SKIVA.Blog | see us in the other way round

Medium : The Star / StarBIZ
Date : February 18, 2008. Monday

Stories by RACHAEL KAM

Grand Bell Trading intends to penetrate more overseas markets via its homegrown brand, Skiva.

LINGERIE manufacturer and retailer Grand Bell Trading Sdn Bhd aims to remain relevant in the marketplace locally and abroad by providing quality products with reasonable pricing.

Founder and chief executive officer Joseph K.C. See said this was to ensure consistent growth and to build brand confidence among customers.

The company would maintain its Skiva products’ selling prices by absorbing the cost pressure although some other brands had increased their prices.

“We face stiffer competition in terms of product quality, pricing and delivery due to globalisation,” he told StarBiz.

“The retail sector is currently facing a dip in consumer confidence as people are more cautious about their spending with the increasing prices of many essential goods like wheat, flour, petrol and gas.”

See said the rising oil price had led to higher operational costs and affected the company’s earnings in the past two years.

He believed that there were still a lot of uncertainties in the world economy and this had a bearing on the local economy, especially in the retail sector.

However, the appreciation of the ringgit had somehow helped to reduce the burden when purchasing raw materials. The materials are mainly imported from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Japan, the US and Italy.

The company plans to continue to invest substantially in advertising and promotion as well as branding, thus maintaining a certain level of consumer confidence.

“Obviously, we are at a disadvantage compared with other international brands as they have a wider market reach.’’

The company plans to penetrate more export markets, especially in Asean and the Middle East, within next two years.

“Our strategy is to gain brand recognition in the international marketplace by seeking more export opportunities.

“It is our aspiration to grow our brand, Skiva, into an international brand.”

In order to reduce the logistics and delivery costs, Grand Bell Trading aims to set up a manufacturing facility in the Jebel Ali Free Trade Zone in Dubai this year catering to the Middle East market.

See said the company had an initial capital investment of US$500,000 to collaborate with a local partner there, BC Bottongong Corp, to establish a factory for original equipment manufacturer (OEM) production.

Currently, Grand Bell Trading has four OEM production facilities locally – three in Klang Valley and one in Negri Sembilan.

Established in November 2004 with an authorised capital of RM5mil, the company is mainly in the retailing and trading of female undergarments.

The company acquired the Skiva brand in January 2005, which is a 30-year-old lingerie brand in Malaysia. It then injected more than RM5.5mil for the Skiva business operations.

In 2006, it undertook a re-branding exercise to heighten brand awareness locally.

See said that today the company, whose head office and manufacturing plant are located in Kuala Lumpur, was in a healthy cashflow position with borrowings mainly for long-term assets like the office building.

The company’s gearing ratio was at a comfortable level of 1.39 times, which is below the industry norm, he added.

He said the Skiva products were manufactured by its sister company, Double Wonder Sdn Bhd, adding that it was one of the few local firms manufacturing lingerie.

Upon the completion of OEM production facilities in Dubai and further penetration in overseas markets, the company expects its overseas revenue contribution to increase from less than 10% now to 25% in two years, said See.

Source: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/2/18/business/20339469&sec=business

Medium : Malaysia Central Online [MyCen PR]
Date : July 26, 2007

Kuala Lumpur, July 25, 2007 – Grand Bell Trading Sdn. Bhd., a leading manufacturer and distributor of ladies undergarment, is optimistic of a 20 per cent growth for its range of SKIVA brand products after securing export orders from our neighbouring countries recently.

Its chief operating officer, Mr. Steff Wong, said the penetration into these new export markets would enable the company to achieve projected growth in annual turnover to RM32 million by 2008, from RM22 million registered last year.

"More importantly, the acceptance of SKIVA products overseas will further enhance and strengthen our brand image both domestically and internationally. We are excited and encourage by the prospects SKIVA, being a Malaysian brand, is now fast gaining international recognition as a quality product in the middle and upper-middle segments of the market ", he added.

Apart from penetrating to our neighbouring countries, Grand Bell Trading has also secured a strong foothold for its SKIVA range of products with exports to Maldives, Singapore and Turkey.

Announcing the participation of Grand Bell Trading at the International Trade Malaysia Exhibition 2007 (INTRADE MALAYSIA 2007) among 300 participating companies scheduled in Kuala Lumpur this November, Wong said it would be an excellent marketing vehicle to promote the SKIVA range of products to international trade buyers.

INTRADE MALAYSIA 2007 is organised by MATRADE and will be held from November 12 to 15, at the Matrade Exhibition and Convention Centre, Menara Matrade, Kuala Lumpur.

The range of SKIVA products to be displayed at INTRADE MALAYSIA 2007 includes bras, panties, girdles, corsets, camisoles, nightwear, mastectomy bra and accessories. The latest undergarment fashion and its finest imported fabrics will also be on showcase.

On future plans to drive the SKIVA brand in the international arena, Wong said that his company would aggressively explore opportunities in other neighbouring countries and China, the Asia-Pacific region and Middle East markets in the near future.

"Our immediate target is to penetrate the other developing ASEAN economies and China as these countries offer strong prospects to fuel our export growth.

"Currently, export sales contribute close to 20 per cent of our total turnover. It is our long-term goal to drive export sales contribution up to 40 per cent towards achieving our projected annual turnover of RM50 million in the next five years. To successfully achieve this, we have a policy of investing about nine per cent of our annual revenue for research and market development purposes.

"On the domestic front, we are currently undergoing a re-branding programme and plans to open more outlets and boutiques. For this two years, we will be investing more than RM2 million in for our branding strategies so as to gain a stronger foothold in the local market. Although our present share of the market in the branded segment may not be significant, we see strong opportunities to capture a larger slice of the pie", he said.

SKIVA product range are distributed and marketed through an extensive network of over 71 counters at leading departmental stores and seven SKIVA boutiques nationwide.

The manufacturing output of SKIVA of 40% undergarments is produced locally by Grand Bell Trading’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Double Wonder Sdn. Bhd., in Kuala Lumpur. Meanwhile, another 60% are produced overseas monthly though OEM contract manufacturing.

Committed to its brand tagline of "be comfortable, be stylish" and highest product quality, SKIVA has won the international accolade for the 15th Golden Europe Award for Quality by Trade Leader Club 2001 in Paris, France. It is also won the Gold Award by SOGO for Outstanding Annual Sales, 2005/6 and 2006/7.

Issued by the Secretariat of INTRADE MALAYSIA 2007.
Through Zenith Bizcomm Consult

About INTRADE MALAYSIA 2007

INTRADE MALAYSIA 2007 is organised by MATRADE and will be held from November 12 to 15, at the Matrade Exhibition and Convention Centre, Menara Matrade, Kuala Lumpur. With its theme, "Fostering Business Collaborations", the four-day exhibition has attracted 300 companies, of which 20 per cent are foreign exhibitors from 20 countries, and seven national groups.

Occupying a total exhibition space of 3,000 sq. metres, it will showcase quality products and services covering 21 industry clusters ranging from agro-based and bio-tech products, automotive, education, electrical and electronics, food and beverages, to giftware, jewellery, textile, palm oil and oleo products.

To ensure the success of INTRADE MALAYSIA 2007, MATRADE will host the Incoming Buying Mission (IBM) programme that will see the attendance of more than 500 international buyers from around the world. The two-day IBM programme will be held on November 13 and 14, where exhibitors will have the opportunity to attend the one-on-one business matching sessions with international buyers.

In addition, the Kuala Lumpur International Trade Forum (KLITF) on November 12 is expected to draw more than 300 participants. The KLITF will see renowned international personalities sharing their ideas and knowledge on global business collaborations and branding strategies.

For further information on INTRADE MALAYSIA 2007, log onto www.intrademalaysia.com