Assignmet final
- 1. SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN FOUNDATION IN NATURAL BUILD ENVIRONMENT PRESENTATION TITLE: A TALE OF TWO BUSINESSES – A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF 2 BUSINESSES OF SIMILAR INDUSTRY IN DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS GROUP MEMBERS: NAMES STUDENT ID PRESENTATION / RESEARCH REPORT ROLES. PANG KAI YUN 0319802 -TEAM COORDINATOR -APPENDICES -BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCE LISTS SAM WEI YIN 0320364 -OBSTACLE FACED -RECOMMENDATIONS YEO KAI WEN 0319844 -INTERVIEW -DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESSES -MINUTES TRACE GEW YEE 0320369 -INTERVIEW -DESCRIPTION OF THE HISTORY OF THE TRADE -INTERVIEW QUESTIONNAIRE LIEW POH KA 0320424 -COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF COMPETITIVE TRAITS -COMPARATIVE SUMMARY OF TABLE -CONCLUSION LEE SHZE HWA 0320053 -VIDEOGRAPHER -PHOTOGRAPHER -VIDEO NG HUOY MIIN 0319097 -ARTISTIC COVER -KEY SUMMARY -PRESENTATION SLIDES LEE KAILYN 0320273 -COMPETITORS -STRATEGY APPLIED -PHOTOGRAPHER ENGLISH II / ENGLISH 2 (ELG 30605 / ENG 0205) LECTURER: CASSANDRA WIJESURIA SUBMISSION & PRESENTATION DATE: 5 JUNE 2015
- 2. 1 Content No. Title Page 1. Key summary 2 2. Methodology 3 3. Description of the Furniture Trade in Malaysia 4 4. Brief Description of Heng Furnishing 6 5. Brief Description of The Curiousity Shop 9 6. Competitors of Heng Furnishing 12 7. Strategy employed by Heng Furnishing 13 8. Competitors of The Curiousity Shop 14 9. Strategy employed by The Curiousity Shop 15 10. Competitive Analysis Summary Table 16 11. Summary Table Of The Differences Between Both Business 17 12. Summary Table Of The Similarities Between Both Business 17 13. Conclusion 18 14. Obstacle Faced by New Business 19 15. Nature of Their Market 19 16. Recommendation 20 17. Bibliography 22 18. Appendices 23 18. Attachment 40 20. Reference 50
- 3. 2 Key summary In this research assignment, we were required to write a report on a type of trade and choose two businesses that which had been operating for more than 10 years. We did an analysis about furniture shops which are in two of Malaysia’s highest populated regions, which are Penang Island and Kuala Lumpur. In a group of eight, we researched and interviewed two furniture firms of which one of them being a home based business (Heng Furnishing, Penang Island) and another being a commercial based business (The Curiousity Shop, Kuala Lumpur). We researched, analysed, compared and contrasted both businesses in terms of businesses’ descriptions, businesses’ history of the trade, comparative analysis of the businesses’ competitive traits and recommendations for the businesses.
- 4. 3 Methodology To start with, we discussed on the type of trade we wanted to research. With having a trip to Penang Island, we decided to choose furniture shops as our main idea because Penang and Kuala Lumpur, both of these cities have furniture shops that could be found easily. Later on, we listed down some possible choices of furniture shops in Penang Island and Kuala Lumpur which was more convenient for us to go. After that, we have tried to contact with the owners to make confirmation of the time we plan to leave for the interview. We had chosen Heng Furnishing in Penang Island and The Curiousity Shop in Kuala Lumpur as our interviewees. After arriving in the shops, we had introduced ourselves and started to interview. We had asked our interview questions and took some photo with our interviewees before we left. At the end, after collecting the information from our interviewees, we organized and combine it into the report.
- 5. 4 Description of the Furniture Trade in Malaysia Furniture design has been a part of the human experience since the beginning of history. Evidence of furniture survives from as far back as the Neolithic Period. Neolithic people used stone to build cupboards, dressers, beds, shelves and seats. Ancient furniture from the 8th-century BC includes tables and serving stands. The furniture of the Middle Ages was usually heavy, oak, and ornamented. Furniture design expanded during the Italian Renaissance of the fourteenth and fifteenth century. The seventeenth century, in both Southern and Northern Europe, was characterized by opulent, often gilded Baroque designs. The nineteenth century is usually defined by revival styles. The first three-quarters of the twentieth century are often seen as the march towards Modernism. One unique outgrowth of post-modern furniture design is a return to natural shapes and textures. Over the years, the Malaysian Furniture industry has undergone dynamic transformation from a traditional cottage operation to a technology driven industry. With more than 2,400 furniture companies, the furniture industry is one of Malaysia’s biggest revenue earners, exporting over RM 7 billion to more than 160 countries annually. This is attributed to a strong manufacturing foundation that evolved from being a provider of raw materials, an abundance of high quality wood SUPPLIES, skilled workers, excellent design capabilities and good manufacturing practices.
- 6. 5 In addition to local wood furniture, Malaysia offers a rich variety of options, including furniture from imported woods, plastic, metal, composite and a combination of materials. To keep abreast with development, Malaysian furniture makers use innovative mixes of materials such as wood, composite, polyethylene and metal, producing designs that are both functional and aesthetic. A common thread that runs through Malaysian furniture are quality designs that suit the lifestyle and taste of different generations. From regular furniture to designer items, the variety of creativity in the Malaysian design delights even the veteran collector and the experienced theme decorator. In the effort to go green, Malaysian manufacturers are adopting green manufacturing methods and incorporate sustainable and chemical free fabric fibres in their upholsteries, apart using green wood. Besides catering for homes, Malaysian furniture is penetrating high end applications for today’s discerning market. Increasingly, five-star resorts and spas are leveraging on the evergreen appeal of Malaysian made furniture to imbue their setting with a natural ambiance. Hence, Malaysia supplier does not only cater for the end user, but also SUPPLY for contracts and institutional users such as hotels, stadiums, conference centres, schools, hospitals and F1 lounges. Malaysian furniture companies have progressed from original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to the original brand manufacturer (OBM), with some penetrating the premium original design manufacturer (ODM) segment for all types of furniture applications. Having enhanced capacity and capabilities in producing furniture of quality, innovative designs, coupled with aggressive marketing and brand development, Malaysia is amongst the leading global producer of furniture with a wide variety of offerings for all industries.
- 7. 6 Brief Description of Heng Furnishing Heng Furnishing is currently located in 23-E Mk13, Jalan Ayer Itam, 1500, Penang. It is a family based business. It had opened 42 years since 1973 by Yeoh Hun Beng. The name of the Heng Furnishing is named after the owner, Yeoh Hun Beng. He started to do this business because of the demand from the locals. As he grew older, he passed his business to his son, Yeoh Tze Xiang. Heng Furnishing is a sole trader business which means that this business has one branch. Previously, they had own another branch not too far away from the current shop. Unfortunately, the shop closed 4 years ago due to rental issues. There are 4 employees, which hired by the owner. All the employees are local and one of them is their beloved uncle. Heng Furnishing opens daily from 9am to 9pm. Heng Furnishing sells all kinds of furniture such as dining table, coffee table, bedroom set and mattress. They also do interior decorating and it is taking a new step into furniture buying experience. They are combining both interior decoration and ready-made furniture under one roof to give you a new shopping experience. Moreover, they also provide standard services just how normal furniture shops will do such as delivery service. This business has an annual revenue figure of roughly RM 800,000.00. Their sales are depending on festive seasons. The business usually has a cycle in a year. If they are in a good season, they will have average 30 customers in 1 day. If they are in a bad day, there won’t be any customer coming in. According to Mr. Yeoh, most of their customers are people who live nearby. They usually are long-term customers.
- 8. 7 Furthermore, there would be new product release in every month. Mr Yeoh said that they are searching for new product every day. If they discover some new furniture that is saleable, they will take it and sell to the customer. Whenever the product release, he would suggest to his customers when his customers come in. Heng furnishing's future plan is to monopolize the mattress because his father is interested in mattress. He plans to open a purely mattress base store somewhere in Penang in 2 or 3 years.
- 9. 8 Some of the furniture sold in Heng Furnishing. Sofa Rectangle dining table Round dining table Bed Mattress Cupboard
- 10. 9 Brief Description of The Curiosity Shop The curiosity shop is currently located in No.134, Jalan Sungai Besi, 57100, Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur. It is a commercial business and it was founded in 2005 by Danny Ho and his co-partner. According to Danny Ho, he said that at first they started this business with their hobby. They name the shop as ''The Curiosity Shop'' because they want the customer to be surprised when they walk in the shop. When there is a “surprise”, they will be “curios”. Therefore, they decided to name ''The Curiosity Shop''. They have two employees in the shop assisting them. They have a warehouse which is located at Sungai Besi nearby HELP University. The Curiosity Shop opens daily from 10am to 10pm. The furniture sells in the Curiosity Shop is very rare and unique because they sell vintage furniture. Besides furniture, they also sell decorative objects, lighting, collectable item, painting and fabric. Although it is just a small shop, but they provide different services to their customer such as restoration, recreate, redesign, interior design, mass production, rental and consignment. The customers of the Curiosity Shop are in different types. First are the regular customers that directly deal with them. Second are the designer, developers and restaurant’s owner. These are the main customers of the shop. They need to pay a visit to the café and restaurant to deal with them.
- 11. 10 Actually, the Curiosity Shop is in break-even condition. Mr Danny told us that they had faced obstacles when they first started their business. They started their business in an old house located in Changkat, Bukit Bintang. They do not have exposure to the customer because the building is not visible. They had no sales in a month so their business has been losing money for 6 years. They decide to continue to run their business because they have projects on going. They do not want to disappoint their customer. The Curiosity Shop's future plan is they hope to build a better and a strong team. Moreover, they want their business focus on the quality of their product such as supply.
- 12. 11 Some of the furniture sold in The Curiosity Shop: Lighting Collectable item Decorative objects Painting Wooden rocker Sofa
- 13. 12 Competitors of Heng Furnishing Kingkoil CorporationSdn Bhd King Koil Malaysia was incorporated in 1983 and since its inception has been the leading manufacturer and supplier of high quality sleep related products in Malaysia. King Koil's goal is to offer only the highest quality, selection and service to meet the demands of today's changing markets. Today, King Koil Malaysia services a network of over 2,000 furniture dealers, interior decorators, hospitals, hostels and hotel chains in addition to the export market. NewtonFurnishing & Interior Newton Furnishing & Interior located in Jalan Air Itam, which is the same road as Heng Furnishing. Newton & Furnishing Interior produced office furniture. Business services include furniture dealers and retail. Dekea Furniture DesignCentre Dekea Furniture Design Centre located in Jalan Air Itam, which is also the same road where Heng Furnishing is located. Dekea Furniture Design Centre sells modern furniture and provide interior design.
- 14. 13 Strategy employed by Heng Furnishing Strategy Description Pricing The prices of the furniture are reasonable and affordable. Service and product different Heng Furnishing provides standard service that every furniture shop has, such as delivery service. They also provide interior design for customers. Quality of Service Heng Furnishing provides very good quality service. The owner of Heng Furnishing is very friendly. The worker at there will communicate with customers and understand their needs and provide advices for the customer. They also provide delivery and help customers to set up their furniture. Advertising Heng furnishing promotes their business through Facebook page and their official website. They will put an overview of the company and a description of their product or service on their Facebook page and their official website to promote their business.
- 15. 14 Competitors of The Curiousity Shop Stanzo Collection Stanzo Collection is a retailer, which offers the variety of Scandinavian design and Zen style furniture. They also sell contemporary lighting. “Stanzo” is an Italian term, which literally means “rooms”. Harvey Norman Harvey Norman, from Australia, provides a wide range of Electrical, Computers, Furniture and Bedding products. Harvey Norman has a prominent international presence with over 260 stores in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Slovenia, Singapore and Malaysia. Harvey Norman stresses on 4- in-1 concept and carries a huge range of products ranging from the latest home entertainment systems to the most innovative home appliances. Stoolicious Stoolocious is located at the lower ground floor of 1 Mont Kiara. The shop sells all sorts of colourful stools, from adult stools to baby stools. It also sells baby chair, coffee table, trolley and corner rack.
- 16. 15 Strategy employed by The Curiousity Shop Strategy Description Pricing The prices of the furniture are reasonable compared to others furniture shop that sells vintage furniture. Service and product different The Curiousity Shop also provides a lot of service such as as restoration recreate, redesign, interior design, mass production, rental and consignment to customers. Besides furniture, they also sell decorative objects, lighting, collectable item, painting and fabric. Quality of Service The Curiousity Shop also provides excellent quality service. The owner and his partner treat their customers with respect while interacting with them in a friendly way. They will listen and understand what their customers want and need. Advertising The Curiousity Shop also promotes their business through Facebook page and their official website. Besides updating their latest product on Facebook , The Curiousity Shop also uses Facebook to interact with their followers. They will create special events and limited-time promotions and invite their followers, and it helps them to grow their fan base.
- 17. 16 Competitive Analysis Summary Table Competitive Traits Heng Furnishing The Curiosity Shop 1. Number of Competitors 6 to 7 3 to 5 2. Barrier to Entry No barriers to entry. This is because new firms can enter and exit the market freely. No barriers to entry. This is because new firms can enter and exit the market freely. 3. Differentiated or Standardized Products Standardized Products Standardized Products 4. Pricing Power Price taker. They have no pricing power because the products sold in the market are standardized products, they are all the same. Therefore, the customers treat all products as the same and will buy only at the lowest price. Price taker. They have no pricing power because the products sold in the market are standardized products, they are all the same. Therefore, the customers treat all products as the same and will buy only at the lowest price. 5. Other Characteristics -Release new product within 1 month -Provide interior decoration -Update their website frequently -Provide a lot of service such as restoration, recreate, redesign, interior design, mass production, rental and consignment 6. Verdict Perfect competitive Perfect competitive
- 18. 17 Summary Table Of The Differences Between Both Businesses Heng Furnishing Differences The Curiosity Shop 1973 When it was founded 2005 Yeoh Hun Beng Founder Danny Ho 1 Number of Founder 2 Demand of local What prompted to start this business Hobby Heng Furnishing is located in a double storey building at Jalan Ayer Itam, Penang Location The Curiousity Shop is located in a commercial building at Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur Eight hundred thousand RM 800 000 Annual Revenue Figure Break even 0 Number of warehouse 1, at Sungai Besi near HELP University 4 Number of employees 2 Around 30 Number of customer - People live nearby Who are the customers Designer, developers and restaurants owner 6 Number of competitor 3 9am-9pm Business Hour 9am-7pm Mattress Future Plan Build a strong team Modern furniture Type of Product Vintage furniture, decorative objects, lighting, collectable item, painting and fabric Services and quality Strategy Different product and services Home base Business Operation Commercial Summary Table Of The Similarities Between Both Businesses Heng Furnishing Similarities The Curiosity Shop 0 Number of branches 0 Furniture Main Product Sold Furniture Lead by the owner Leader Lead by the owner Depends on season Best Seller Depends on season
- 19. 18 Conclusion Based on our analysis of both businesses, the business that is more commercially successful is Heng Furnishing. This is because Heng Furnishing has been established earlier than The Curiousity Shop. Even though Heng Furnishing does not have any branches, it has many long-term customers who live nearby. There are not many people will choose old furniture to decorate their house instead of modern furniture. Heng furnishing’s business hour is longer compared to The Curiousity Shop and this shows a strong advantage in order to attract more customers. The pricing of furniture for Heng Furnishing is not too costly compare to The Curiousity Shop because The Curiousity Shop is selling those rare furniture and decoration which are more expensive than Heng Furnishing that sell normal furniture such as mattress, dining table, sofas and etc. Therefore, Heng Furnishing is more commercially successful than The Curiosity Shop.
- 20. 19 Obstacle Faced by New Business The obstacle faced by new business who wishes to enter the furniture market is lack of publicity. They are not well-known from the start since it is a perfect competitive market. They need to put a lot of effort in promoting their shop through social media. Besides, they will not have many customers or even no customers visiting their shop in a day. Customers always prefer to visit existing business rather than a newly formed business because the customers are more confident with what they are familiar with. So they can’t make money in the first few years they started their business. Moreover, the location of the shop also affects the number of customers visiting the shop. They need to choose a location that is easily visible. Nature of Their Markets Both furniture shops are in a perfectly competitive market. There are a lot of furniture shops in the same area selling the same product. The furniture shops have no barriers to entry. This means that new firms can enter and exit the market freely. Besides, the furniture shops have no pricing power. They have no pricing power because the products sold in the market are standardized products, they are all the same. Therefore, the customers treat all products as the same and will buy only at the lowest price.
- 21. 20 Recommendation Heng Furnishing 1. Provide private parking for the customers Heng Furnishing is located at the roadside. There is no parking at the roadside. There are plenty of places to park in front of the shop, but it is always full. When there is no parking, people will just pass by. Although they noticed the shop and they have interest to stop by and have a look, when there is no parking, they will just give up and walk away. Besides, it is also very dangerous to stop at the roadside to wait for parking. It will also block the traffic of the main road. Heng Furnishing should prepare private parking for the customer in front of their shop. When they prepare a private parking for the customer, they will notice that this shop has good service so they will have a good impression of the shop. When they have a good impression, they tend to buy the furniture from this shop. 2. Expand their shop When we walk inside Heng furnishing, the walkway is very narrow because the shop is full of furniture. We need to be very careful when we are observing the shop because we scare we will break the furniture. Moreover, the shops look very messy because there is too many furniture inside and it is not organized. You can’t walk near to the furniture to have a proper look. You can just observe the furniture from a far distance. Furthermore, the signboard of the shop is quite small and hardly visible. Heng Furnishing needs to expand their shop so that they can display their furniture neat and tidy. This makes the customer to have a clearer look of all the furniture of the shop. They can walk near to the furniture to have a proper look. They need to change to a bigger and attractive signboard so that people can see their signboard from a far distance.
- 22. 21 The Curiousity shop 1. Do more advertising about the shop. The Curiosity Shop is located at a corner inside of the highest floor of the shopping mall. The exposure of the shop is very low because the shop is lack of advertisement and publicity. We also notice that there are very few people in the shopping mall. Although they have their official website and Facebook page, but the shop is still unnoticeable. The shop has already open for 10 years, but their business is still breaking even. Besides, the atmosphere of the shop is very dark. When we are looking for the shop, we just pass by it. The Curiosity Shop should put more effort on advertising their shop. Advertising and publicity can be taken another further step through mass media such as newspaper and television. This will make more people know about the shop. 2. Rearrange allproduct basedon categories. The shop does not arrange their furniture properly. They just put their furniture on the floor. It looks very messy and unorganized. There are a lot of things on the table because they do not just sell furniture, but also decorative objects, lighting, collectable item, painting and fabric. It is hard for the customers that are searching for the specific category. Moreover, the cabinet is covered by the decorative objects and collectable item so it is hard to see the cabinet. The Curiosity Shop should arrange all the products based on categories. This will make the shop look tidy and neat so that people will be interested to come into your shop. Furthermore, it is easier for the customer to search the products they are looking for.
- 23. 22 Bibliography Bony, A. (2004). Furniture & Interiors of the 1960s (English-language ed.). Paris: Flammarion Hanks, D. (2010). The century of modern design: Selections from the Liliane and David M. Stewart Collection. Paris: Flammarion Heathcote, E. (2002). Furniture architecture. London: Wiley-Academy. Smith, E. (1979). Furniture: A concise history. London: Thames and Hudson.
- 24. 23 Appendices Appendix 1 : Interview Question 1. When was the business started? How many years? 2. Why the name of the business is …? 3. Who is the founder of this business? 4. Are you the sole owner of this business or you have other partners working with you? 5. What is the motive of starting this business? 6. Can you tell us briefly about the background and history of your business? 7. What are the number of branches and employees? 8. What are the main products being sold here? 9. Which category is bestselling? 10. Who are your customers? 11. What is the estimation number of customers that visit your business daily/monthly? 12. Will there be more customers during festive seasons? 13. How much is the rough annual revenue figure? 14. Can you please tell us the brief history and recent development of your business? (i.e. what has the business accomplished or what changes have occurred in the business over the past 3 - 5 years). 15. Do you have many competitors? 16. Is the business constantly facing strong competition from other competitors? What strategies have they used to compete with you? 17. How do you compete with your competitors? What strategies were/are employed ? 18. Generally, do you feel it is easy or hard to enter this market? Why? 19. How much capital is required to start this business? What, if any, specialized field of knowledge do you need to run this business? 20. How often do you release a new product (this assumes the business sells differentiated products)? 21. Are your pricing decisions strongly affected by your competitors? 22. What are the obstacles faced by new businesses who wish to enter the market today? Are they hard to overcome? 23. What is your future plan for the business?
- 25. 24 Appendix 2 : Interview question with answer Heng Furnishing Date: 2nd May 2015 Time: 1.00p.m. – 1.30p.m. Location: Jalan Ayer Itam, Georgetown, Penang. Interviewed Person: Mr. Yeoh Tze Siang Job position: Owner Office Phone Number: +604 828 8268 E-mail Address: hengfurnishing@gmail.com Q: When was the business started? How many years? A: Heng furnishing is my father business. A family based business. It is been around 1973. It is about 42 years. Q: Who is the founder of this business? A: My father named is Yeoh Hun Beng. Q: What is the motive of starting this business? A: Indicated to the local, cater to the local. Local demand furniture, simple as that. Q: Do you have any branches? A: I use to have, but I no longer have it anymore because of rental issue. It is not too far away. It is just further down the road. But now is close for the past 3 or 4 years. Q: Do you have any employees? A: Of course, I have about 4 employees. All are locals. I have my uncle helping me out. My own uncle. Q: What are the main products being sold here? A: Anything from your garden up to your bedroom, up to your kitchen, dining tables, dining area, everything. Except for build in product, build in furniture like for example people do the nice match kitchen cabinet. I didn’t do that. That is the only things that I didn’t do. I just sell ready make product.
- 26. 25 Q: Which category is the best seller? A: Usually 1 year there is a cycle. Like wedding month will be bed room set and mattress. Before Chinese New Year is dining table, TV cabinet and coffee table. Than at certain time like now, is very quiet. Q: Do you have any competitors? A: There are a lot of competitors in the market, big and small. I cannot give you an amount because there is a lot. If you just go down here, down this road, there is about 6 furniture shop. There are Pakistani, Design Crest, Pandamas and Kong Seng. Q: How do you face your competitors? A: Different product, services. Anyone can sell anything cheap. If I sell anything cheap people would buy it definitely. But how long enough to stay in the market there is where we step up. We go by service. Q: Who are your customers? A: People who live nearby here. Long term customer usually. Q: What is the estimation number of customers that visit your business daily/monthly? A: Usually about 1 day, average on good month, if you count per customer not per people coming in, is about 30. If a bad day is zero. Q: How much is the rough annual revenue figure? A: Talking about turnover once is about RM 800,000. Q: Do you feel very easy or hard to enter this market? A: Enter this market is easy. It is really easy, it is not too hard. As long as you have money, and your money is not needed to turnover a lot. Than u need at least a little bit of skill, than you are fine already. It is just that how long u can keep going. Like we have been going along for 40 years, so we have a service line, we have a portfolio, so pretty relax.
- 27. 26 Q: How much capital is required to start this business? A: I don’t know that. Depending of what kind of market you want about. In KL, they are entering a specific market, specifically for mattress, specifically for furniture. So it is depend on what they are going in. For example, they are talking about mattress, most probably your start up revenue plus rental, I don’t know the rental like in KL, but in Penang, probably about RM 100,000 or RM300,000. It wouldn’t be a problem, depending on how big you want to do. It is very subjective when you ask this question. Q: How often u release a new product? A: New product is dependent on whether my supply is as new product so far, but we will keep searching for new product every single day. If something new and we see there is sellable, we will take it. If it is not sellable, than we will say like want to give it a goal or not. So usually within 1 month there is definitely something new. Q: Are your pricing decisions strongly affected by your competitors? A: I can say yes. Before that, we don’t really get affected because we are selling service and product. Some people are just selling product. That’s the different. Q: What are the obstacles faced by new businesses who wish to enter the market today? Are they hard to overcome? A: In my opinion, competitive, pricing and sales person. If I hire a sales person is down to the sales person ability to sell. A particular that he has a product right, he buy a product from us, sometimes there is problem, how fast can you solve it. Our solving time usually is 3 days or 4 days. And there is a problem. Q: What is your future plan? A: In future plan this is some plan to monopolize the mattress. My father is interested in mattress. So in the future, most probably now the market is a bit quite, so probably about 2 years 3 years from now, I was planning to open a purely mattress base store somewhere in town.
- 28. 27 The Curiousity Shop Date: 13th May 2015 Time: 1.30p.m. – 2.00p.m. Location: 1 Mont Kiara, Jalan Kiara 1, Kuala Lumpur. Interviewed Person: Mr. Danny Ho Job position: Owner Office Phone Number: +6017 853 6660 E-mail Address: dannyhce@gmail.com Q: When was the business started? A: 10 years ago. 2005. Q: Why the name of the business is “the curiosity”? A: Actually when we start, we don’t have a direction because the business of nature is old. When it is old, we don’t have a guide line. What direction we want to go and the product what you expect. Although you know what furniture is, but you don’t know what year what period, what is the thing behind for you to. When you come in, it will surprise you. A surprise mean a curiosity is the question mark. That’s why we create the name curiosity. Q: Who is the founder of the business? A: Actually me and my co-founder, my co-founder will be my partner. Two of us run the business. Q: What is the motive of starting this business? A: Actually I started up just because of hobby. During the time I have other business, so I start up this one as a hobby. Then slowly throughout the year it becomes a business. Now is already my main business. Q: Do you have any branches? A: So far we have warehouse around KL. I think near HELP University in Sungai Besi area.
- 29. 28 Q: How many employees you have? A: For this particular shop I only have 2. Both are local. Q: What is the main product sold here? A: Very subjective because we are targeted as furniture, so basically furniture is our main target. Throughout the year we do make new furniture to compromise to retail commercial people. Q: Which category is the best seller? A: Actually, they all have their own need. If you have a house, you definitely need a dining and definitely need a sofa. So we don’t have a guide line which one is the best seller. Q: What is the estimation number of customers that visit your business? A: For this particular mall, we don’t aspect high traffic. Because it is no matter what it is still made good more. What we want is quality and quantity. When the customer they come in, we value them because when they come in, they know what they want, what they know about our business. For example my business moves to Sunway. Sunway we have a very rich market there because of they need local and also people they are not expose to our business. So it is difficult for them to understand our business nature. So back to dollar we can’t do business. Q: Do you have any regular customer? A: Yes, we do. Our customer got a few types, one will be commercial, residential, directly deal with them. They will come in buy 1 or 2 pieces and sometimes occasionally come back. They are not heavy buyer because you can’t buy many furniture in your house also. So our main repeat customer will be the designer, developer and also restaurant owner. When they open branches, they definitely need us to supply them furniture. So like today we go to café, restaurant, sometimes you think that why they have so much of old piece, why they have something that can make the shop look old. So we are the people that supply them. So that is how our business running to sustain. Q: Will there be more customers during specific season? A: Yes and No. During Chines New Year very slow, my Christmas time very good . It is
- 30. 29 about the season. I can’t say when they have a holiday or festive season, we good sale. We are very determine on the customer. Q: Do you have any competitors? A: Actually not really, for our things very knish and very rare. When we say rare meaning because is old and you only found that piece that’s all, you can’t find it. Unless I produce it or is very common old piece that people still can find in their home or hometown. Q: How do you compete with your competitors? A: Services, quality and principle. Q: Do you feel easy or hard to enter this market? A: Actually, we have been in this market a while already. Consider the old batch of people. I think the hard part is to keep the business. Actually start is easy, who can also start the business. To maintain it for 10 years is a task. Q: Are your pricing decisions strongly affected by your competitors? A: Not really. Q: Does your business face any obstacle? A: Yes. We can maybe 1 month no sales. During the back than when we rented our old houses back in Changkat, Bukit Bintang. First they are not visibility. We are just in the own building itself so we don’t have exposure to the customer. Only people that know us or saw us from the blog, Facebook, they only will come. We have been so called take care of this business for more than 6 to 7 years. Just to grow it and make it strong. So technically 6 years is losing money. Q: What is your future plan? A: Well of course for everyone the plan is make more money. For us we don’t want to grow big, we want to grow strong team, we are building team, but we don’t see ourselves open out a branches or something because this business are quality and also the supply are very important. When you have more you are out of control. That’s all in quality, no more.
- 31. 30 Q: What is the annual revenue figure? A: I can say base on a year, is actually, based on retail itself not my project. I can say break even. You might say why are we doing it, we have project. For the shop it just a show and retail. It is a show room. So shop I can’t make money sometimes I lose money. The advice is shopping mall you technically can’t make money.
- 32. 31 Appendix 3 : Website Heng Furnishing Official website : http://www.the73.com/content/home/index/site:the73-link:1427 Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/The73/timeline
- 33. 32 The Curiousity Shop Official website : http://thecuriousitygallery.blogspot.com/ Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/thecuriousity/timeline?ref=page_internal
- 34. 33 Appendix 4 : Business card Heng Furnishing Yeoh Tze Siang Yeoh Hun Beng, founder of Heng Furnishing The Curiousity Shop Danny Ho
- 35. 34 Appendix 5 : Minutes of the meeting Minutes 1 DATE: 23 April 2015 (Thursday) TIME: 10AM-11AM VENUE: E8.02 NAMES OF GROUP MEMBERS TUTORIAL GROUP ROLE Pang Kai Yun Thursday Leader Yeo Kai Wen Wednesday Secretary Trace Gew Yee Thursday Member Liew Poh Ka Thursday Member Lee Shze Hwa Thursday Member Ng Huoy Miin Thursday Member Lee Kailyn Thursday Member Sam Wei Yin Thursday Member NO. ACTIVITY ACTION TAKEN BY 1. Introduction -The main purpose of the meeting is to decide the type of business to research Pang Kai Yun 2. Discussion - Decision of business line for research purposes. Guesthouse, wedding shop, batik shop, traditional biscuit shop All members - Decision of choices regarding location of businesses. All members - Listing of interview questions. All members -Minutes of meeting will be recorded by Yeo Kai Wen All members -Artistic cover will be designed by Ng Huoy Miin All members 3. Conclusion -We decided to use guesthouse as our business All members -The interview question has finalize All members -Next meeting will be on 27 April 2015 (Monday) All members
- 36. 35 Minutes 2 DATE: 27 April 2015 (Monday) TIME: 11AM-12PM VENUE: Outside Library NAMES OF GROUP MEMBERS TUTORIAL GROUP ROLE Pang Kai Yun Thursday Leader Yeo Kai Wen Wednesday Secretary Trace Gew Yee Thursday Member Liew Poh Ka Thursday Member Lee Shze Hwa Thursday Member Ng Huoy Miin Thursday Member Lee Kailyn Thursday Member Sam Wei Yin Thursday Member NO. ACTIVITY ACTION TAKEN BY 1. Introduction -Role of group member during interview Pang Kai Yun 2. Discussion -Business has change from guesthouse to furniture shop because all guest houses are not over 10 years. All members -Distribution of roles between group members. Trace Gew Yee: Interview Yeo Kai Wen: Interview Lee Shze Hwa: Videographer Liew Poh Ka: Videographer Lee Kailyn: Photograper Ng Huoy Miin: Photograper Sam Wei Yin: Record notes of interviewee Pang Kai Yun: Record notes of interviewee All members -Finalization of business line and locations. Penang: Heng Furnishing Kuala Lumpur: The Curiousity Shop All members -Equipment needed during interview Camera All members 3. Conclusion -Next meeting will to be confirmed All members
- 37. 36 Minutes 3 DATE: 14 May 2015 (Thursday) TIME: 10AM-11AM VENUE: E8.02 NAMES OF GROUP MEMBERS TUTORIAL GROUP ROLE Pang Kai Yun Thursday Leader Yeo Kai Wen Wednesday Secretary Trace Gew Yee Thursday Member Liew Poh Ka Thursday Member Lee Shze Hwa Thursday Member Ng Huoy Miin Thursday Member Lee Kailyn Thursday Member Sam Wei Yin Thursday Member NO. ACTIVITY ACTION TAKEN BY 1. Introduction - Role of group member for report assignment Pang Kai Yun 2. Discussion -Distribution of roles between group members. Trace Gew Yee: History of trade Yeo Kai Wen: Brief description Lee Shze Hwa: Video Liew Poh Ka: Comparative analysis, conclusion Lee Kailyn: Competitors, strategy Ng Huoy Miin: Cover page, content, key summary Sam Wei Yin: Obstacle faced, recommendation Pang Kai Yun: Appendices, bibliography, reference All members -Interview question and answer will complete on Friday Sam Wei Yin 3. Conclusion -All work need to be done on 18 May 2015 All members -Next meeting will be on 18 May 2015 All members
- 38. 37 Minutes 4 DATE: 18 May 2015 (Monday) TIME: 11AM-12PM VENUE: Outside Library NAMES OF GROUP MEMBERS TUTORIAL GROUP ROLE Pang Kai Yun Thursday Leader Yeo Kai Wen Wednesday Secretary Trace Gew Yee Thursday Member Liew Poh Ka Thursday Member Lee Shze Hwa Thursday Member Ng Huoy Miin Thursday Member Lee Kailyn Thursday Member Sam Wei Yin Thursday Member NO. ACTIVITY ACTION TAKEN BY 1. Introduction -Finalization of the compiled research report. Pang Kai Yun 2. Discussion -History of trade Done Trace Gew Yee -Brief description Not complete, need to edit again Yeo Kai Wen -Video Video is too long, need to edit again Lee Shze Hwa -Comparative analysis, conclusion Done Liew Poh Ka -Competitors, strategy Done Lee Kailyn -Artistic cover Done, but the size is not in A4 size Ng Huoy Miin -Obstacle faced, recommendation Done Sam Wei Yin -Appendices, bibliography, reference Minutes of meeting haven done Pang Kai Yun -Preparation of presentation slides. All members 3. Conclusion -Complete all the work and send it on 20 May 2015 Pang Kai Yun
- 39. 38 Appendix 6 : Photos Heng Furnishing Sofa Dining table Interviewing Recording video Group photo Chatting with the owner’s employee
- 40. 39 The Curiousity Shop Decorative objects Wooden chair Lighting sell in the shop Collectable item Interviewing Group photo
- 41. 40 Attachment Attachment 1 : PresentationSlide
- 42. 41 Attachment 2 : CD
- 43. 42 References 1. N.Gregory, M, (2007), 14, In Principle Of Economics (4th ed.,pp. 289-309). Thomson higher education. 2. Manser, J. (1994). 9. In Economics: A foundation course for the built environment (pp. 84-86). London: E & FN Spon 3. MARADE. (n.d.). Furniture. Retrieved from http://www.matrade.gov.my/en/foriegn- buyers-section/69-industry-write-up--products/621-furniture. Accessed on 14 May 2015. 4. Aronson, J. (1965). The encyclopedia of furniture (3rd ed.). New York: Crown. 5. Hiew, J., & Yap, J. (2008). INTERIOR SPACE. MY HOME INTERIOR AND IDEAS. 6. Tang, T. (2011, May 1). Nature comes home (D. Tan, Ed.). Eco Chic, 58-87. 7. Morley, J. (1999). A history of furniture (1st ed.). Bulfinch Press. 8. Furniture Design History. (n.d.). Retrieved May 30, 2015, from http://www.onlinedesignteacher.com/furniture_design/furniture_design%20history.ht ml 9. The 73 by Heng Furnishing. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.the73.com/content/home/index/site:the73-link:1427. Accessed on 29 April 2015. 10. The Curiosity Shop. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://thecuriousitygallery.blogspot.com/. Accessed on 10 May 2015. 11. D.Ho (Personal communication, May 13, 2015) 12. TX.Yeoh (Personal communication, May 2, 2015)