Malaysia Retailer|Vol 6|No 1|2018|Baliayu

Vol 6 No 1 2018

Budget 2018: What’s In It For SMEs? m-Commerce to Lead Growth in 2018

TURNING PASSION INTO BUSINESS

WM RM9 / EM RM11

Annie Low, Founder & Managing Director of BaliAyu Spa Group Sdn Bhd

CONTENTS / VOL. 6 NO. 1

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EVENTS 42 MRCA Entertains Senior Citizens In Conjunction with CNY

43 MRCA Spreads Christmas Cheer to 30 Underprivileged Children

44 President’s Activities

45 SOBA Awards 2017

46 Heartfelt Condolences To the Thye Family

47 Calendar

ON THE COVER

Annie Low, Baliayu Spa Group Managing Director

Malaysia Retailer Vol 4 No 1

Malaysia Redefines Cross-Border Trade With Digital Free Trade Zone

IN FOCUS 4 Turning Passion Into Business

Annie Low’s perseverance and can-do attitude has led her to become a successful owner and Managing Director of the Baliayu Spa Group.

FEATURES 8 Budget 2018: What’s In It For SMEs? 10 Malaysia Redefines Cross-Border Trade With Digital Free Trade Zone 12 Increasing Business Investments In APEC 14 Reignite Your Firewall 16 Cyber Security – What Business Owners Need To Know 17 3Cs to Getting And Staying Employed Over Next 10 Years 18 Using TNA To Achieve Higher ROI From Training 20 m-Commerce to Lead Growth in 2018 22 Malaysian e-Commerce Up A Notch in 2018 24 Show Up On Time

28 Mass Customisation via 3D

Printing 30 Kitchen, The Heart Of The Family 31 AEON Advances Towards Omni-Channel Strategy 32 Pricing Guidelines 34 Ushering Chinese New Year Together 35 Congratulations To Datuk Seri Garry Chua & Datuk Seri KK Chai 36 IPC Shopping Centre’s Redevelopment 38 Amazon Goes Offline 40 What’s Next, After Fast Fashion?

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Show Up On Time

4 Cover Story

Turning Passion Into Business Annie Low enjoys a good therapeutic massage just as much as the next person. But her perseverance and can-do attitude led her to become a successful owner and Managing Director of the Baliayu Spa Group.

mong the many mantras international entrepreneurs stick by, one of them is to do what you love. And that strategy has worked out for the most famous names in the world, such as Bill Gates and Walt Disney. Gates was an amateur programmer in his early teens while Disney’s childhood was filled with time he spent drawing.

Many took to heart of such inspirational stories, including Baliayu’s Annie Low. The former banker has a sweet spot for spas, massage and health. Her old job would take her to many places around the world where, without fail, she would sample the traditional spas that were available.

After careful consideration, Low quit her job and focused on opening a spa business. This was in 2006. She started the Baliayu Spa Sanctuary in Bangsar.

It was a huge risk for her as there were many established spa and massage brands in Malaysia even a decade ago. But Low felt she could make it work, even at the age of 23.

“I felt I had an opportunity to address a gap in the market. Spas and massage parlours at that time were focused on

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Annie Low received the Asia Top Business Award 2018-Excellent Balinese Spa.

Baliayu’s outlet in Bangsar.

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Malaysia Retailer Vol 6 No 1

Cover Story

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“I felt I had an opportunity to address a gap in the market. Spas and massage parlours at that time were focused on Thai styles and remedies. There were also a handful of Chinese styles.”

- Annie Low, Managing Director of the Baliayu Spa Group

Thai styles and remedies. There were also a handful of Chinese styles.

“Personally, I much prefer the traditional Balinese style that I experienced in Bali itself. I wanted to bring that experience and setting to Malaysia so locals can have a taste for it without leaving the country.

“Baliayu refers to beauty of Bali. It is where people feel connected while enjoying treatments especially designed by our trainers.”

For starters, she wanted to inform her customers of the therapeutic benefits of a traditional Balinese massage as just opposed to feeling relaxed.

“I wanted the focus to not just be on a relaxing experience but looking into the real benefits it has, such as better blood circulation, easing joint and muscle pain, and so on.

“As a complement to our services, we produce our own ginger paste which is used in our treatments and tea.

“We then started offering scrubs, body baths, hot tubs and hot stone massage. These are known to have health benefits for our patrons.”

With growing popularity and

Malaysia Retailer Vol 6 No 1

returning clients, she opened a second branch in Paradigm Mall in Petaling Jaya, followed by her latest outlet in Hartamas Shopping Centre.

Coming into the double digits, Low is encouraged by the response to her outlets and clientele comments that she is planning to open more outlets in a shorter span of time.

“Many of my loyal clients have told me they want to have a joint venture to open outlets in other locations. I am looking into their suggestions seriously but my concern is finding the right location.

“Aside from being in a good mall, I want it to be easily accessible to both regulars and newcomers. Their aim is to leave behind the hustle and bustle of the city when they step into the spa.

“Seeing that the spas are geared towards medium and high end markets, I need an area with a population catchment to support that. Taking these factors into account, my team and I are planning to launch two outlets this year.”

In terms of business diversification, Low plans to open her brand to highlyrated hotels as part of their in-house spa retreat. Discussions are under way.

Her prudent hand and attitude in steering the company has brought her more success than she planned for. She also credits her hardworking team for their passion behind the scenes.

“The two aspects of a successful health spa are having highly skilled personnel in delivering the treatment.

Hence, our entire staff are trained to extend their personal hospitality to customers.

“The masseuses undergo an eight-week training with our master masseuse. Those with zero experience or knowledge will take longer. I also personally screen them.

“It is not just about profits but nurturing great relationships with our customers too, since this is a health and wellness industry.”

Low added that her unique way of interviewing potential masseuses is to ensure all her outlets maintain a high level of care.

She credited MRCA for helping to grow her clientele base, simply because of the networking opportunities the association offers, as well as added brand value. Her other efforts include providing certain value added packages called Platinum and VIP. In the Platinum package, customers can buy a set number of hours at a heavily discounted rate. For example, the RM999 deal lasts for a year and buys you 10 hours while the RM1,999 deal comes up to 25 hours. And lastly, the RM4,999 deal affords you 100 hours. Many corporate clients use these packages as a form of staff incentive and appreciation gifts.

As for the VIP package, Plan 999 gives you a prepaid value of RM1,299, Plan 1,999 has a prepaid value of RM2,899 and Plan 4999 has a value of RM7,199. Validity period varies from plan to plan.

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BALI HEDONIST PACKAGE - Relaxing Foot Bath Ceremony - 30 mins Foot Reflexology - 60 mins Bali Aromatic Oil Massage - BaliAyu Signature Ginger Tea *PER PERSON

RM158.00 N/P :RM212

COUPLE’S DELIGHT - Relaxing Foot Bath Ceremony - 30 mins Foot Spa Treatment / Hot Stone Massage - 90 mins Bali Aromatic Oil Massage - Baliayu Signature Singer Tea *PER COUPLE

RM468.00 N/P :RM548

BALI FRESH PACKAGE - Relaxing Foot Bath Ceremony - 30 mins Body Glow - 60 mins Bali Aromatic Oil Massage - Baliayu Signature Ginger Tea *PER PERSON

RM220.00 N/P :RM284

Malaysia Retailer Vol 6 No 1

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BUDGET 2018:

What’s In It For SMEs? Malaysian government unveils numerous initiatives to boost industry.

n Budget 2018, the government has encouraged Malaysia’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to capitalise on various funds provided to expand their business.

Themed, “Prospering An Inclusive Economy, Balancing Between Worldly And Hereafter, For The Wellbeing of the Rakyat, Towards The TN50 Aspiration”, the Budget 2018’s total allocation amounting to some RM20 billion for the SME industry will cater to several criteria.

Considerations for incentives, loans and funds covered access to markets, financing for training, human capital, technology and automation, as well as working capital.

Deputy International Trade and

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Industry Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan had reportedly said the funds allocated for SMEs is the largest ever in the history of the country’s budget, as the government had placed greater emphasis on the SME sector in Budget 2018.

The government believes the SME sector is one of the eight main pillars of economic growth as they accounted for 98.5% of all business entities in the country.

SME investments were expected to contribute 25.5% to gross domestic product (GDP) next year, while public sector investments were expected to reach RM109 billion in 2018 compared with RM75 billion in 2009.

Let’s take a look on what’s on offer from Budget 2018.

Funds for these enterprises include RM200 million for SME Corporation Malaysia, RM82 million for the halal industry, RM500 million for the National Entrepreneurial Group Economic Fund (Tekun), and RM200 million for Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM).

An additional RM1 billion is allocated for syariah-compliant SMEs eligible for a 2% profit rebate.

Funding totalling between RM245 million and RM1 billion is also provided for automation to reduce dependency on foreign workers. These funds are channelled for automation where companies adopting smart manufacturing concepts will be given matching grants, so Malaysia can remain competitive locally and globally.

Another RM7 billion is set aside through the Business Financing Guarantee Scheme (SJPP), of which RM5 billion is for working capital and RM2 billion set for loans with 70% government guarantees for the services sector, including the fourth industrial revolution.

There was also notable focus on exports with an allocation of, among others, RM150 million to Matrade, the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) and SME Corp for export, training, financing and promotional programmes, including the Market Development Grant (MDG).

The MDG is disbursed by MIDA and another RM200 million is set for the Domestic Strategic Investment Fund.

The MDG aims to help SMEs expand their exports and take advantage of favourable exchange rates.

Based on information from the SME Bank, under the micro-financing arm of the Budget 2018, it said RM80 million is allocated under Rural Economic Financing Scheme (SPED) through

Bank Rakyat and SME Bank to provide financing facilities to rural Bumiputera entrepreneurs.

Meanwhile, RM1 billion is provided by EXIM Bank for insurance coverage credit facilities and RM200 million for credit financing facilities to SME exporters.

An additional RM50 million funding is given to Koperasi Jayadiri Malaysia Bhd (Kojadi).

Another RM30 million is allocated for the 1Malaysia Hawker and Petty Traders Foundation to provide loans to Chinese hawkers.

Through TEKUN, RM50 million is

Skim Jaminan Pembiayaan Perniagaan for working capital and services sector

(RM7 billion)

SME loans through Koperasi Jayadiri Malaysia Bhd (Kojadi)

(RM50 million)

Indian Community Entrepreneur Development Scheme (SPUMI) under Tekun

(RM50 million)

Accelerating exports

Expand export market and promotion

(RM150 million)

set aside for the Indian Community Entrepreneur Development Scheme, benefiting more than 35,000 entrepreneurs and on top of that, another RM50 million is for the Indian community’s socio-economic development programme.

A total of RM555 million is for the Bumiputera entrepreneurship enhancement programme, that consist of RM200 million for PUNB’s enterprise programmes, RM200 million for MARA’s entrepreneurship progamme and RM155 million for vendor capacity development, Tunas, Bumiputera youth

Government Guarantee loans under SJPP to enable SMEs to automate production

entrepreneurs and start-ups, among others.

As a way of strengthening the tourism sector, the Malaysian government had declared 2020 as Visit Malaysia Year.

Among the allocation made for tourism include RM2 billion for an SME Tourism Fund in the form of soft loans with interest subsidy of 2% and tax incentives for investments in new four-star and five-star hotels extended for two years, as well as tax incentives for tour operating companies which are extended to Dec 31, 2020.

Shariah-compliant SME Financing Scheme with subsidy rate of

Development of halal industries and products under various agencies

2% (RM1 billion)

(RM82 million)

(RM1 billion)

Here are the highlights of incentives, loans and funds accessible to SMEs in Malaysia.

Extend the incentive period for Accelerated Capital Allowance on automation equipment 2018-2020

Insurance coverage credit facility for SME exporters

(RM1 billion)

Loans to enhance automation of local furniture production for export

(RM100 million) Tax incentives

Allowance

Incentive up to 200% for

manufacturing and manufacturingrelated-services sectors

Capital Allowance Incentive for ICT equipment beginning 2018 to 2020

Malaysia Retailer Vol 6 No 1

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Prime Minister with Jack Ma hit the gong to officiate DFTZ.

Malaysia Redefines Cross-Border Trade With Digital Free Trade Zone Prime Minister and Jack Ma unveil KLIA Aeropolis DFTZ Park.

alaysia’s Digital Free Trade Zone (DFTZ) was launched in November with more than 1,900 export-ready small-medium enterprises (SMEs) onboard. This is the world’s first DFTZ and its objective it to drive Malaysia’s digital economy.

The DFTZ will facilitate SMEs to capitalise on the convergence of exponential growth of the digital economy and cross-border trade. The DFTZ was unveiled by Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak and Jack Ma founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group.

DFTZ is expected to raise the SMEs goods export to US$38 billion, create more than 60,000 jobs and support US$65 billion worth of goods moving through by 2025.

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“SMEs have the power to transform the economy. They are ambitious, nimble, and have the potential to create high value employment. They have the power to move Malaysia to become a high-income nation,” said Dato’ Sri Najib.

He said the primary purpose of DFTZ is to simplify e-commerce by bringing together government agencies, online marketplaces, logistic and payment providers to one platform.

“Together with Alibaba as a catalytic partner in DFTZ, I am confident that Malaysian SMEs can count on their e-commerce expertise to grow across the region,” he said.

Ma said: “Since day one of our collaboration, Malaysia has never failed to impress me. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Malaysian government and all involved

in turning DFTZ into a reality.

“The Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP) initiative’s goal is to build an inclusive and innovative global trading platform for SMEs, young people and consumers.

“We are proud to share this vision with DFTZ. I believe that this is the beginning to a long-standing strategic partnership between the two nations.

Alibaba Group definitely plans to stay and strengthen our presence here.”

At the same time the KLIA Aeropolis DFTZ Park was launched as well, which is Alibaba’s first regional eFulfillment hub outside of China.

Malaysia will be a regional hub that will be part of the eWTP that will be connected to the upcoming regional hubs in other continents.

The hub is expected to double the

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Prime Minister and Jack Ma with DFTZ partners.

The groundbreaking ceremony of the KLIA Aeropolis DFTZ Park.

growth in Malaysia’s air cargo volume from the current level of about 700,000 tonnes a year to 1.3 million tonnes a year within 10 years.

With ground-breaking enhancements, the KLIA Aeropolis DFTZ Park will optimise border clearance and handling from six hours to three hours with 90% Service Level Agreement (SLA), and improve Cargo Terminal Operations (CTO) from four hours to 90 minutes.

Meanwhile, the eFulfillment hub is equipped with latest technology, including sorting, shelving and pickpack facilities, Lighting Industrial Units that allow minor repairs and assembly prior to shipping goods, customs inspection and quarantine area and category specific facilities such as secure warehouse, temperature controlled storage and other facilities.

To help SMEs with end-to-end cross border trade, DFTZ will have two important components. First the eFulfilment Hub to serve as a cluster of facilities for customs clearance, warehousing and logistics to facilitate and accelerate double digit growth of

trans-shipment air cargo volumes thus, positioning KLIA Aeropolis as a leading e-commerce trans-shipment hub.

This hub will be developed over two phases. The first phase will be at the KACT1, refurbished and operated by POS Malaysia to serve Lazada amongst other e-commerce players.

The second phase will be a greenfield development over a 60-acre plot that will be jointly developed by Malaysia Airports and CAINIAO Network, the logistics arm of Alibaba. This will be operational in 2020.

The second component is an eServices Platform to manage crossborder trade efficiently and leverage on the seamless services through an integrated trade facilitation platform that provides access to other players, covering financing, last mile fulfilment, insurance and digital marketing.

This platform will allow market access to exporters and importers for SMEs to reach global customers, accelerate online trade facilitation process and provide end-to-end business support for cross-border trade. As

The facility tour of the eFulfillment hub.

the next phase of expansion, DFTZ will support other leading modes of transport in a phased manner to cover sea and rail.

MATRADE will be supporting SMEs on DFTZ through the TRADE Programme.

It is a programme where Malaysian companies are encouraged to adopt cross border e-commerce to accelerate exports by participating in leading international e-marketplaces.

MATRADE’s first collaboration in the eTRADE Programme was with Alibaba. com.

SME Corp – Malaysia’s Central Coordinating Agency – will be formulating overall policies and strategies for SMEs and coordinates the implementation of SME Development Programmes across all related ministries and agencies.

It acts as the central point of reference for research and data dissemination on SMEs, as well as provides advisory services. Malaysia also assumes the role of the Secretariat to the National SME Development Council which is chaired by the Prime Minister.

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Increasing Business Investments In APEC Asia Pacific business leaders’ confidence hits three year high despite trade frictions.

onfidence in revenue growth is at its highest level for three years amongst business leaders in 21 AsiaPacific Economic Co-operation’s (APEC) economies.

Some 60% of Malaysian CEOs (vs 37% of APEC CEOs) are very confident of revenue growth during the next 12 months despite trade policy uncertainty and related political tensions in many of the economies that make up APEC. PwC surveyed over 1,400 business leaders with responsibility in each of the 21 APEC economies in the run up to the annual APEC CEO Summit in Vietnam – 57 respondents were from Malaysia.

In 2018, a net 50% of businesses surveyed by PwC will increase their global investments (including those outside the APEC region), up from 43% last year, as APEC businesses increase

C

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their foothold and influence on the global economy.

About 71% of those surveyed who are raising investment will direct those increases into APEC economies in 2018, and 63% of all APEC CEOs expect their broader global footprint to expand over the next three years.

Malaysia and Vietnam are among the biggest domestic investment winners alongside Russia, the Philippines and Indonesia. Vietnam, China, Indonesia, the US and Thailand are the top APEC targets for business leaders’ overseas investment. Some 89% of Malaysian CEOs and 86% of Vietnam CEOs expect to expand globally.

The majority of business leaders are bullish for growth, and see APEC becoming more economically linked over time, with three quarters seeing slow current progress towards deepening

economic integration. 31% of CEOs in the US say progress on free trade in Asia Pacific has stalled or reversed, compared to 18% across the region.

Sridharan Nair, Territory Senior Partner for PwC Malaysia/Vietnam said: “ASEAN business leaders stand out from their APEC counterparts in their optimism on growth prospects. Even against the backdrop of rising trade uncertainty, a higher-than-average percentage of ASEAN business leaders expect the global footprint of their business to expand in the next three years.

“ASEAN’s strong and consistent GDP growth, averaging 5.2% per year since 2000, and its vast working age population provide solid foundations for further expansion. To pursue sustainable growth internationally, businesses need to be grounded in trust to earn the confidence of their stakeholders; from

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the way they hire their talents, their approach to supplier selection, to how they market their products at home and abroad.”

At the same time, almost a quarter of APEC CEOs admit they experienced a more restrictive trade environment, particularly focused around employing foreign labour (23%) or in moving goods across borders (19%).

In the near term, 30% expect labour restrictions to increase, and a quarter expect an increase in barriers on moving goods to rise in the next 12 months. Half of CEOs in Singapore, one of the world’s global financial centres, admit they expect an increase in barriers to labour mobility in the next 12 months.

As a result, a majority of CEOs (71%) expect to rely more on business partnerships and joint ventures in response to the changing trade

environment, and 68% plan to increase business domestically, or in economies with bilateral ties.

The drive to perform on a regional level continues to increase, and transform the competitive landscape for business in the APEC economies.

APEC CEOs identified increased competition from leading regional businesses in APEC economies, and emerging economies for the third year in a row. Combined they now overtake competition from traditional developed economy multinationals.

Some 19% believe their biggest competitor in the next three to five years will be a multinational from an emerging economy, or regional leaders in APEC economies (22%). Almost a third (32%) believe developed nation multinationals are their biggest rival, down from 41% in 2014.

With confidence increasing, perceptions of the opportunities for innovation-driven growth have improved, but business leaders’ concern about their ability to secure the right skills to compete globally is increasing.

Automation is a key recurring theme in strategies for building the workforce of the future, with 58% automating certain functions, 40% investing in machine learning and emerging technologies, and 41% identifying workers are skilled at using new automation tools.

For ASEAN businesses, automation is high on the agenda, as the key building block in their strategy to develop a digital workforce. In adapting to the digital age, 48% of Malaysian CEOs (vs 29% of APEC CEOs) say they are moving to new structures of employment including hiring more ‘gig’ talent and oursourced labour.

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Reignite Your Firewall Why is it vital for business owners to step up network security and protection.

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job a firewall was expected to do 10 years ago. As a result, these firewalls typically lack the extras that their modern counterparts can offer.

Firewalls today provide more effective mechanisms to respond to and isolate threats by working with the rest of the IT ecosystem. By communicating and sharing information, they provide

better protection and insight through added intelligence also known as Synchronised Security.

Ideally, organisations should replace their old firewall with the latest and greatest sort of firewall that can adapt, grow and respond not only to their changing needs but also the shifting IT security landscape.

NEXT GENERATION FIREWALL Forcepoint

100%

Cisco Sophos 90% Check Point Avera ge

WatchGuard 80%

Fortinet 3200D

Fortinet 600D

70%

60%

ge Avera

t is no surprise that Malaysia is ranked third among 193 countries in the Global Cybersecurity Index 2017 for its commitment to cybersecurity.

Within just two months from the day we heard about the data leak reports, the government has already set up a special committee to combat cybercrime in the country.

Not only that, recent ransomware attacks like WannaCry and Petya have spread largely unchecked through corporate networks in the recent year, extorting money to restore data and regain control of computers. Most notably, the WannaCry ransomware accounted for 90% of the attacks in Malaysia this year.

Organisations can start with a good firewall that integrates all the advanced networking, protection, user, and app controls they need to stay secure and compliant. IT departments do not have to think back too far to remember a time when firewalls were all about speeds and feeds, and not much else.

Over the past few years, however, we have seen a shift from the firewall leading a lonely, isolated existence, to a new conversation about the firewall as an integrated component of the greater IT security strategy.

No two network environments are the same and testing methodologies among vendors can vary wildly, making it fruitless to compare firewalls based on published datasheet numbers alone.

That is why third-party testing labs are so valuable. When done correctly and fairly, independent tests bring all vendors to a common denominator and highlight what really matters: the priceperformance ratio. Check out the recent NSS Labs Next-Gen Firewall tests to see how firewalls from the top vendors stack up when put to the test: IT departments often struggle to find time to upgrade their outdated firewalls due to budget and resource constraints.

It may be doing its job – but that is the

Palo Alto Networks

Juniper Networks

50%

40% 30%

Barracuda Networks

Sonic Wall 20%

10%

$120

$100

$80

$60

$40

$20

$0

TCO per Protected Mbps

NOTE At the completion of testing, NSS notified the venders whose products failed to properly handle evasions. The following vendors developd fixes, which NSS has subsequently verified address the identified issues: • Barracuda Networks • Checkpoint Software Technologies • Palo Alto Networks • Sonic Wall For more information please see the individual product Test Reports or contact NSS Labs.

PRODUCTS TESTED • Barracuda NextGen Firewall F600.E20 Firmware v7.0.2 • Check Point Software Technologies 15600 Next Generation Threat Prevention (NGTP) Appliance R77.20 • Cisco Firepower 4110 v6.1.0.1 • Forcepoint NGFW 3301 Appliance v6.1.2 • Fortinet FortiGate 600D FortiOs v5.4.4 GA Build 1117 • Fortinet Fortigate 3200D FortiOS v5.4.5 GA Build 1117 • Juniper Networks SRX 4200 v15.1X49-D75.5 • SonicWall NSA 6600 SonicOS 6.2 • Sophos XG-750 Firewall v16.01 • WatchGuard Firebox M4600 V11.10.7

Security Effectiveness

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Organisations also need to follow these best practices for preventing the spread of worm-like attacks on the network: Ensure you have the right protection, including a modern highperformance next-gen firewall IPS engine and sandboxing solution.

Reduce the surface area of attack as much as possible by thoroughly reviewing and revisiting all port-forwarding rules to eliminate any nonessential open ports.

Be sure to properly secure any open ports by applying suitable IPS protection to the rules governing that traffic.

Apply sandboxing to web and email traffic to ensure all suspicious active files coming in through web downloads and as email attachments are being suitably analysed for malicious behaviour before they get onto your network.

Minimise risk of lateral movement within the network by segmenting LANs into smaller, isolated zones or VLANs that are secured and connected together by the firewall.

Automatically isolate infected systems. When an infection hits, it is important that your IT security solution be able to quickly identify compromised systems and automatically isolate them until they can be cleaned up.

Julian Suarez is the lead SE manager and engineer based in Sophos Philippines. With over 10 years of experience in the computer security industry, he brings a wealth of knowledge and passionate about helping customers simplify security that is easily deployed, managed and use.

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Cyber Security – What Business Owners Need To Know Only 19% of Malaysian consumers confident businesses do enough to protect against cyber attacks

nly 18.72% of Malaysian consumers feel “extremely confident” that businesses are doing enough to protect them against cyber crime, according to the State of Cybersecurity research report from Limelight Networks, a global leader in digital content delivery.

How a business responds to cyberattacks therefore can significantly impact consumer trust and affect brand reputation and long-term revenue.

The survey of consumers in Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines takes a close look at how consumers perceive the current state of cybersecurity in their online transactions.

The report found 92.36% of Malaysian consumers check a site’s security before partaking in e-commerce

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or other activities compared to Singaporean consumers who appear less concerned with only 86.73%. When making a transaction, smartphones are the device of choice in Malaysia, and laptops coming in second.

The report also found a brand’s reputation and credibility were directly impacted once their website has been hacked. The vast majority of businesses who responded to the survey indicated that their organisation has implemented technologies to protect against DDoS and other attacks, given that more than half of the Malaysian businesses indicated their organisation’s digital presence had been attacked in the past two years, resulting in site downtime or loss of data.

“With a potential cyber-attack lurking

CONSUMER FEEDBACK Brand integrity and cyber attacks — When attacks occur, brand reputation falters and this impacts future business.

According to the report, more than 70% of Malaysian consumers change their opinions of a brand after a cyber attack.

When it comes to cybercrime, consumers are most concerned about violations of financial and personal information (75.62%).

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in the corner, brands can no longer rest on ‘legacy trust’ that they have built over the years. Today, it’s about building trust each time a customer transacts with a brand online. Cybersecurity is never a one-size-fits-all approach.

“Brands need to think about a multilayered approach to security and explore the use of a cloud-based solution. They also need to employ a content delivery network (CDN) that can buffer volumetric attacks,” said Jaheer Abbas, Sales Regional Director, SE Asia and ANZ at Limelight Networks.

“Not only can a CDN mitigate DDoS and other high-volume cyber-attacks, it can also have a significantly positive impact on the end-user experience by improving the speed and quality of content delivery,” he said.

ORGANISATION FEEDBACK Consumers are extremely concerned about the current state of cybersecurity and think businesses are not doing enough to stop threats.

More than 70% of Malaysian businesses feel a sustained cyber attack could have significant financial and brand implications.

When it comes to deploying cybersecurity solutions, the major hurdles to implementation are cost (26.67%) and lack of inhouse expertise (25.7%) to manage security solutions.

For businesses deploying cybersecurity solutions, a combination of cloud and on-premise is preferred with 42.86% of respondents favouring this approach.

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3Cs to Getting And Staying Employed Over Next 10 Years Cognizant shares its Jobs of the Future Report that shines a light onto 21 jobs that will emerge by 2028.

Some of the jobs are highly technical whilst others won’t require much tech-knowledge at all. Cognizant recommends that workers or talent focus on excelling in one or more of the following three areas to get and stay employed in the future:

COACHING Coaches can reshape work by making it more engaging, humane and purposeful. Those who have a flair for mentoring and helping people to improve at things (managing their finances, managing their weight) should hone those skills.

CARING oday’s jobs are complex, specialised, collaborative, and ever-evolving.

Cognizant’s Jobs of the Future Report sheds light on how automation is transforming every industry, the work people do, and the future relationship between man and machine.

Based on the major macroeconomic, political, demographic, societal, cultural, business and technology trends visible today, it highlights 21 new jobs that will emerge over the next 10 years and will become cornerstones of the future of work.

In the report, Cognizant positions these 21 new roles — ranging from Data Detective and Fitness Commitment Counsellor to Personal Data Broker and

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Genetic Diversity Officer — over a 10year timeline according to their “techcentricity” and provides potential job descriptions for each.

These jobs have the potential to create mass employment, provide work for scores of people in offices, stores and factory floors and are not to be confused with science fiction.

They are strongly expected to be on the HR’s radar to fill for real in the coming decade.

This list of jobs has been carefully curated from across many disciplines, markets and technologies with a threepoint common theme that is centred on the human touch — Coaching, Caring, and Connecting — which will stay relevant, no matter what new technologies emerge on the horizon.

Forward-thinking organisations will focus on making the best of people, and not just the best of technology.

Workers with social intelligence and the ability to make sense of complex processes will be in high demand to improve people’s health and wellness.

CONNECTING Workers with a collaborative mindset will be key to helping connect the dots in a technology-led workplace.

New roles identified in the report require workers to be good at building bridges between man and machine, traditional and shadow IT, the physical and the virtual world, and commerce and ethics.

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Using TNA To Achieve Higher ROI From Training

By Dr Victor SL Tan

aving been in the consulting and training field for the last 25 years, I have discovered one great waste in organisations – most of their training are ineffective. They do not get the return of investment (ROI) they deserve after spending thousands and some millions of dollars in training each year.

The reasons include: • Training that are not aligned to changing business needs • Leaders do not send the right people to the right training • No proper training needs analysis • Lack of follow up on the effective utilisation of skills, knowledge and behaviour in the workplace • No systematic way of measuring and capturing the benefits of training with ROI The good news is companies can achieve a higher ROI in training if they undertake a proper Training Needs Analysis (TNA) and follow up with effective training evaluation.

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THE TNA FRAMEWORK The TNA framework is a very good way to diagnose the root causes of non-performance. Not all nonperformances are attributed to skills, knowledge, attitude or behaviour. Some of the non-performances maybe due to bad policies, poor systems, wrong recruitment or unfair compensation system – all of which needs to be addressed separately.

There are various ways to ascertain training needs using various assessment tools which include observation, survey questionnaire, interview, critical incident analysis, document reviews, job descriptions, focus groups and other performance management tools.

What is TNA? TNA is systematic approach to identity the skills, knowledge, attitude and behaviour of the workforce required to perform at the required level. Often a gap arise between the actual and the required level of performance due to changing environment.

The analysis of training needs should be done at three levels: organisational, operational and personal. A good TNA will address the gap with a sound training evaluation which leads to a relevant training plan.

Training needs analysis can be effective if it is done professionally using a sound and proven approach – the TNA framework as shown below.

The TNA analysis for the three levels should cover: Organisational: mission and strategies, resources and internal environment

Operational: knowledge, skills, information, equipment and materials needed to perform the job and its steps Personal: individual training needs through performance appraisals, test and self-ratings

Organizational Analysis

Performance Gap

Operational Analysis

Person Analysis

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Identify Performance Discrepancy and Its Cause

Training Needs

Non-Training Needs

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TRAINING EVALUATION Training evaluation is an important part of TNA to assess the effectiveness of training. Ironically according to McKinsey research only about 50% of companies monitor the feedback from training programmes and only 30% use any kind of metrics.

Traditionally training evaluation is done on four levels according to the Kirkpatrick model: 1. Reaction – The immediate response of the participants regarding the training 2. Learning - The knowledge, skills, behaviour, etc the participants have learnt 3. Behaviour - What the participants have learnt that are applied in the job 4. Results or effectiveness - The results achieved arising from the application of what participants have learnt from training The ROI of training actually assess the effectiveness of training at level 4 in terms of the benefits in dollars arising from the programme the company invested. It seeks to quantify the results of training such as lower cost, increased productivity, improved quality and efficiency, staff retention, increased sales and higher morale.

ROI in training actually measures the benefits of a programme designed in relation to the costs involved: ROI = Value of Benefits – Cost of Training

COST OF TRAINING Essentially the ROI of training = Net program benefits/programme cost x 100% The cost per programme of 25 participants attending a three-day TNA training = RM80,000 (includes course fees, materials, venue, staff salary, food, travel, accommodation, venue, facilities, both direct and indirect costs) Benefits arising from this programme per year = RM500,000 (Benefits include cost savings, improved staff morale, increased in productivity, improved staff retention, etc.)

ROI = RM500,000- RM80,000/RM80,000 x 100% ROI = 525% Of critical importance in calculating ROI in training is to collect accurate data on cost and benefits arising from training and convert them into monetary values. It is also reckoned that not all benefits are tangible and there are some intangible benefits as well.

For accurate reflection of the actual ROI arising from training, there is a need to isolate the benefits or value solely due to training from other contributing factors. The meticulous part is to focus on the specific outcomes that are truly attributed to training.

One cannot overemphasise the importance of training. Allow me to quote, Starbucks Executive Chairman Howard Schultz, whose company was ranked as the top three most admired companies in the world in 2017.

He said, “Starbucks is not an advertiser; people think we are a great marketing company, but in fact, we spend very little money on marketing and more money on training our people than advertising.”

However for your company to get the return of your training dollars, training must be effective. A poor training needs analysis or the lack of it can lead to training the wrong competencies and using the wrong methods which do not bring about improve performance or results.

On the other hand, an effective TNA ensures training is directed at the right competencies, the right employees and the real business needs which can lead to lower cost, higher productivity and increased profits and hence a high return on investment from your training programmes.

Dr Victor SL Tan is the CEO of KL Strategic Change Consulting Group. He has conducted extensively TNA training for organisations, and authored 10 management books. For more information, email victorsltan@klscc.com or send him a message at 012-390 3168.

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m-Commerce to Lead Growth in 2018

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More creative mobile retail applications expected to be introduced, fuelling greater online shopping experience and growth.

Pay88 Holding Sdn Bhd, a Malaysian-based leading provider of online payment service solutions in ASEAN, shares its analysis findings of its 2017 data insights.

As a dominant market player of Malaysia’s online payment system transactions, iPay88’s annual findings give a good representation of the country’s e-commerce space, as well as the direction that online payments and shoppers are trending towards.

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ONLINE TRANSACTIONS AND SALES VOLUME Over the past 12 months of 2017, iPay88 recorded a total of 58.5 million online transactions moving over its payment gateway systems, increasing by 53.1% from 2016.

Of these 58.5 million transactions performed via its online payment gateways, the festive season month of December was the popular month with over 6.7 million transactions recorded.

Meanwhile, the total sales of the 2017 online transactions amounted to a whopping RM6.6 billion, more than double from RM3 billion in 2016.

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MOBILE TRANSACTION GROWTH Executive Director of iPay88, Chan Kok Long draws attention to the everconsistent growth of mobility as indicated by the increasing number of mobile transactions in Malaysia.

He said: “In the month of January 2017, we recorded a little less than 2.0 million mobile-type online payments. Moving onward to December 2017, in that month alone this number shot up to 3.5 million mobile online transactions.”

Meanwhile, iPay88’s data statistics show that desktop-based online transactions are stagnating at a constant fluctuation between 0.8 and 1.2 million per month, in 2017.

“Earlier last year in 2017, iPay88 expected that online banking would continue as the preferred method of e-commerce purchases on the back of rising purchasing power of the Malaysian consumers as well as rapidly expanding smartphone penetration across the country.

“This year, the driver for m-commerce will be the trend of more creative mobile applications being launched for the online shopper, that combine location services + retail customer intelligence + payment solutions + social media experience,” says Chan.

More shoppers are now accessing the shopping sites using a mobile than a desktop. iPay88 statistics show the trend of m-commerce has been changing since 2015. In Q1 2015, desktop transactions doubled mobile transactions. Subsequently in Q1 2016, mobile transactions were on par with desktop transactions.

Chan added: “Mobile e-commerce became prevalent since Q2 2016, started overtaking desktop e-commerce. Our system saw a significant record high of 9.3 million internet traffic from mobile shoppers in Q4 2017, three times of the desktop traffic.”

Smartphone penetration is still on a rising wave in Malaysia. According to a 2017 report by comScore, Malaysian digital users between the ages of 15 to 24 mostly accessed the Internet via mobile only, while those from 24 to 35 were multi-platform (desktop and mobile). “iPay88 is taking advantage of this trend by continuing to plan for more ingenious and easier payment applications that can be downloaded and utilized via the smartphone – for both seller merchants and buyer consumers.”

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“Mobile e-commerce became prevalent since Q2 2016, started overtaking desktop e-commerce.

Our system saw a significant record high of 9.3 million internet traffic from mobile shoppers in Q4 2017, three times of the desktop traffic.”

- Chan Kok Long of Executive Director of iPay88

Chan (left) presented his findings.

BIGGEST GROWTH AREAS FOR ONLINE RETAIL (B2C)

iPay88’s data analysis also shows some interesting trend that indicates the biggest growth in online retail between 2016 and 2017 are:

Virtual/Instant Services (VOIP, SMS, Prepaid, Top Up):

159% increase

Transportation Services:

276% increase

Delivery Services:

177%

increase

Personal and Skin Care:

179% increase

“Transportation is becoming a major segment of the online business-to-consumer (B2C) market. This is not unusual, considering that there has been greater usage of mobility services apps such as KTM – which is becoming synonymous as inter-state transport alternatives in Malaysia.”

In 2018, Chan expects stiff competition for conventional retail companies that have not invested in digital versions for their retail channels.

“Meanwhile, online shops will continue to thrive and even more as they participate in marketplace initiatives such as the PIKOM-organised #MYCYBERSALE 2017 that generated a total of RM311 million in total sales in just five days.”

ONLINE BANKING OVERTAKES CREDIT CARD

An interesting highlight from the observation of iPay88’s data insights is the obvious preference of online banking over credit cards for online payments.

Between the months of January to December 2017, credit cards accounted for between 1.3 and 2.4 million online payments each month. In comparison, there were between 2.5 and 4.4 million online banking payments each month.

From this, clearly online banking is the preferred choice of online payment and iPay88 attributes a few contributing factors to this: -

1

Online Banking does not involve credit interest

2

Online Banking systems and option have become prevalent and easy for users

3

Online Banking is available to non-credit card holders

“It is not to say that credit cards are becoming obsolete for online payment and shopping in Malaysia.

However, the choice of online banking is more attractive now and it is also generally positive because it advocates the habit of spending what you have in the bank, rather than buying on credit,” he said.

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Malaysian E-commerce Up A Notch in 2018 E-commerce penetration rate is expected to reach 4% to 5% of the total retail market in 2018 – a figure that doubles that in 2015.

n 2017, the rapid growth of the e-commerce market in Malaysia spurred the expansion of the online shopping sphere, and encouraged local businesses to embrace omnichannel retailing.

CEO of 11street, Hoseok Kim said: “The e-commerce industry in Malaysia has done well, in which we see a penetration rate of 2.5%, and given the broadened acceptance of e-commerce, the time has come for e-marketplaces to make online shopping a better and more seamless experience for consumers.

“Once the right infrastructures are in place, we expect to see Malaysia accelerating its e-commerce penetration, with a rate of anywhere between 4% to 5% in 2018 – a figure that doubles that in 2015.”

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RISE OF DIVERSIFIED PAYMENT METHODS According to the Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes Study 2016, seven in 10 Malaysians expressed a willingness to use mobile wallets, while 68% of Malaysians will opt to use contactless payments over cash.

Existing offline payment methods such as MOLPay @ 7-eleven will continue to offer the added convenience for consumers, but e-commerce platforms also ought to note the growing prominence of the cashless society, to introduce new and varied payment infrastructures to appease consumer demands.

EVOLVING CHECKOUT PROCESS The “Remember Me” feature as consumers reach the tail-end of the transaction will set the pace for 2018, driven by two factors – convenience and efficiency. Already a must-have feature in global online marketplaces, the

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Hoseok Kim, CEO of 11street.

‘Remember Me’ function will expedite online shopping and make it an even more seamless experience, as it has all the necessary payment and delivery information of the consumer in a secured manner.

Online marketplaces need to strengthen their check-out security to protect the privacy of their shoppers.

GREATER TRANSPARENCY ON PRODUCT DELIVERY Today, consumers do not only want their products fast – they also expect to know exactly where they are and when they will reach. E-commerce platforms need to simplify the delivery process, yet embed a comprehensive tracking system to shorten consumers’ anticipation period.

DYNAMISM OF THE E-COMMERCE MARKET FOR BRAND PLAYERS Organisations that want to excel are expanding omni-channel to better accommodate the shoppers. The storein-store concept will help the businesses and brand players to bridge the gap between their offline-to-online transition, increased brand visibility and branched out beyond their own digital assets.

PROMISING E-COMMERCE MARKET Malaysia is poised to see greater success in the e-commerce industry in 2018, driven by the improved infrastructure and logistic service nationwide, and increased technical support for businesses to deploy an omni-channel strategy.

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SCHEDULE FAST AND RIGHT

Show Up On Time TimeTec TA’s automated staff attendance for smoother retail operation. etailers are more often than not, natural born multitaskers. They have so much to do while constantly thinking about driving customers into their outlets to increase sales.

In addition, there are other aspects to take care of – inventory, product display, staff training, schedule shifts, eye on competitors, planning in-store events, online marketing and so on. This is just for one outlet, multiply that with the number of outlets one might have to oversee.

Workforce is one area that requires owners to keep a close watch.

Workplace tardiness has become normalised in many parts of the world and this adversely affects daily business operations.

Therefore, it is crucial retail businesses are able to recognise, and get the right tools and technology to monitor staff effectively.

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obtain invaluable data, that gives you data-driven decision making power and overview of what’s happening in your retail outlets in real-time.

TimeTec TA is a cloud-based time attendance management solution that comes in web and mobile applications.

With this solution, attendance records can be collected in more ways than before where the system accepts not only biometrics, cards and passwords; it also reads the data from beacon, NFC tag and GPS signal via smartphone.

While clocking option is an important tool to gather the data, the software settings and options are even crucial for retail businesses’ implementation, and TimeTec TA is loaded with various features suitable for retailers to improve their processes and operation.

THE SOLUTION IS ON CLOUD Technology creates automation and in managing a multioutlet business, you need to consider a solution for your retail management whereby you can

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Improve staff efficiency with TimeTec.

For a dynamic workforce, the crucial part in any attendance system is its scheduling section. TimeTec TA comes with a scheduling module that allows your managers to plan for your staffs’ schedule ahead of time.

By doing this, the staff can access their individual work schedule at anytime from anywhere easily, and managers will not be burdened to answer the usual, “What is my work schedule?” question.

The system has been designed to handle three types of schedules – most commonly used weekly, daily and flexi schedules. Companies can also apply rules and restrictions to the schedules such as time range, time calculation formulas, leeways and more to ensure that staff members adhere to company policy through TimeTec TA.

COMPREHENSIVE ATTENDANCE MANAGEMENT Another feature to be considered in a time management software is its comprehensiveness. TimeTec TA provides management with a tool to update detailed employee records in the system and it is uniform throughout to avoid confusion or overlapping of data.

All data is kept at a cloud server, free from manipulation and all edits in TimeTec TA will be highlighted and recorded in an audit trail. It also provides ways to plan for holidays and leave with the inclusion of TimeTec Leave under one platform.

SMARTER CHOICE Sooner or later, retailers need to think of a way to automate processes to achieve better performance. TimeTec TA is a comprehensive yet flexible tool for retailers to manage their workforce’s schedule, to track staff attendance and to gather data for other purposes.

To find out more about TimeTec TA, email info@ timeteccloud.com or call 03-8070 9933 (Mr Marcus Tng) for consultation.

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Malaysia Retailer Vol 6 No 1

MALAYSIA OF TOURISM AWARDS 2012/2013 MINISTRY OF TOURISM & CULTURE

BEST SHOPPING MALL

FIABCI MALAYSIA PROPERTY AWARD 2007 RETAIL DEVELOPMENT WINNER

EAST COAST ZONE

THE LANDMARK ONE-STOP SHOPPING MALL DESTINATION IN MALAYSIA

Mall Of Malaysia Group:

Fulfilling the needs of retailers in Malaysia.

Creating one-stop shopping havens across Malaysia.

Mall of Malaysia Group is the creator of landmark one-stop shopping malls in Malaysia. The Group portfolio of assets include, seven shopping malls conveniently located across seven states in Peninsular Malaysia. The seven malls are KB Mall in Kelantan, Alor Star Mall in Kedah, Batu Pahat Mall in Johor, Taiping Mall in Perak, KTCC Mall in Terengganu, SB Mall in Selangor and BM Sentral Mall in Penang. This impressive portfolio has a net lettable area of over 3.5 million square feet.

KB MALL

The group owns, develops, manages and leases prime retail properties to prominent national retail brands in Malaysia. Primarily, all the malls are strategically located in the central business district area of the city centre of each respective state. These various malls were built with the objective to provide convenient and sophisticated one-stop shopping mall destinations in Malaysia. The retail tenants and anchor tenants in these malls are made up of an array of reputable brand leaders in the retail industry.

ALOR STAR MALL

IT & ELECTRICAL

TAIPING MALL

BATU PAHAT MALL

ENTERTAINMENT

Lot 328, Jalan 51A/223, Seksyen 51A, 46100 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.

Tenants represent from a variety of categories including Hypermarket and departmental store, fashion and jewellery, cafĂŠs and restaurants, beauty and healthcare, I.T. and electrical, leisure and entertainment and others. In a bid to support small to medium entrepreneurs, Mall of Malaysia Group invites these businesses into the malls to promote local and traditional wearable and consumable products to shoppers and tourists.

In the near future, there are plans to open more one-stop shopping malls in other states. KTCC Mall in Kuala Terengganu is all set to open in 2018. Mall of Malaysia Group is working towards being the largest developer of one-stop shopping malls in Malaysia, with more plans in the pipeline to build and operate more landmark shopping malls all over Malaysia.

Tel: 03-7960 3219 ext 105 Fax: 03-7960 3218 Email: leasing@mallofmalaysia.com.my Website: www.mallofmalaysia.com.my

For Leasing Enquiries, Please Contact @ Mr. David We (012-331 5058) Ms. Law (016-222 7091)

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Mass Customisation via 3D Printing China’s Peak Sport got a leg up in the retail competition when it released its first 3D-printed commercial sport shoes. Could this be the start of the future of shopping and what is 3D printing?

he technology of 3D printing has definitively come a long way since it was first invented in late 1980s and early 1990s.

3D printing is known as additive manufacturing and was initially used to allow manufacturers to create, test and examine an object more closely before producing a finished product.

The credit for early work on the technology goes to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a company called 3D Systems.

Since then, the technology has developed in many ways, from the fineness of detail a machine can print

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to the amount of time required to clean and finish the object when the printing is complete.

Printing machines now range from size of a microwave oven to a small car and the processes are getting faster, the materials and equipment are getting cheaper, and more materials are being used, including metals and ceramics.

Types of 3D printing technologies Syringe extrusion is a method that allows users to print certain foods such as chocolate, frosting and cheese.

Stereolithography (SLA) works by concentrating a beam of ultraviolet light focused onto the surface of a vat filled with liquid photocurable resin,

while polyJet photopolymer allows for various materials and colours to be incorporated into single prints, and at high resolutions.

In Malaysia, 3D Printers Sdn Bhd managing director Owen Poh reportedly said, “3D printing can help SMEs grow tremendously. Imagine being able to work on a prototype and make changes before meeting with an angel investor for a fraction of what the process used to cost. “SMEs can now take the risk of creating their designs without the burden of a heavy investment. 3D printing also slashes the time required for research and development. It only

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takes two hours and 30 minutes to print a product that weighs 35g, depending on its complexity.”

Poh’s company is one of the leading distributors of 3D printers in Malaysia and an advocate for the technology.

Based on a report by the Malaysian Printing and Supporting Industries Directory 2015/2016, research company Canalys predicted the global 3D printing market, including 3D printer sales, materials and associated services, will grow from US$2.5 billion in 2013 to US$16.2 billion by 2018, translating to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 45.7% from 2013 to 2018.

And another technology firm IDC,

forecasted global 3D printer unit sales as optimistic with a combined CAGR of 59% throughout 2017. Similarly, Wells Fargo, Gartner, PwC, Deloitte and Morgan Stanley are also bullish on the market’s outlook.

Retail’s foray into 3D printing For international retail labels, 3D printing is widely used by sports brands such as Adidas, New Balance, Under Armour and so on. Adidas’ Futurecraft 4D is a 3D-printed running-shoe midsole that can be customised to an individual’s needs. The idea is for customers to go to an Adidas store, run on a treadmill for a short period of time and voilà — a custom-printed running

shoe will be tailor made for you.

Meanwhile, in China, Peak Sport is wasting no time in ensuring its futuristic sports shoes are available to the public in Beijing. Its previous 3D printing effort was used by NBA player Dwight Howard.

The continuous disruption by the 3D printing technology points to the future of retail for many Western brands to counter the dwindling retail industry and offer customers a chance to customise products.

For example, Amazon filed a patent for technology pertaining to an ondemand custom apparel system, which would be able to quickly fill online orders of suits, dresses and other garments.

Retail is currently seeing a rise of digital direct-to-consumer retail brands offering a unique value proposition traditional retailers are unable to provide. Ultimately, it will be important for traditional retailers to acquire or invest in digital-native companies to continually offer the best products to consumers and be at the forefront of innovation.

While in its early stages, the shift toward mass customisation is gaining momentum; existing brands will need to take heed or get left behind.

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Kitchen, The Heart Of The Family Goldenhome Kitchen opens its first showroom in Malaysia to provide European styles and technology to proud homeowners. ver the years, the kitchen has become more than just an area to cook and have dinners. It is the busiest area of the house as family and friends gather around to exchange stories, share their lives and even work and play.

So, it is important to build a kitchen that is not just aesthetically superior, but functional and durable. Many low to mid-range kitchen cabinetry in Malaysia do not stand the test of time and score low when it comes to true ergonomics.

To address that niche in the market, Ammolite Furniture Sdn Bhd has acquired sole distribution of Goldenhome Kitchen products and services. Ammolite Furniture cuts its teeth in the business since 2013, outfitting specialised design and build services corporate clients such as Icon Residence and Lakeville Residence by Mah Sing, Sunway Putra Hotel, and Novotel Taiping.

Late last year, Ammolite Furniture started refurbishment of a 5,000 sq ft showroom in Glenmarie, Shah Alam to exhibit Goldenhome Kitchen’s upscale products.

Goldenhome Kitchen has more than

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19 years of experience in the kitchen cabinetry segment. The brand has a global presence with more than 1,000 retail stores in the US, Australia, China, Middle East and parts of Asia.

The company was awarded the top kitchen cabinet maker by Top 500 property developers in China for five consecutive years since 2013.

The strength of the brand lies in its high quality and safe products, as well as trendsetting and designs from Milan.

Its design team is helmed by Matthias Pareschi while its Chief Technical Adviser Erwin Wacker is from Germany.

With the support from the Germany Association of Modern Kitchen, discerning homeowners in Malaysia will be spoilt for choice as they look to build their dream kitchens.

Goldenhome Kitchen espouses outstanding functionality, high-end design and eco-friendly practice. Its products are made with E1 European standard particle boards to ensure the cabinetry are free of carcinogenic materials. It is so confident with its products that customers can enjoy a 10year warranty.

In addition, one of its best-selling series are finished with AkzoNobel

Dato Tay Sim Kim, Executive Chairman/CEO of Ammolite Furniture Sdn Bhd.

paints and coatings –what BMW uses for its cars. But fret not, these paints and coatings are certified safe for homes and kitchen use.

Other finishings are equally impressive. Customers can choose from a wide range of them that simulates wood grain, industrial design and so on. Goldenhome Kitchen’s superior technology also allows for curvy design accents, anodised aluminium fittings, scratch resistant surfaces and electrical add-ons.

Lastly, it has an experienced technical team to ensure a fuss-free and high-grade installation services, coupled with friendly consultations and design advisers. The company also has plans to open showrooms in major cities in Malaysia.

AEON Co. (M) Bhd and honestbee signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to form a business alliance. he two companies are forming an alliance that will enable both parties to develop and formulate new services that better match the rapidly changing customer demand, by establishing a framework of cooperation to merge their unique strengths.

The collaboration stems from the growing trend of online purchase pattern and a desire to innovate its offering to enhance value for Malaysians.

Shinobu Washizawa, Managing Director of AEON Co. (M) Bhd said: “Owing to decades of support from our customers, we have established a nationwide presence.

“We believe our strength lies not only in the wide-range of products and services, but also in the customers’ trust in our reputable brand.

“In order to enhance the value for our customers by moving towards an omni-channel retailer, we want to combine our strengths with honestbee’s expertise to digitalise our customer’s shopping experience.”

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ADDING VALUE TO AN ESTABLISHED GROCER Honestbee is an online concierge and delivery service with presence in eight countries.

According to Marianne Chuo, Country General Manager of honestbee Malaysia, the way Malaysians consume and shop today differ greatly from how it was a decade ago.

“One of the key drivers for the success of the online retail sector is convenience. As a trusted online concierge, we are always evolving with time to offer our customers a whole new level of committed reliability.

“We curate our logistics in a way in the most efficient and effective way when delivering products, ranging from fresh produce to dry goods. We look forward to a successful collaboration with AEON.”

Mr Shinobu Washizawa, Managing Director of AEON Co. (M) Bhd. (third from left) and Ms Marianne Chuo, Country General Manager of honestbee Malaysia (second from right) exchanging handshakes after the official signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) witnessed by Mr Hiroyuki Kotera, Executive Director of AEON Co. (M) Bhd. (left), Mr Poh Ying Loo, Executive Director of AEON Co. (M) Bhd. (second from left) and Mr Kunimasa Nakamura, Deputy General Manager, honestbee Japan (right).

As the pilot project of this alliance, AEON Mid Valley store will initiate honestbee’s personal shopper service.

Customers who live within 17 km radius from the store will enjoy a minimum one-hour delivery service for the purchase of listed grocery products (subject to availability of the timeslot).

Washizawa added: “We are proud to launch this new service at our flagship store, AEON Mid Valley. We will closely monitor the feedback and demands from our customers, and consider to expand this service both in terms of regional and in merchandise offering.”

“At honestbee, our expertise lies in ensuring that our customers receive their purchases almost as soon as they have put in their order. As such, we are extremely proud to be appointed as AEON’s partner in their endeavour to venture into on-demand delivery service,” Chuo added.

As an introductory offer, every new customer will get to enjoy a RM50 discount with a minimum

( L-R from mascot): Mr Hiroyuki Kotera, Executive Director of AEON Co. (M) Bhd., Mr Shinobu Washizawa, Managing Director of AEON Co. (M) Bhd., Ms Marianne Chuo, Country General Manager of honestbee Malaysia, Mr Poh Ying Loo, Executive Director of AEON Co. (M) Bhd. and Mr Kunimasa Nakamura, Deputy General Manager, honestbee Japan posing with some of the products which can be purchased from AEON MidValley through honestbee’s online platform.

spend of RM120. To enjoy this benefit, new customers need to key in the promotional code of “AEON50HB” to redeem any time before 1 March 2018.

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AEON Advances Towards Omni-Channel Strategy

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Pricing Guidelines What you need to know about the mechanisms to determine unreasonably high profit.

tarting January 1, 2017, the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism has enforced the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Regulations (Mechanisms for Determining Unreasonable High Profits for Goods) 2016 to act on profiteering activities.

This rule replaces the Price Control and Anti-Risk Regulations 2014 that has been in force until December 31, 2016.

This rule applies the method of calculating the percentage or mark-

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The guidelines are issued based on these objectives: Provide clarification and understanding to traders on the provisions of law relating to profession.

Increase the compliance of traders to the recruitment mechanism in determining the prices of goods.

Preventing crony activity among dealers.

Create transparent, ethical and businessfriendly business practices that are conducive to benefit consumers.

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Price guidelines from the Ministry ensures fair competition among retailers.

up of a price on the first day of the financial year or business calendar year as the determination of the profit base.

Revenue determination is made using a one-year financial or business calendar year measurement.

Profiteering occurs when the percentage of mark-up of the current year’s margin exceeds the percentage of basic gain during the year.

Traders must ensure the percentage of the profit margin at any date in a particular year does not exceed the base of the percentage mark on the first day of the financial year or calendar year.

This rule does not specify the profit rate of goods being traded or sold. However, the Ministry, through mechanisms in these regulations

wants to ensure that profits determined or earned by the merchant for a merchandise are reasonable and based on past business information or data.

The Ministry has initiated the enforcement and application of the regulations to two categories of goods namely food and beverages, as well as household goods.

Household goods are comprised non-durable items including personal care products. Priority is given to these items as they have a direct impact on household spending and the cost of living of Malaysians.

The Ministry will extend the enforcement of this regulation to other goods and services in accordance where they see fit, based on market needs to ensure fairness in competition.

There was a transitional period of five months commencing on 1 January 2017 and ending on 31 May 2017 for merchants to ensure enough preparation

in order to comply with these regulations.

The Ministry is implementing an advocacy programme to provide clarification and explanation to stakeholders, especially traders who are subject to enforcement to enhance understanding of these new guidelines.

Any party who commits an offence in making a high and unreasonable gains will be liable to action under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011.

An individual who has committed an offence will face a fine of RM100,000 or three years imprisonment or both for the first offence, while second and subsequent offences faces a fine of RM250,000 or five years in prison or both.

Meanwhile, corporations who breach this act will fined RM500,000 for the first offence while a fine of RM1 million is imposed for a second or subsequent offence.

The full guidelines can be downloaded through this link: www.kpdnkk.gov. my/kpdnkk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Garis-Panduan-PelaksanaanMekanisme-Untuk-Menentukan-Keuntungan-Tinggi-Yang-Tidak-Munasabahupdated-30.11.2017-2.pdf Other guidelines on price controls can be downloaded from this link: ebook. kpdnkk.gov.my/ebook Any complaints can be channelled to the Ministry through: • 03-8000 8000 1Malaysia One Call Centre (1MOCC) • 1-800-886-800 Strategic Operational and Information Operational Centre (PIGOS) • Ez ADU smartphone application • Email: e-aduan@kpdnkk.gov.my • SMS to 15888 by typing “COMPLAINT DEMAND <complaint details>”; and Report / present to any KPDNKK offices nationwide.

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Group photo of VIPs and guests.

Datuk Seri KK Chai.

Last year’s proceeds were distributed to charity organisations.

Ushering Chinese New Year Together Organising Chairman Datuk Seri KK Chai shares a sneak peek into what he has planned for MRCA’s annual CNY get-together. he MRCA will be hosting its Chinese New Year Banquet on 27 February in the sprawling Wisma Huazong in Seri Kembangan, Selangor. The banquet will also be graced by guest-of-honour Datuk Seri Ir Dr Wee Ka Siong, Minister in the Prime Minister Department.

The event has Platinum sponsor Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia Berhad, and Gold Sponsors – Top Glove Sdn Bhd and KK Group of Companies.

Organising Chairman and MRCA Vice-President Datuk Seri KK Chai has equated the banquet to the open house

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tradition hosted by Malaysians, which unites and strengthens the bond of friendship among people from all walks of life.

“After an eventful 2017, the Year of the Earth Dog 2018 is a good time for lifestyle changes and for the start of new business ventures. This banquet gives the retail chain industry members and guests a golden opportunity to foster closer relationship with one another.

“In 2018, success depends primarily on the quality of the communication between people, and learning that being

selfless and generous can bring the promise of a more generous harvest in return, in a harmonious and progressive Malaysia.”

Themed “The Year of Gold”, the banquet will have an engaging programme that includes drum opening performance, Judo, and song and dance performances. It is expected to host 1,300 attendees, with the VVIP table seating 40 pax, surrounded by 15 VIP tables.

Among the unique performances will be a special dance performance by MRCA Council Members and, back by popular demand, the President Councils will be presenting a number of songs.

The Past Presidents themselves would put their singing skills to the test to raise funds for several charitable causes.

“It will be an event for the members as we encourage them to make an effort to celebrate Chinese New Year with MRCA as a family. We want everyone to leave the event with new friendships and renewed ties,” said Datuk Seri KK. Those in attendance can also look forward to a lucky draw with great prizes, as well as 1,300 ang pows to all guest distributed by MRCA’s God of Prosperity.

The proceeds from this event will go to the MRCA Charity Foundation which will then be distributed to aid charity organisations.

Congratulations to Datuk Seri Garry Chua and Datuk Seri KK Chai Two MRCA leaders were conferred decorated titles by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in conjunction with Federal Territories Day. Presented in pomp and splendour, the investiture held at Istana Negara in Kuala Lumpur was attended by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V where 370 recipients of awards and medals were honoured.

In attendance were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, his deputy Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid

atuk Seri Garry Chua has very extensive and in-depth experiences generally in the building industry for the past 40 years (since 1978) and 18 years in the F&B sector too with prominent names like Chakri Palace, Rainforest Raintree and Sanook.

His experiences encompass Building refurbishments maintenance, Restorations and Development. He developed ROTOL Group’s reputable and high standing to its present status through Speed, Quality & Safety (ISO 9001-2008) which have been the hallmark for ROTOL Group’s success.

He has lent his support to many Charitable organisations including Kiwanis Homes, Children Aids Home, Rumah Anak Yatim, Kidney Dialysis Centre and Places of Worship and etc. For his philanthropic works, he was awarded the special Kiwanis 100th Year Centenary Award.

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atuk Seri KK Chai graduated as a Chartered Accountant from The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA UK). With much determination and focus, he established his first KK Supermart and Superstore in 2001 in Kuala Lumpur.

To date he has 305 KK Supermart and Superstore outlets in Malaysia and also in Nepal and India providing essential goods and groceries. He also has a wide range of businesses under his ownership – fresh market goods, food and beverage, home decor, surveillance systems, sport complex, hotel, beauty and hair, automobile, property and investment holding, and manufacturing.

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Hamidi and Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor. Twenty-two people received the Seri Mahkota Wilayah award that carries the title “Datuk Seri”. Among them were MRCA President Datuk Seri Garry Chua and MRCA Vice-President Datuk Seri KK Chai.

His most outstanding project undertaken was the ‘rescue and restoration’ of “Menara Matrade” for the Government after the previous contractor was unable to handover even after 10 years.

ROTOL was the first to have successfully completed the restoration facade cleaning of KLCC with US Technology. ROTOL was also awarded the Malaysia Book of Records for the Restoration of Daya Bumi.

He was also appointed as the Honorary President for the World Wushu Championship 2013 hosted in Kuala Lumpur where Malaysia won 4 Golds, 5 Silver and 5 Bronze medals.

He was instrumental in securing strong endorsement for the event from not only the Prime Minister’s Department but also the Sports and Tourism Ministries.

He is the current President of MRCA since 2016 and also the Honorary President for WUSHU KL.

As MRCA Vice-President, he volunteered time and effort to organise various events and causes as well as guidance to young and new members.

He is also the President of The Kuala Lumpur Chinese Assembly Hall, Bukit Bintang Charity Society, Ti-Ratana Welfare Society; Chairman of Kelab RELA Kehormat / Bersekutu Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur and Business Ethics Institute of Malaysia; and Vice-President of Nepal-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

He sits on the advisory board of Gojukai Karate Selangor, Khuan Loke Dragon and Lion Dance Association Sungai Way, and Salak South Community Welfare Association.

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IPC Shopping Centre’s Redevelopment The family-friendly shopping destination brings a better and brighter shopping experience for the community.

PC Shopping Centre is proud to reveal its new centre-wide upgrade. The redevelopment is seen both in its physical space and overall brand, which is set to create a fun, inspirational and great day out for shoppers and the community alike.

It is the culmination of an extremely ambitious project, one of the biggest shopping centre redevelopments in the region, with a RM200 million investment into the centre including the surrounding landscaping and community infrastructure.

With the ever-changing needs of the community and shoppers, IPC introduced the concept of being “So Much More” than just another shopping destination.

The quintessential neighbourhood shopping centre in the heart of Mutiara Damansara has carefully crafted and

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refined the shopping experience through its space design, revamped interiors and family-friendly functionalities.

Thomas Malmberg, Shopping Centre Director of IKEA Southeast Asia explained, “Today, the local consumer market is constantly evolving and we understand the importance of a great customer experience to remain relevant and ahead in this extremely competitive retail environment.

“Hence, we are constantly working and listening to our community to understand their woes, their pain points, as well as their wants and needs. This redevelopment is for them, and it is also the perfect opportunity to build stronger partnerships with new and existing tenants and partners.

“Together with our valued neighbours such as The Curve, eCurve and of course IKEA, we are strengthening the Mutiara

Damansara Commercial Centre as the premier destination for shopping, dining and meeting with family and friends.”

The idea for the new IPC Shopping Centre is to create a contemporary yet inspirational space for the community.

IPC Shopping Centre’s new design guarantees a space made for everyone in the family.

Karyn Lim, General Manager of IPC Shopping Centre added, “IPC Shopping Centre has matured over the past 15 years and we are glad to grow with its surrounding neighbourhood and become an integral meeting place for family and friends.

“It has always been our vision to create a better everyday life for the community by providing a home away from home. Home is safe, convenient and family-friendly, that is what IPC stands for.”

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IPC’s new look.

MORE SHOPPING AND DINING OPTIONS Shoppers are in for a treat with 145 stores including new, extended and refreshed F&B concepts, fashion and beauty retailers, and lifestyle outlets.

The shopping centre sees 46% of returning tenants such as Popular Bookstore and Padini, among others, as well as several new tenants.

When it comes to food and beverage, IPC Shopping Centre now houses more dining options catering to the different palates and dining occasions, from the new alfresco dining area to the freshly refurbished food court affectionately dubbed as “Foodland”.

Some of the new F&B tenants include Paradise Dynasty and Ichiban Ramen, among others. Shoppers will also be thrilled to see returning local favourites such as Kluang Station.

NEW AND IMPROVED FACILITIES The brand also believes that unforgettable and positive memories are made the moment shoppers set foot on to the property. This includes smaller

IPC team unveiled their hard work.

details that make shopping great such as improved security, accessibility, convenience and comfort.

Besides this, the redevelopment also includes a guided parking system, additional seating areas and familyfriendly facilities like a kid entrance, revamped family rooms and a designated play area called Funland for little ones.

IPC Shopping Centre continues its efforts to better care for the environment with an upgraded Recycling & Buy Back Centre and newly installed solar panels that will contribute to ambitious annual energy saving targets.

It is also currently in the process of obtaining official green building certification from Malaysia’s Green Building Index (GBI) and the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED Gold).

In addition to the redevelopment, IPC Shopping Centre also introduced a new brand logo to mark the brand’s 15th anniversary. The new logo showcases the overall evolution of the brand and how it continues to stay relevant to the community.

This season, IPC Shopping Centre will also introduce ‘A Tale of Great Fortune’ themed Chinese New Year celebration with colourful decorations around the shopping centre. Shoppers will be treated to a month filled with exciting giveaways and activities such as traditional lion dance, crafts activities for kids, traditional Chinese art workshops, and Chinese orchestra performances.

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Amazon Goes Offline Online giant acquires Whole Foods to further its retail reach.

nline marketplace Amazon had been dabbling with traditional brick-andmortar activities for a few years already and have finally sealed the deal to purchase Whole Foods for US$13.7 billion (RM58.5 billion) in cash.

According to Forbes, the e-commerce player had tried owning a few physical stores to running experiments such as Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go. There had been criticism to this deal. Based on another report by Geekwire United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), an organisation that represents more

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than 1 million retail workers across the United States, had said that the deal could hurt customers and workers and lead to significant automation of jobs.

In a letter to the Federal Trade Commission, UFCW President Marc Perrone had called Amazon an “online retail monopoly” and argued that “the scope and weight of Amazon’s digital reach poses a severe and constant economic threat to consumers, retailers, and especially grocers, irrespective of whether they’re located online or are traditional brick-andmortar stores”.

Perrone claimed the deal would hurt consumers by reducing the number

Jeff Bezos aims to revolutionise the offline retail stores in the US.

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of grocery store choices and possibly impacting prices and food quality.

He said he believed Amazon would automate jobs in stores by implementing something like the checkout-free technology being developed for Amazon Go stores.

In that report, Amazon declined to comment. In an analysis by managing director of The Stuyvesant Square Consultancy J.G. Collins, he said Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods would create a variety of efficiencies and opportunities for the “retail” giant.

For others in the grocery and food space, it may be one of the most significant economic disruptors of this generation, if not this half of the century.

He said Amazon was viewed as a retailer, but was actually a logistics and supply chain company.

It will bring that expertise to Whole Foods to significantly reduce its brickand-mortar footprint and increase its margins by radically altering the retail food supply chain.

“First, Amazon will be able to reduce

Amazon will be able to reduce instore inventories and the footprint of most urban and suburban grocery stores using its existing supply chain expertise. in-store inventories and the footprint of most urban and suburban grocery stores using its existing supply chain expertise.

Think about it: when you go to your regular grocery store, do you really need 50 cans of Campbell’s Cream of Broccoli soup, 50 cans of Mushroom Barley soup, 50 Cans of Chicken Noodle

Soup, etc.? Really, do you need that kind of inventory sitting around for any particular foodstuff?,” he wrote in his analysis published in market research site, Seeking Alpha.

Collins added the logistics of the grocery business haven’t really changed much since “supermarkets”, the term of art when they were introduced in 1930.

The only significant change in how supermarkets have done business in the last 50 years is barcodes and checkout scanners.

Meanwhile, in another report by Mashable, it stated that Amazon’s entry into Southeast Asia was hit by delays after its competitors overtook it in Singapore. With AliBaba’s foray into that market was SGD2 billion (RM6.3 billion) into Rocket Internet’s Lazada, a brand dominating that region.

But, Amazon has finally launched its same-day Prime Now delivery service in Singapore. The service brings twohour, and even one-hour deliveries, for tens of thousands of household items, from eggs and cold beer to diapers and detergent.

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What Next, After Fast Fashion?

Consumers are now more demanding, discerning and less predictable in their purchasing behaviour.

hat next, indeed? Fast fashion has been the mainstay of the fashion business for several decades now, and had made fashion one of the most profitable economic stories of these times.

According to the McKinsey Global Fashion Index in 2016, the fashion business had grown at 5.5% annually and is valued at over US$2 trillion.

That’s about the size of the world’s seventh largest economy, it said.

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But just as fashion trends change in a blink of an eye, new consumer needs and wants have also begun to emerge.

For one, the apparel sector is becoming much more competitive. Competition is increasingly tough, not just among fashion brands. The apparel sector is also competing with other sectors such as travel for the dollars of consumers, in particular the young.

“Apparel will struggle to remain a priority spend,” Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at the NPD Group,

was quoted as saying in Retail Dive in January.

“It’s competing for its share of the wallet, as younger consumers seek and spend on services and experiences more than ever.”

The McKinsey report also noted new consumer expectations and global factors were posing challenges to the status quo. Consumers have become more demanding, more discerning and less predictable in their purchasing behaviour, and their outlook is

According to the McKinsey Global Fashion Index in 2016,

5.5% annually and is valued at over US$2 trillion. That’s about the

the fashion business had grown at

size of the world’s seventh largest economy, it said.

increasingly being radically reshaped by new technologies.

Some fashion retailers have been quick on the update, crafting out new strategies as a counterpoint to fast fashion. After decades of fast and impersonal fashion produced by behemoth brands, there appears to be a return to smaller scale fashion brands which have a connection with the consumer, in different ways. They have been able to be personal, on a wide scale, through the powerful social media.

Business of Fashion website reported in July that new start-ups have become successful by building genuine communities around their brands. For example, fast-growing American brands such as Anine Bing and Nasty Gal have forged ahead through unique communities built around their founders, via social media.

“You can differentiate yourself by how you build a community,” John Thorbeck, a consultant, was quoted as saying.

“The tribe, or multiple tribes, that you’re after – there is a bond that you may be able to create.”

As part of building up a personal

connection, the concept of crowdsourced designs is also catching on in the fashion world. Web publication Inc. com reported in December 2016 that some businesses have begun to get their designers to work with consumers in coming up with new products. This seeks to reduce the guesswork into what makes a design popular and hence, profitable, and also helps build a connection with the consumer.

The article quoted Ryan Kang, cofounder of Rooy, an online footwear creation platform, as saying that such collaborative projects have a clear story that appeals to consumers especially millennials. He noted the whole process incorporates engagement with the consumer right from the start.

According to an article in Business of Fashion in May, community-driven brands have better success with customer retention. They create loyal fans, and this gives them an advantage over fast fashion giants which can’t cultivate this sort of loyalty and engagement.

The question is whether such personal engagement is possible to scale. In an article in Forbes in December

Designs replicate catwalk trends

Mainly volumnbased business

Consumer response dictates repeat buy

Fast Fashion

Quick response in supply chain

Flat initial buys, breadth over depth

2016, consultant Rachel Arthur wrote that technology was developing so fast that personalisation at scale is becoming ever more possible.

With the use of technology, customer service can be personalised to support brands built around strong community engagement. It’s not yet there but many retailers are already investing in technology to enable customers to interact with their website in a manner as close as possible to interacting with a real-life shop owner who understands their needs.

Sustainable fashion is another concern that is becoming increasingly important as consumers become more environmentally conscious, said a McKinsey report “Succeeding in tomorrow’s global fashion market” as far back as 2014.

For many years now, consumers are drawn to environmentally sustainable products that reduce pollution and conserve resources, while showing strong social commitment and providing fair remuneration to employees. But at the same time, most consumers are reluctant to pay a premium for such products.

Nevertheless, sustainable and ethical business is increasingly becoming considered as good or even crucial business practice. As such, fashion businesses can do well to tap into this niche, given the growing awareness of environmental sustainability and ethical trade.

Some businesses have also begun to champion slow fashion or antifast fashion, basically by focusing on custom-made pieces that can be ready in a relatively short time of one to two weeks.

The Business of Fashion article in July noted that the Los Angelesbased Fame and Partners has found success with this model. It has won customers by promising a better fit with customisation while also reaping the benefits of a higher price, fewer returns and less inventory to hold.

While fast fashion still dominates the scene, several profitable niches have emerged. They capitalise on a personal and emotional connection, and promise personal service through customisation and crowdsourcing of ideas.

Given the impersonal fashion of fast fashion, such personal connections can fetch a premium.

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MRCA Entertains Senior Citizens In Conjunction With CNY The Malaysia Retail Chain Association’s (MRCA) Branding Education Charity Foundation organised a festive visit to the Chik Sin Thong Old Folks Home in Klang to spread some joy and cheer to the senior citizens. As part of the foundation’s mandate, it works to give back to society through visitations and donations to charity homes during Malaysian festive seasons. This home houses 25 Chinese old folks (12 male and 13 female) aged between 64 and 84.

The home’s average monthly expenses is about RM15,000, however, most of the residents have no children or family members to help out. The foundation donated RM10,000 worth of cash, groceries and CNY goodies during this visitation. Additional donation from MRCA members: • Poh Kong Holdings Bhd – RM2,000 cash • Top Glove Foundation – RM2,000 cash

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• Modu System – RM1,000 cash • Transtel Technology – angpow and groceries • GTC Global Technologies –

CCTV set (four camera units) • CommerceDotAsia – new CNY clothing for each resident Total donation from Foundation and MRCA members amounted to RM20,000. It is hoped with this celebration and donation, the association can help promote awareness on the importance of being charitable.

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MRCA’s contribution to the home.

Group photo with the children.

A sweet performance by the children.

MRCA members spread some cheer.

Performances to lighten up the day.

Goodie bags for all.

MRCA Spreads Christmas Cheer to 30 Underprivileged Children On 14 December 2017, the Malaysia Retail Chain Association (MRCA) paid a visit to Waja Home in Klang as part of its festive visitations under its Branding Education Charity Foundation.

The Foundation gives back to the society through visitations and donations to charitable organisations during annual festive seasons.

The Waja Home was founded in January 2008 by Luke Devanbu as a safe haven for children who are from single parents, abandoned, poor and abused background. Thirty children, aged between three and 17, live fulltime at the home.

All the children attend school thanks to Devanbu’s efforts despite him being 62 years old and still working as a despatch to fund this home and provide for them.

The home’s average monthly expenses is about RM9,500. Currently, it is in urgent need of funds to purchase the premises the children are now living in as the owner is planning to sell the house at RM1.1 million.

The MRCA Branding Education Charity Foundation donated RM10,000 cash, groceries, sofa set and Christmas presents during this visitation.

Additional donation were from MRCA members: • Hap Seng Star Sdn Bhd – RM2,000 cash • Transtel Technology – T-shirts, angpow and biscuits totalling RM1,200 • Delfi Marketing – Chocolates and candies totalling RM400 • Violet (MRCA Youth) – Presents for children totalling RM350 It is hoped with this celebration and donation, it can promote awareness among the public about helping the less fortunate.

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President’s Activities and Officiating Members’ Events 1. Launch of 11v GO. 2. Kuala Lumpur & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall Anniversary dinner. 3. KLSCCCI’s 113th Anniversary Dinner. 4. 28th Anniversary dinner of Focus Point. 5. Appreciation dinner for the MRCA CHarity Run committee. 6. Group photo with Tan Sri Dr. Tony Fernandes, one of the three recipients of the Nation Builder Tribute at the Branding Gala 2018, The Red Carpet Affair. 7. Grand opening of the Shane English School in Kepong.

8. Launch of Music Rights Malaysia by Dato’ Seri Hamzah Zainudin, Minister of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism.

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Malaysian Businesses Recognised

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Five MRCA members garnered SOBA 2017 awards in recognition of their best practice. he Star Outstanding Business Awards (SOBA) is all about recognising the best in Malaysian businesses. The awards return for the eighth year to honour local non-public listed organisations that have led the way with excellent business principles, ethics and practices.

The award ceremony on 16 January 2018 saw the crème de la crème of Malaysian business community. The prestigious event was attended by over 800 industry players in celebration of the award winners.

SOBA 2017 awards were presented by guest-of-honour International Trade and Industry Minister II Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan, Star Media Group Bhd chairman Datuk Fu Ah Kiow and group managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai. Among the big winners of the night was FMC Greenland chief executive officer Terry Lee (Male Entrepreneur of the Year in the above RM25mil sales turnover category). His company runs BMS Organics, that has grown to have more than 41 outlets and 21 organic vegetarian restaurants. The Lee family has taken a humble business to the forefront of healthy organic living.

In the other category (up to RM25mil sales turnover), Big Onion Food Caterer Sdn Bhd took home the Gold award for Best in Marketing. From its simple beginnings as a family restaurant, Big Onion has spread its wings to becoming a food caterer, promising high food quality and an unforgettable experience as well as event management services.

Meanwhile, WynKids Sdn Bhd snagged one of the Most Promising award that night. Established in Malaysia in 2008, WynKids is an Asia leading education company with the vision of unlocking children potential in academic and life.

In addition, Goldsoft Sdn Bhd and Paradise Builders Holding Sdn Bhd were given Certificates of Merit.

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International Trade and Industry Minister II Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan, presenting the Gold award to Liang Foo Kuan of Big Onion Food Caterer Sdn Bhd. Looking on are Star Media Group Bhd chairman Datuk Fu Ah Kiow (right) and group managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai (left).

Award recipients – Big Onion Food Caterer Sdn Bhd, Goldsoft Sdn Bhd and Paradise Builders Holding Sdn Bhd.

Goldsoft provides retail and trading focused management software to more than 300 local small to medium size and public listed companies to help improve their operations efficiency, profitability and promote growth.

It currently supports more than 6,000 POS installed across Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.

Paradise Builders Holding owns the Hippopo Baby Spa & Wellness – the first and largest baby spa chain with 12 outlets in Malaysia.

SOBA 2017 is organised by Star

Media Group with AmBank, Digi and Human Resources Development Fund as main sponsors, Credit Guarantee Corporation as co-sponsor, Matrade as official trade promotion partner and Connexion Conference & Event Centre as official venue sponsor.

It is endorsed by the Prime Minister’s Department, Secretariat for the Advancement of Malaysian Entrepreneurs, International Trade and Industry Ministry, and Finance Ministry as well as supported by Bursa Malaysia and audited by BDO with 988, Suria FM and dimsum as official media partners.

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Thye worked hard to ogranise the run.

Heartfelt Condolences To The Thye Family The Malaysian Retail Association Council (MRCA) with great sadness expresses its deepest condolences to the family of the late Ricky Thye Kok Lam, who passed away in January.

Ricky Thye has been a committed MRCA Council Member since 2012 and the Organising Chairman of the highly successful MRCA Charity Run 2016. This run was held as a third edition at Subang Jaya to raise funds for the MRCA Branding Education Charity Foundation.

He was also instrumental in making the event a success, with a special collaboration with the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry.

He was also a successful owner of Tangible Aim Sdn Bhd, known of their 101 Hair care outlets and products.

Council Members of MRCA recognise and deeply appreciate Ricky Thyeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s immense contribution to the association and the retail sector, through valuable insights on how to improve industry relations and community engagement.

He will be deeply missed.

Thye was never far from performing charity work, including taking part in blood donation drives.

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2018 EVENTS

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CALENDAR

2 FEBRUARY CNY CHARITY VISITATION CHIN SIK THONG OLD FOLKS HOME, KLANG

27 FEBRUARY CNY CHARITY DINNER

HUA ZONG, SERI KEMBANGAN

26 APRIL INSTALLATION NIGHT

CEO NIGHT NEXUS BANGSAR

25 JULY

KLCC

TAIPEI FRANCHISE EXPO TRIP TAIPEI

23 MAY

ONE WORLD HOTEL

RETAIL CONFERENCE

1-4 MARCH

26-28 JULY MALAYSIA INTERNATIONAL RETAIL & FRANCHISE (MIRF)

28 MARCH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

MAH SING HQ

5 JUNE

8 JULY

HARI RAYA CHARITY VISITATION

PING PONG TOURNEY / BADMINTON

TBC

ONE SHAMELIN, KL

5 SEPTEMBER MEDIA ENGAGEMENT GRAND HYATT

6 OCTOBER CHARITY GOLF GLENMARIE GOLF CLUB

KLCC, HALL 5 & 6

26 OCTOBER 26th ANNIVERSARY DINNER KLCC

2 NOVEMBER DEEPAVALI CHARITY VISITATION

TBC

11 NOVEMBER CHARITY RUN ONE CITY

12 DECEMBER CHRISTMAS CHARITY VISITATION TBC

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