Business

Saturday June 20, 2009

Tomei shines on founder’s vision of global brand

SUCCESSFUL MALAYSIAN BRANDS
By RACHAEL KAM


BACK in the 1960s, it would have been rare for any businessman to think of brand building. However, jewellery maker and trader Tomei Consolidated Bhd founder and group executive chairman, Tan Sri Ng Teck Fong, not only created a brand that was accepted by locals but also managed to turn it into an international name.

“A simple name that is easily remembered and pronounced by people is the first step to establishing a brand,” Ng says.

“Malaysia has a multi-cultural society. So, our brand must be easily accepted by all Malaysians and that was how the Tomei brand was born 42 years ago,” he tells StarBizWeek.

Tan Sri Ng Teck Fong with some of his collections of Tomei brand jewellery.

To Ng, gold and diamond are valuable and beautiful. Thus, he decided to “name” his products Tomei.

“Tomei, or ‘duo mei’ in Mandarin, means so beautiful; it also carries our mission of designing and producing jewellery that can make our customers glamorous,” he explains.

The company was founded with a capital of RM15,000 in 1968. It designs, manufactures and supplies jewellery items to local goldsmith shops and jewellers.

Ng says Tomei products are well accepted by different races because of their fine designs and quality.

“Product quality is always the factor to encourage repeat purchase and build up a brand.

“My customers were even calling me Tomei instead of my own name,” he recalls.

As the business grew, Ng opened his first Tomei retail outlet in the Campbell Shopping Complex in Kuala Lumpur in the early 1970s and subsequently commenced its wholesale and distribution business.

“It has always been our strategy to set up outlets in shopping malls instead of opening a shop, as visitors rate a shopping mall higher than a shop by the roadside,” says Ng, a chemist by profession.

Prior to starting his own business, Ng worked for his older brother in jewellery manufacturing and trading for four years after his graduation from the Taiwan National Cheng Kung University.

“That was how I got into the jewellery manufacturing industry,” he says.

Helping his brother mainly in accounting and business management, Ng also gained experience in the manufacturing aspects besides gaining more knowledge on metals and gemstones.

When he decided to build his own business, he started with contract manufacturing to capture the Malay and Indian market. That idea was supported by his brother, who was mainly targeting the Chinese market.

Ng says his success was partly due to the saying “It takes time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go in.”

“I would prefer to have a steady and sustainable growth in the business rather than a sudden huge growth and a sharp fall later,” he says.

In 1998, the company joined hands with Eugen Schofer GmbH & Co, the largest chain manufacturer in Europe, to make gold and silver chains.

In the same year, Tomei successfully developed and manufactured its own white gold jewellery. In 2006, Tomei Consolidated was listed on Bursa Malaysia second board. Its listing was transfered to the main board the following year.

In the meantime, the company had introduced two more brands – My Diamond and T.H. Jewelry – as well as acquired an international brand – Le Lumiere.

In line with its expansion, Tomei spread its wings overseas three years ago with a manufacturing plant in Vietnam.

“To tap the huge Chinese market, we granted a trademark right of Tomei in China,” says Ng, adding that the first Tomei retail outlet there opened in 2007.

Today, the group has five retail outlets in Vietnam, six in China and 56 locally.

Tomei’s products are also exported to Indonesia, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, the Middle East and Europe.

Ng says the company has survived two economic crises and is still going strong.

Asked about his formula for success, he says: “A pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.”

Besides a well-planned business, Ng adds that product quality, good designs and innovations are the other factors that helped grow his business.

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