure out how to turn it into something profitable. For example, the tenants can get together to discuss with the mall owners, management and so on to rebrand it into experiential shopping centres; instead of just subscribe to the ‘build and they will come’ mentality. “You should not just complain about how things are not working out. Instead, try something out of the box, besides what is there to lose?” She also said retailers should have a look at case studies of malls overseas, especially those that were not doing well, and take a page from what they did to repurpose or redevelop the place. For details on her seminars, visit www.property-queen.com.

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Legal Eagle Flies High Datoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Dr Manjit Singh has 35 years of legal practice under his belt, specialising in corporate law, conveyancing, litigation and intellectual property. He is also MRCAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s legal adviser since 1992.

What are some of the legal issues retailers could find themselves in? The most common ones retailers face are the Goods and Services Tax, Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Regulations 2016, Personal Data Protection Act 2010, employment of foreign workers, tenancy and leasing of the retail premises, borrowings, rising cost in retail space and now, online marketing and sale of products or services.

What about pitfalls typically faced by the franchise industry? Many potential franchisees think opting for a franchise business is an easy way to start a business but they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t look at the skills it takes to succeed. Most important is franchisees must fully understand the contract they are entering into.

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Just like purchasing any other business, it is important franchisees are focused on issues such as, what is expected of them, what are the probable expected profits, what would be the break-even point, future cash flow requirements, will I achieve a good return on capital, and so on. Meanwhile franchisors must give full support and training, informing franchisees of industry pitfalls to avoid. The failure by the franchisees to appreciate these details will lead to them acting on their own in running the business as they want it and fail to follow the franchise system.

Does Malaysia have adequate laws to protect consumers and retailers? Malaysia do have adequate laws to protect both. Some of the applicable laws include the Consumer Protection

Act 1999, Price Control and AntiProfiteering (Mechanism to Determine Unreasonably High Profit for Goods) Regulations 2016 (2017 Regulations) and Personal Data Protection Act 2010. Malaysia does not have a comprehensive and general statute on product liability until the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act 1999. Before that, the law on product safety in Malaysia was found in several legislation dealing with specific products such as Sale of Drugs Act 1952 and the Control of Drugs, Cosmetics Regulations 1984, Poisons Act 1952 and Pesticides Act 1974. The law on product liability was expressed in the law of contracts, the common law principles of the tort of negligence, and several statutes, the most important of which is the Sale of Goods Act 1957. Both common law and statute provide different rights

29 of compensation for loss or damage caused by goods to different classes of people. For a claim based on contractual or statutory liability, only the immediate party to the contract can claim compensation and other affected persons has no right to claim. The Consumer Protection Act 1999 has provided a general law on products safety aimed at those areas not already covered by the specific statutes. It is a legislation enacted with the main objective to provide greater protection for consumers. Under the Act, consumer rights granted cannot be taken away notwithstanding conditions in any agreement. As a consumer, you have the right to all the products and services of daily basic needs including food, clothing, health, education etc. A consumer is protected from products, services and manufacturing processes that may expose a consumer health and life to danger. The Consumer Protection Act 1999 was amended in 2010 by the Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2010 which inserted into the Act Part IIIA entitled â&#x20AC;&#x153;Unfair Contract Termsâ&#x20AC;?. Where certain contractual terms were considered to be procedurally or substantively unfair, it would be at risk of being declared unenforceable or void. The addition of Part IIIA is a welcome move but the situation on the ground is still far from perfect.

What are the processes a retailer goes through to register their IP? Essentially there are three stages for registration of IP for trademarks. The first stage is where a trademark search is being conducted to ascertain whether an identical/similar mark has been filed or registered at the Registry of Trademark. Should the search report reveal an identical mark or a very similar mark has been filed/registered it is advisable for the retailer not to proceed with filing an application as the likelihood of a rejection by the Registrar is very high. In situation where no identical/ similar mark has been filed or registered, the retailer may proceed with the second stage which is the trademark application stage. The

I am very fortunate I grew up in Chow Kit Road near Jalan Raja Laut and Tiong Nam where I had the opportunity of picking up these Chinese dialects.

What benefits can retailer reap from registering the IP for their products? Any registered IP rights whether trademarks, copyright, patents or industrial design rights be it in products or services will set any retail business apart from competitors. Any registered IP right may be sold or licensed, providing monetary benefit and revenue and offer customers something new and different and form an essential part of retailers marketing or branding and can prevent infringement and copying. Further when you sell your business the IP rights bring added value to the sale value of the business.

Do local retailers and franchise companies adhere closely to the Malaysian employment law?

applied trademark with the respective Intellectual Property Office will be examined by the Intellectual Property Office for compliance with the Trade Marks Act. Lastly upon examination and full compliance of the Trade Marks Act the mark will be approved for gazetting and advertisement and the Certificate of Registration will be issued subsequently on the condition that there is no opposition taken against the retailerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s proposed trademark within two months from the date the mark is advertised on the Gazette.

Is IP an area retailers need to pay attention to? Yes, because IP are assets which bring branding, goodwill and additional value to a retail business. It is most important for retailers to protect their IP rights. Registered trademarks owners have the exclusive right to use their marks in trading. They have the rights to take legal action for infringement under the Trade Mark Laws against others who use their marks without consent or licence.

The answer is generally, yes. With the recent Minimum Wages Order 2016, the monthly minimum wages of an employee in Peninsular Malaysia has been increased from RM900 to RM1,000 and for an employee in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan it is increased from RM820 to RM900. However there is room for improvement, especially in the hospitality industry. Like any business, exploitation is inevitable but I have personally come across retailers who pay to enhance the skills of their employees.

You are able to converse in a few Chinese dialects. How has this ability helped you? I am able to converse in Cantonese, Hokkien, Hakka, Mandarin and Teochew dialects. I am very fortunate I grew up in Chow Kit Road near Jalan Raja Laut and Tiong Nam where I had the opportunity of picking up these Chinese dialects. Most Malaysian speaks more than one language. I also converse in Bahasa Malaysia, English, Punjabi, Hindi and fair amount of Tamil. When you converse with any person or businessman in their dialect or language they feel comfortable and do not have any barriers and they treat you as their friends and business partner, you could understand and deal with the issues faced by them. and naturally you are able to enhance your business connectivity and enrich your social life within the

Malaysia Retailer Vol 5 No 3

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Flexibility And Independence With Self-Checkouts Self-checkout counters are popular around the world and now they are coming to Malaysia.

elf-checkout counters are a common sight in Europe and Australia. The NCR Corporation sees a steady increase of these counters: From 191,000 in 2013 to 325,000 by 2019. They are used extensively in supermarkets, hypermarkets, convenience stores and home improvement stores. In Malaysia however, implementation has been low so far. The time is right for that to change, particularly since many of the early hesitations surrounding self-checkouts are no longer valid. One hesitation has been that shoppers don’t like them, but shoppers’ behaviours and preferences have changed over the years. More shoppers want self-service these days. They appreciate the independence that a self-checkout offers them. Studies show that shoppers particularly prefer self-checkouts when they have smaller shopping baskets. A survey done by a hypermarket in Australia found 90% of shoppers aged 18-39 found self-service checkouts easy to use. That number was slightly lower in the 60+ age bracket. There, 50% found self-checkouts easy to use.

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Other concerns have been problems with selling age-restricted goods and complicated processes with goods that must be weighted. But today’s self-checkout technology solves those problems as well.

Making self-checkouts work Personalisation and easy-to use interface is key for making selfcheckouts a success, says Roine Gabrielsson StrongPoint SVP and Managing Director for APAC A StrongPoint study in Europe found that the user interface makes all the difference for shoppers. The icons need to be clear and the navigation must be intuitive. Since self-checkouts are new for both Malaysian retailers and shoppers, training of staff and coaching of customers are necessary. Selfcheckouts are not a replacement for human interactions, Gabrielsson noted. But because self-checkouts are new, they also come with a “wow factor” that opens for new opportunities for personal interaction in the store. StrongPoint’s self-checkout system has a weighting algorithm that enables the system to “learn” and “recognise”

items in a way that makes shopping for those items much easier. This technology also helps prevent theft. The software can display the top 10 items that people tend to buy, giving opportunity for retailers to upsell or “remind” customers to buy these items. The software can be tailored to recognise loyalty cards and provide “soft promotions”, something that further enhances the personalisation abilities of the system. Retailers with existing self-checkout hardware can use the StrongPoint self-checkout software since it can be integrated with the hardware and the POS system. “We have run self-checkout trials at several Malaysian retailers since April. We are excited to be able to bring the opportunities of self-checkouts to retailers and shoppers here,” Gabrielsson said.

Retail has changed a lot since the 1950s. Why do you still let your customers wait in line?

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time to improve your checkout efficiency The checkout is the last possibility you have to affect your customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shopping experience. Make sure your customers remember the visit to your store as pleasant and convenient. StrongPoint knows how to make your lines shorter and your checkout more customer-focused. We analyse your needs and suggest an optimal set-up with different types of cash management equipment and self-checkout solutions to reach your goals. StrongPoint has 25 years of experience helping retailers improve their business and creating efficient checkout solutions.

Scan the code and download our whitepaper to get started with cash management

+603 2773 4096, info.apac@strongpoint.com Tower 2 Etiqa Twins, 11 Jalan Pinang, 50450, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

To achieve its mission and vision, it has identified five key drivers in the company’s operations.

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Helping Consumers Manage Health Ruyi Holdings aims to educate the public on the benefits of cellular therapy.

t the heart of Ruyi Holdings is the desire to enable everyone to live a healthy, happy life. Over the past 15 years, the team has been educating the public about the importance of health; how to manage health through regular screenings such as blood tests, cell checks, and skin and health examinations; and reclaim their youth through cutting-edge cellular therapies. Ruyi Holdings is also supported by a group of international experts – the medical panel has allowed it to continuously improve product quality, enhance corporate image and maintain customer confidence. Through various forms of advertising and promotions, including broadcasts, event sponsorships and the establishment of image stores, the ZÉLL-V brand is elevated. “I sincerely hope Ruyi’s products and services will continue to bring good health and quality life to all. When our cells are rejuvenated, our body will be healthier and we become more energetic, which allows us to do the things that make our life more fulfilling and meaningful. The miracle of ‘Always 25’ begins from cellular rejuvenation,” said Dato’ Sharon Foong, Founder and Managing Director of Ruyi Group of Companies. Ruyi Holdings’ therapeutic cellular therapies is aimed to address issues in ageing, beauty and optimal health. It enhances the quality of life of its customers with science-based health solutions.

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Dato’ Sharon Foong, Founder and Managing Director of Ruyi Group of Companies.

With ZÉLL-V’s excellent quality, services and countless credentials, it has gained much recognition and support from international medical and wellness institutes, associations in regenerative medicine and anti-ageing societies and clinics worldwide. The company has won awards such as Sin Chew Business Excellence Award in Product and Service Quality 2013, Asia Pacific Brands Award 2013, Top Beauty & Wellness (Product) Suppliers In Singapore 2012/2013, Excellence Customer Service Award Malaysia 2012, Singapore Brands Award 2011, and Asia Pacific Top Excellence Brand 2009/2010. Throughout the years, the company has expanded in Malaysia and Singapore with image stores established in premium shopping centres, including Pavilion KL and Marina Bay Sands Singapore. ZÉLL-V is now a global brand with signature stores established in Brunei, Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, Vietnam, Switzerland, Germany and the US.

• Telemarketing Its friendly and professionally trained telemarketers are always ready to provide assistance for call-ins and give the callers a deeper understanding of ZÉLL-V. After-sales services are provided to further educate customers and maintain good relationships, which in turn help to foster customer loyalty. • Premium Branding From the very beginning, Ruyi Holdings has been advertising ZÉLL-V products in newspapers, magazines, billboards and TV stations in Malaysia and Singapore. It has also sponsored various events and established ZÉLL-V flagship stores in premium business locations. With this, the company is able to elevate ZÉLL-V into a premium brand. • Medical Support It works very closely with both local and international medical professionals. With this, it not only enhances the credibility of ZÉLL-V, but also increases the trust of its customers. With the professional support provided by international medical specialists and researchers, it is able to provide cutting-edge information on biotechnology advancement, thus providing customers the latest, most innovative, safest and finest product possible. • Education Through proper education, it has disseminated the knowledge about ZÉLL-V cellular therapy to the public. By providing its employees with proper training, they are able to better guide customers in understanding what the products can do for them. By providing customers with knowledge, it helps them to understand the benefits of cellular therapy. To achieve this, Ruyi Holdings has organised yearly seminars, faceto-face consultations with medical professionals, and other events. • Leadership The employees are the link between the company and the public. As such, by providing leadership to its employees, the company is able to build a close connection with the public and customers.

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Anticipating IT needs of Malaysians Operating two retail brands across the country, SNS Network (M) Sdn Bhd has a reputation of providing excellent service.

comprehensive solutions to Malaysian consumers and businesses.

Retail Brands stablished in 1998 and incorporated in 2000, SNS Network (M) Sdn Bhd is a MSC-status company headquartered in Ipoh, Perak. It also has strategic offices in Perai, Penang and Petaling Jaya In Selangor. SNS Network is also the first company to be awarded Intel Authorized Solution Provider in Perak. Besides being awarded by Intel as Premier Provider since 2000, the company is recognised as Intel Certified Solutions Consultant and Intel Certified Integration Specialist. It also has recognition as Microsoft Gold Certified Partner with expertise of qualified Microsoft Certified System Engineer. Since its establishment, SNS Network has provide great services and solutions to various sectors, consumers, small and medium businesses, education institutions, large corporations and government institutions. It has built up a solid reputation with impressive service records and proven expertise in delivering quality solutions.

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With more than 10 years of outstanding technical expertise and experience, SNS Network delivers proven, flexible solutions that can enable its clients to become more adaptable, responsive, and profitable. Its personnel also assists clients in maximising information resources in order to enhance their competitive advantage. As a leading technology provider with inherent strengths in the provision of scalable ICT solutions, SNS Network is geared to harness its domain-driven and knowledge-based expertise for myriads industries it serves. In today’s ever-changing market and intense competition has forced organisations to adapt and response quickly. At SNS, it is understood no two companies or industries are alike. Its solutions are designed and tailored to suit the industry, an organisation’s size, and objectives they want to achieve. In the long run, it aims to be the most essential IT provider while continue to be committed in providing

Meanwhile, SNS Network has two retail brands under its wing – iTworld and GLOO – with more than 50 outlets nationwide to provide value added services and develop trusting relationships with customers. iTworld is the Apple Authorised Reseller which offers products such as iPods, iPads, iPhones, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Mac computers and accessories. iTworld is also the Apple Premium Service Provider that delivers exceptional customer experience and repair support for any Apple products users. SNS Network also showcases the latest product line-up by other major technology brands with GLOO. Ranging from smartphones, tablets, laptops and accessories, GLOO intends to provide a one-stop retail outlet for customers to get hands-on experience combine with comprehensive service from retail sales specialist. SNS Network can be contacted at 1700-817-616 or www.itworld.com.my/ www.gloo.com.my. More details are at their official Facebook pages – www. facebook.com/iTworld.my and www. facebook.com/gloo.com.my.

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Innovative Khaki Pants From Dockers® Dockers® Ultimate Iron Free Khaki has added stretch to let its wearer move with ease.

aunched on June 1, Dockers® unveiled its latest product, the Ultimate Iron Free Trouser. Available in the refined slim trouser fit and a lightweight stretch twill fabrication, the Ultimate Iron Free Trouser is perfect for the man with an active lifestyle. With iron-free technology and added stretch for performance the pants will feel like old favourites from day one. The best in class “out of dryer” fabric, it provides smooth creases throughout the day. Additional features include the set-on waistband with elevated rocap and curtain, hook and bar front and on-seam coin pocket. Available colours include Navy, Black, and Gray Timber Wolf. All styles will be available in Dockers® stores nationwide starting June for a price of RM168 per pair. The Dockers® brand has been the authority in khaki pants for more than 30 years. First introduced in 1986 in San Francisco, California, this American classic has been at the heart of the casual movement, providing men with quality products for every occasion. Its thoughtful innovations and meaningful details have always served a purpose, not a trend. Today, the Dockers® brand continues to be America’s favourite khaki and offers a wide range of apparel and accessories with no compromises in quality – always superior comfort and versatile style. The brand is a division of Levi Strauss & Co. and available worldwide in 60 countries, in six continents. For more information about the Dockers® brand, its products and stores, visit its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ dockers.my.

Malaysia Retailer Vol 5 No 3

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Cash Security Management for Retailers Retailers are often faced with issues surrounding cash handling in their outlets.

espite the availability of cashless shopping, many retailers in Malaysia still find themselves transacting heavily in cash. In 2014, a Nielsen survey found 60% of Malaysian consumers preferred paper to plastic when it comes to everyday spending. This poses several issues and challenges for retailers. Dealing with cash, retailers daily are encountering with internal theft, inefficient cash processing, preparing small change, counterfeit banknotes, cash dispute, robbery and extra cost for CIT services. The most common practice for retailers are to hire CIT services or have internal staff collect daily collection at the end of business day or week and deposit them in the bank accordingly. However this is extra cost to the retailers and it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t solve note recycling, cash dispute, reducing headcount in counting cash, internal theft and robberies. Ramaicorp Services Sdn Bhd has a different solution. The company is locally incorporated in 2005, registered with Finance Ministry and in partnerships with various insurance providers. Its core business relates to supplying and providing maintenance

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services cash handling machines, office automation equipment, cash management consultancy, ink staining system and ATM currency cassettes. This year, Ramaicorp is introducing two new products, PERLA and META security suitcase that will benefit retailers in handling cash. Imported from Portugal, PERLA is a cost-effective note recycler and deposit machine designed for small-medium retailers where cash security is a priority. Small and well designed as the size of a PC tower, the PERLA features a premium note validator, safe-graded steel casing, dual lock control, in-build impact alarm, backup battery and a fully integrated software for cloud-based reporting on cash deposit, withdraw or exchange via a dedicated web application MyPerla. Retail workers are able to secure high value banknotes immediately, dispense notes on demand and senior management can know how much cash is in the unit at any one time through the cloud application. It has a biometric sensor so accountability and access are traceable. Retailers can gain insight into cash cycle to ensure the right level of cash is always on hand while reduce the need to constantly count cash and customers traffic flow.

The larger PERLA CIT unit can also be used as a low-cost back-office cash recycler and deposit system, with deposit capacity of 1000 to 1500 banknotes into a thermo-sealed bag. The smaller unit weighs 40kg while the larger one is at 65kg. Meanwhile, the META SECURITY SUITCASE offers a peace of mind when transporting large amounts of cash. It is equipped with ink staining systems to thwart off criminal activity. Dye stained notes are recognised as stolen goods by the Bank Negara Malaysia and those found in possession without authorisation will be tantamount to theft. If the case is breached, the staining system immediately does its job. When the stained banknotes are recovered, retailers can go to the Bank Negara with a police report to sort out the issue at no extra cost (pending BNM approval). META is also equipped with a GSM/ GPRS SIM slot, GPS tracking system, centralised management system called MetaWatchWeb and a validation by an electronic key i-button as well as a highpower piezo-electric siren and highcapacity battery. It comes in two sizes.

THE LEADER IN CASH SECURITY AND CASH HANDLING SOLUTIONS

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VIPs at the official launch of Baliayu Spa.

Dato Garry Chua was the guest of honour.

Baliayu Spa Ushers 10 Years The premier spa has more reasons to celebrate with the opening of another branch in Kuala Lumpur.

stablished 10 years ago in 2006 with their flagship store in Jalan Bangkung, Bangsar, Baliayu Spa, which means “beautiful Balinese lady”, is a renowned spa retreat recognised for its restorative therapies that accentuate the core senses while true relaxation is achieved. Malaysia’s premier luxury Balinese retreat, Baliayu Spa Group Sdn Bhd is founded by Annie Low, a banker turned spa connoisseur. “My vision was to create a spa that stands out from the rest by creating a soothing experience that reenergises the fatigued body and mind,” she said. Ten years later, Low is pleased to have a steady, regular clientele which has encouraged the opening of the brand’s third outlet at the Hartamas Shopping Centre on May 3, 2017. “I am very proud of how far we have come and the grand opening of our third outlet is a testimony of our success.” In her speech, Low thanked her team

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that had worked so tirelessly to uphold the brand’s name through the years. “These 10 years wouldn’t have been possible without the dedicated Baliayu team that ensured the success of the brand through stringent quality control and top-notch customer service and satisfaction “We have managed to set our spa brand apart from the rest by offering a one-of-a-kind spa experience that can only be found at Baliayu Spa.” The double celebration was graced by guest-of-honour, Dato’ Garry Chua, President of the Malaysian Retail Chain Association (MRCA) as well as other VVIP’s such as Puan Sri Susan Cheah of Sunway Group and Datuk Heng Seai Kei, Wanita MCA Chief, among others.

The Baliayu Difference With 25 aroma therapy beds and 10 massage chairs in each of their outlets, the spa fully abides by the traditional Balinese concept. The perfect combination of quality aromatic

Tan Sri Danny Ooi (centre) with Annie Low (left) and Penny Tan (right).

essences and oils with ancient treatment indigenous to the Eastern region, combined with highly skilled therapists, produce the best holistic experience for everyone. Among the attractive packages that Baliayu offers are the popular couple treatments, birthday and bridal packages, as well as the signature “Bali Fresh” treatment. Recently, they added an attractive offer specifically for their corporate members that entitles eligible employees of an organisation the opportunity to use the spa treatments at their leisure. Baliayu’s first two outlets are located at Jalan Bangkung, Bangsar and Paradigm Mall. Their third and newest outlet is located at 35-G Hartamas Shopping Center, Plaza Damas. “All of us at Baliayu Spa would like to thank everyone for their constant support and we hope to continuously provide the best and most elegant spa experience in the Klang Valley,” said Low.

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CheQQme Out Retailers and consumers stand to benefit from this new mobile marketing service. CEO of CheQQme Mr. Lee Wei Chee speaking at the 020 Seminar.

veryone loves a good bargain, and with CheQQme, an action-based mobile marketing platform, both merchants and users will reap the benefits of this platform that promises a unique mobile buying experience. Just over a year old, CheQQme redefines the traditional way of customer engagement. Through its platform, it helps merchants convert online traffic to offline foot traffic through personalised marketing campaigns, all of which provide retailers peace of mind in marketing, customer engagement and operations. Calling itself a “call-to-action/ gamified” platform, CheQQme enables retailers to have more interaction with customers through marketing campaigns. While several breakthroughs in digital technology have attempted to bridge the gap between online ad exposure and in-store purchases, tying online lead data to offline sales remained the industry’s unicorn. Other issues included expensive online marketing campaigns. Most SME retailers don’t have the budget for an effective mobile marketing campaign, which costs between RM200,000 and RM300,000. Even when retailers fork out the cash for digital marketing, many still find they are unable to convert online traffic to online sales, and with an app market that is becoming increasingly saturated, keeping users loyal is a challenge. CheQQme utilises several gamechanging strategies to direct online traffic to the merchants’ physical stores – through a gamification concept and a loyalty-based system. Gamification involves using gamelike elements in business and marketing strategies – one of the most simple forms is receiving stamps or stickers

Malaysia Retailer Vol 5 No 3

CheQQme team in the KL Office.

with every purchase of say, coffee, or groceries. A collection of a certain number of stamps or stickers later, the customer “wins” a free coffee or perhaps a rebate on the next purchase. The points system within the app are called “Crowns”. The platform runs multiple campaigns for different types of merchants, with various prizes to be redeemed. Among the products offered are stamp cards, percentage completion, surveys, flash sale, timed redemption, checklists, treasure chest and CheQQpoint. Loyal customers receive rewards from the merchants – which encourages more engagement between users and retailers. From a Big Data standpoint, CheQQme will be able to provide postmarketing data for further analysis, the ability to craft the best digital marketing strategies and data to understand

consumers from different digital marketing channels. The features of CheQQme aim at giving users a surprise every day, which will encourage repeat visits from consumers curious to see how far they can get in the mission. By consistently offering rewards to users through interesting methods such as Crown collecting or searching for the CheQQme mascot, hidden within the timelines in the app, every milestone or “achievement” is rewarded, keeping users interested. Through these methods, the app creates exposure for the merchants’ brand by helping users get to know the brand in a unique way, drawing customers in with more than just the promise of discounts. To find out more, email merchant@ CheQQme.com or call 03-8074 7740. You can find CheQQme on the Apple App store or the Google Play store.

CHEQQME 1ST ANNIVERSARY! CheQQme - Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s CheQQme 1st Birthday Party! This month, we will be celebrating our 1st anniversary with loads of goodies

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Aladdin Street – Dedicated To Halal Merchandise New Malaysian start-up Aladdin Street is set to excite the online marketplace landscape with halal and shariah-compliant products.

ased on a report by WebinTravel, the e-commerce marketplace will serve as a hub for these products for the domestic Malaysian market, as well provide opportunities for traders to sell their goods internationally. According to Aladdin Street’s cofounder Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, the company has plans to invest about US$100 million over the next three years to expand its operations and marketing to more than 30 countries worldwide including Indonesia, India, China, the Middle East, and parts of Europe. An initial investment of US$5 million was spent to set up the company headquarters in Kuala Lumpur and the domestic site, said Dr Sheikh Muszaphar, who is also Malaysia’s first commercial astronaut. How it works is that Aladdin Street will select merchants, who are certified halal by the Islamic Development Department of Malaysia (Jakim) and compliant to shariah guidelines, to market products on its site. These products are from the pharmaceutical sector, fashion, cosmetics and beauty, food and beverage industries. All merchants go through a mandatory business and halal integrity screening by the company’s panel of international halal and shariah experts. Merchants are only limited to companies registered with the Registrar of Companies, brand owners and their appointed dealers, stockists, agents, wholesalers and distributors.

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Aladdin Street plans to host 1,500 merchants with 30,000 products on its platform, as it aims to grow the business in the halal e-commerce market to compete with the likes of Amazon and Alibaba. Merchants are also given the opportunity to trade internationally on Aladdin Street’s global platform, supported by the company’s jointventure offices worldwide. Dr Sheikh Muszaphar said Aladdin Street was set up to meet the growing global demand for halal products and to provide a platform for consumers looking to purchase them. The start-up would “represent an opportunity for young entrepreneurs to gain halal certification and immediately gain access to 30 markets globally”. In a Malay Mail Online report, he said Muslim consumers would now have an avenue where they can “feel safe and assured” while purchasing products. “But, we would also like it to appeal to non-Muslims. Because halal is not about religion alone, it is also about ethics and hygiene.” AladdinStreet.com, the world’s

first exclusive premium quality products and halalan toyyiban focused e-Marketplace, caters to both the business-to-business and business-toconsumers communities domestically and internationally. Having already established partner offices in Singapore as well as Suzhou, China, the company aims for jointventure partners in more than countries worldwide by the end of this year, including Indonesia, Thailand, Iran, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and India. Also Aladdin Street’s Singapore arm is intending to invest US$1.48 million to support its domestic efforts. The Singaporean venture targets to achieve over US$37 million in sales within the first year of its launch. Aladdin Street Singapore president and co-founder Dr Grace Kong said, “Aladdinstreet.com.sg positions itself to help SMEs in Singapore who come on board as partner merchants. “We help them overcome the prevailing conditions in retail space by providing them with an additional avenue to market their goods both locally and globally.” She spoke to the media during a launch to unveil its partnership with Manchester United. Aladdin Street’s exclusive partnership with Manchester United is a demonstration of the company’s global ambition. The dream partnership has opened new opportunities for both consumers and businesses of halalan toyyiban compliant products and services, providing global business opportunities to local merchants and seamless online shopping experiences to consumers worldwide. Aladdin Street works closely with government agencies, halal certification bodies, trade and business associations as well as non-government organisations to ensure high value brands are listed on its platforms. This online marketplace is the second company in Malaysia to market halal products specifically for the Muslim market, after Rayani Air.

The startup addresses key logistic hurdle in e-commerce with its network of collection points nationwide.

alaysian start up Collectco Services Sdn Bhd recently launched CollectCo – a network of more than 800 physical collection points that offer parcel delivery and collection services for e-commerce merchants and customers in Malaysia. Founder and CEO Dylan Wong said, “E-commerce has become a common method of shopping for Malaysians. “In a recent PwC study, 48% of Malaysians reported they shop online at least once a month. By 2020, e-commerce growth in Malaysia is expected to increase by as much as 20.8 per cent.” He added biggest issues remain for both shoppers and merchants. Online shoppers face the inconvenience and lack of delivery options to receive or return their parcels while merchants have to deal with ensuring parcels reach their customers reliably and on time. Currently parcel delivery has an average daily fail rate of 20% – for every

10 parcels delivered, two don’t reach the customers. “When a delivery fails, customers have to visit the courier outlet to collect their parcels and that’s usually when the hassle escalates; these logistic companies are not everywhere, open only during working hours, long queues and so on,” he said. ”In fact, 70% of customers surveyed in Southeast Asia, prefer the option of self-collecting their purchases at timings and locations convenient to them, and some are even willing to pay for the self-collect option. Customers value convenience.” Collectco set out to operate a wide and established network of collection and delivery points that promises both customers and merchants a hassle-free online shopping experience and reliable last-mile delivery. Currently, Collectco is working with 15,000 merchants from major marketplaces, including Lazada, Zalora, Lelong.my, Hermo, Gundam, Sally Fashion and more.

Customers shopping at these online sites can choose to collect or return their purchases from hundreds of collection points across the country such as Mydin, Senheng, Caring Pharmacy, Fotokem, CNI, Happy Mart, Thunder Match and more. Once the collection point is chosen, the customer will be given a code and will be informed via SMS or email once the parcel arrives at the point. They can then collect it at any time. Customers can also return their purchases at these collection points back to seller. “The beauty of Collectco is that everything is automated and the choice of delivery is entirely up to the customer. With collection points available everywhere, open early till late, seven days a week, customers have the choice to collect parcels at their convenience,” said Wong. Collectco was recently awarded the CIP 500 funding from Cradle in April after a rigorous selection process. CIP 500 was established to provide commercialisation support to selected recipients with business ideas that can bring commercial success for the economic growth of Malaysia. “We hope to further expand our network of collection points as well as e-commerce merchants in Malaysia and across the region in the next five years.”

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Collectco – 800 Collection Locations

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Malaysia Retailer Vol 4 No1