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| Tuesday, 12 January 2010 |
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| Ogawa to open concept stores by end-2010 |
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KUALA LUMPUR: Ogawa World Bhd plans to open at least two concept stores in the Klang Valley by end-2010 to promote its co-owned Cozzia brand, said its executive director Louis Chong.
Each concept store would cost RM300,000 to RM500,000 to set up with the first store expected to be opened by the end of March, he said at the launch of the Cozzia product yesterday.
"The concept store is in line with Ogawa´s plan to promote wellness home furnishing concept in Malaysia with the introduction of the Cozzia product," he said.
He added that the concept stores would be located at major shopping malls and target customers from the upper-middle to high-income groups.
"We will focus on building a strong market in Malaysia for the first two years. Thereafter, we will bring the brand (Cozzia) to countries where Ogawa is present at an accelerated rate because the learning curve will be shorter," he added.
Chong said while the brand was not expected to bring in significant contribution to Ogawa´s revenue at the moment, it would help the company´s growth in the long run.
"The massage chair category is still seeing a strong growth, and Ogawa sees the value of adding product offerings as consumer interest in overall wellness continues.
"There is a void in the marketplace for better-end consumers, particularly in the home theatre and motion categories featuring massage. We plan to fill that void," he said.
Ogawa recently signed a co-ownership agreement with US-based Cozzia to brand, market and distribute its products in the Asean region and some parts of Asia. Cozzia is a leading retailer of furniture with built-in massage capabilities.
Ogawa has 150 outlets in nine countries, namely Malaysia, Singapore, China and Hong Kong, Indonesia, Australia, Vietnam, Myammar and Saudi Arabia.
For its first quarter ended Sept 30, 2009 (1Q10), Ogawa posted a net profit of RM84,000, reversing a net loss of RM4.5 million a year earlier. Revenue rose to RM35.2 million from RM27.4 million. However, compared to the preceding quarter, 1Q10 net profit was 97.4% lower.
© Copyright The Edge Online
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Tuesday December 02, 2008
Leveraging on wellness trend
Branding has always been integral to Ogawa, a focus that is reflected in its organisational structure. "Although we design and own the patents for our products, we prefer to outsource their production. This ensures that our team is primarily focused on brand — building and customer service," says Louis Chong, executive director of Ogawa World Bhd.
For Ogawa World, customer service and brand-building must go hand-in-hand, with customers at the heart of their every decision. "We want to give them what we want, not what we'd like to sell," says Chong. To provide the best experience for consumers, the company invests heavily in staff training. "Our strongest advantage over our competitors is our people. They are passionate about the pursuit of excellence, and they are the spirit behind the brand."
The company started out in 1996 under the name of Healthy & Nice. It was established by Richard Wong, executive chairman, and Lim Poh Khian, deputy executive chairperson, of Ogawa World, to market Ogawa-branded products. "It seemed like a good time as the economy was booming and Malaysians were enjoying a higher standard of living. They were also getting more health-conscious, so we marketed our products in that direction," explains Chong.
Unfortunately, the company was immediately put to the test when the Asian financial crisis hit in 1997 and the Malaysian economy went into recession. Undaunted, Wong and Lim viewed it as the perfect time to expand and acquire better shop locations and recruit strong talent. They also shifted their focus from premium goods to more affordable items, such as a hand-held massager that sold for RM150. "At times of crisis, people need to de-stress for their health, more than ever!" says Chong.
Ogawa weathered the storm and emerged stronger, and began to market the brand even more aggressively between 1999 and 2001. "In that year, we established 20 outlets," says Chong. A friendly face was put on the brand when they appointed former 988 Radio DJ Chan Fung in 1999 and Datuk Jalaluddin Hassan in 2001 as brand ambassadors. In 2000, the company held up to 10 road shows a month.
As a result of their brand-building activities, Healthy World Sdn Bhd (incorporated from Healthy & Nice in 2001) was awarded the Asia-Pacific Entrepreneur Excellence Award, Branding Category in 2003. This was followed by Best Brands Award (Best International Brands Category) in 2004; Ogawa was named a Malaysian Superbrand in 2005.
By then, Ogawa was making its foray into China. And according to a TNS survey, in the electrical massage products category, it enjoyed 69% brand preference among Malaysians. "This was the beginning of the brand fulfilling the name, Ogawa. It's the Japanese word for stream, and for us it embodies the concept of starting small in Malaysia and emerging as a mighty ocean in the international arena," says Chong.
When the company was listed on Bursa Malaysia last year, it changed its name from Healthy World to Ogawa World. By then it had established distribution in Vietnam and Hong Kong. "It was a fresh start for us; we launched ourselves as an international brand. To personify our new status, we appointed a regional brand ambassador, Emil Chau Wakin, a Chinese singer who is famous in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in Malaysia, Hong Kong and China. We also adopted the slogan 'Close to You' to symbolise our desire to bring the products closer to the people," explains Chong.
According to Chong, Ogawa has spent about RM25 million in advertising over the last two years within the Southeast Asian region. "Overall, we stick to the industry average of 10% to 12% of profit for brand-building and advertising activities," says Chong. Ogawa World's profit before tax for the financial year ending June 30, 2007 was about RM22 million.
Ogawa continues to maintain the goal of a "healthier lifestyle" as its brand promise. Its range of products is marketed under five categories with "health-targeted" goals. The categories are: relaxation — to combat stress; therapeutic — using reflexology and other means as therapy; fitness — products to help you exercise; diagnostic — blood pressure monitors and thermometers; and finally, hygiene — filters for air and water. "Our users tend to be results-oriented and practical. They are more likely to buy our products if they have a good reason for using them. A luxury-oriented message wouldn't be enough," says Chong.
At present, 70% of Ogawa's total revenue is from the SEA region. "We aim to replicate it through to the rest of the world," says Chong. The company has taken its first steps in the Middle East, having just signed an agreement with a distributor there. The first outlet is scheduled to open in Dubai in January next year. Ogawa World is also attempting to break into the Mumbai market, but this is still in the process of negotiation.
"Our goal is to bring this Malaysian brand to an international platform. We believe we are part of a sunrise industry as people get increasingly affluent and desire healthier, happier lifestyles. The current financial crisis does not change these aims, in the long term it's still the right direction to head. We are merely more cautious in moving forward with our expansion plans. Rather than cut our ad spend, we will spend it more wisely," says Chong.
Although it will be a challenge, he is confident Ogawa World will weather the current economic situation and its effects on consumer spending, just as it has done before. "We are in a good position, and even at times like this, people still need to enjoy and de-stress. Also our brand has never been stronger — consumers recognise our brand name first, before any product," says Chong. "Everyone, from children to senior citizens, can sing our 'Ogawa' theme."
Copyright © The Edge Daily.
Monday February 25, 2008
Ogawa enters Myanmar market
SUBANG JAYA: Health and wellness equipment retailer Ogawa World Bhd has established a foothold in Myanmar and is close to naming a distributor for the Indian market, said its executive director Louis Chong.
He said a distributorship agreement for Myanmar was signed in January and Ogawa’s products would hit the market soon. “We hope to start our business in Yangon in one or two months and in Mandalay around June,” he told The Edge Financial Daily .
Ogawa would market its full range of products there as luxury items targeting the “cream” of consumers. In Malaysia, Ogawa has positioned its products for the middle and upper segments of the consumer market with an emphasis on lifestyle.
“We are very confident of the Myanmar market as the people there are becoming more affluent. We are going to have aggressive road shows, outlet expansions,” Chong said.
He said Ogawa also expected to finalise its choice of distributor for India in three to four months and begin sales in Mumbai.
He said the company would leverage on its international brand status in competing with local companies.
Chong said Ogawa was also looking for potential partners in the Middle East. “Hopefully we will decide on a partner this year,” he said.
He anticipated a slowdown in the global economy in the next two years, but believed Ogawa would pull through. “Health is a compulsory thing. If you use the right strategy on the right audience, they will still invest in health.”
He said Ogawa already has strategies in place, such as more affordable products like its Smart mate massage chair launched last month.
He said the Smart mate, which retails at RM4,899, would appeal to younger people who wanted the health benefits but had tighter budgets.
Chong also said the company would allocate 10% to 20% of its revenue for advertising and promotion, and maintain its practice of launching five to eight products annually.
Copyright © The Edge Daily.
Monday March 3, 2008
Ogawa downgraded on poor margins concerns
OGAWA World Bhd, whose first half results came in below Inter-Pacific Research’s expectations, has been downgraded to underperform from outperform as the research house is concerned about its pressured margins.
Ogawa posted a net profit of RM435,000 on the back of RM64.75 million in revenue for the six months ended Dec 31, 2007 (1HFY08). Inter-Pacific Research said Ogawa’s 1H revenue was 13.3% below its forecast of RM74.6 million.
It said the company’s pre-tax profit and net profit experienced “severe plunge” due to pressured margins following rising overhead costs in view of aggressive outlet expansion plans, coupled with its inability to transfer cost to consumers.
Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margin rose only 1.15% in 1HFY08, it added.
Quarter-on-quarter, Ogawa’s second quarter (2Q) revenue rose 13.4% to RM34.41 million, while pre-tax profit increased 296% to RM1.14 million due to lower base, despite operating under tough conditions, the research house said.
The improvement saw Ogawa turning around from a loss of RM192,000 in 1Q to a profit of RM627,000 in 2Q.
However, Inter-Pacific Research was concerned whether Ogawa would be able to maintain their traditional strong growth in the upcoming 4Q.
“Historically, Ogawa’s 4Q tends to be the strongest, benefiting from occasions like Father’s Day and Mother’s Day. For instance, we found their 4QFY07 revenue, PBT and PAT accounted for 35.2%, 43.3% and 43.9% of their full-year earnings.
“But looking at the current trend, we doubt that this feat could be maintained given their high overhead costs,” it said.
The research house expected Ogawa to continue experiencing strong margin pressures, at least until the end of the current calendar year.
It, however, noted that current expansion plans could contribute more positively to Ogawa’s bottom line in FY09 if the operating environment becomes more stable and witnesses less margin pressure.
“Hence, we have downgraded our recommendation from outperform to underperform, with the fair value pegged at 57 sen based on forward EPS (earnings per share) of 5.21 sen for FY09 that translates into a PER (price-earnings ratio) of 11 times,” it said.
Ogawa closed one sen lower at 74 sen last Friday with 100,000 shares traded.
Copyright © The Edge Daily.
Monday February 4, 2008
Ogawa to spend RM2mil on IT
IF you're a fan of healthcare and wellness equipment, you can expect to see more targeted campaigns from Ogawa World Berhad in the latter part of the year to cater to your specific needs.
At the signing of the partnership are (from left) IBM Malaysia's general manager, general business Chiam Yat Seng, Ogawa's cheif financial officer Chew Eng Loke, Chong, Lim and SL Information's Pronto division manager Ho Wai Chun.
The Bursa Malaysia main board-listed company plans to spend RM2 million to implement an enterprise management system that will enable it to increase efficiency in making store-level forecasting replenishment and merchandise planning.
"We have appointed SL Information System Sdn Bhd to implement the Pronto Xi Retail solution that will be powered by IBM's System p550 server. This partnership will enable Ogawa to further the standards of our customer service and store process productivity by seamlessly integrating core operations from the store-front to the corporate back-office. This is key to drive continued business growth," said Ogawa's executive director Louis Chong in Petaling Jaya last week.
The nine-month project, which kicked off this month, also will see new point-of-sales systems being deployed in all of its 70 stores in the country as well as laptops to be specifically used for roadshows.
With the system in place, Ogawa will be able to optimise back-end operations and keep up with daily transaction volumes and workload peaks while ensuring uninterrupted service to meet customers' demands. The company also will be able to receive precise and timely information on customer buying behaviour to make better strategic decisions.
In addition, inventory harmonisation measures and customer relations programmes can be developed more dynamically according to business needs.
Once the project is completed, the system will then be rolled out to other 100-odd Ogawa stores around the world.
'The Pronto Xi Retail solution will enable Ogawa to better manage point-of-sales data, procurement processes and back-office functions, which will allow the company to further expand from 172 stores to a projected 350 stores over the next five years," Chong said.
Meanwhile, SL Information's general manager Jimmy Lim said the company is confident of growing its business by about 20 per cent this year. "Like Ogawa, 90 per cent of the retailers in Malaysia are mid-sized enterprises that require tailored solutions to drive customer and operational excellence for the retail industry. The retail industry has come of age in Malaysia, and we see bright prospects in the market."
Copyright © Tech & U. New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad.
Friday January 18, 2008
More than just a massage chair
OGAWA, which recently launched the Smart Mate massage chair, will be giving away the new Mercedes-Benz CClass worth RM250,000 to lucky winners of Ogawa’s C the New Luxury Contest.
Customers with purchases of RM1,000 and above in a single receipt are eligible to participate in this contest. The more they purchase, the more lucky draw chances they get.
Luxurious prize: Eric Cheah, Ogawa World Berhad executive director (right) and Daniel Tan, Cycle & Carriage Bintang Berhad general manager (sales and marketing) at the launch of Ogawa’s C the New Luxury Contest.
The chosen ones will then attend the prize giveaway event at 1 Utama Shopping Centre on March 30 to draw a lucky key that could unlock the luxurious new Mercedes-Benz C-Class.
On top of that, Ogawa will also be giving away two new Smart Mate massage chairs and other consolation prizes worth more than RM25,000.
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OGAWA 目前在马来西亚、新加坡、中国和香港拥有 150 间分店, 以及在印尼, 澳洲,
越南缅甸和以及沙特阿拉伯王国拥有 38 间独家经销商。 |
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| OGAWA : 舒梦沙发按摩椅 |
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