POH KONG HOLDINGS BERHAD

IN PERSONAL ACCESSORIES
(MALAYSIA)
Euromonitor International
January 2014

POH KONG HOLDINGS BERHAD IN PERSONAL ACCESSORIES (MALAYSIA)

LIST OF CONTENTS AND TABLES

Strategic Direction ........................................................................................................................ 1
Key Facts ..................................................................................................................................... 1
Summary 1
Summary 2

Poh Kong Holdings Berhad: Key Facts ........................................................ 1

Poh Kong Holdings Berhad: Operational Indicators ..................................... 1

Company Background .................................................................................................................. 1

Production .................................................................................................................................... 3
Competitive Positioning ................................................................................................................ 3
Summary 3

Poh Kong Holdings Berhad: Competitive Position 2012............................... 4

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POH KONG HOLDINGS BERHAD IN PERSONAL ACCESSORIES (MALAYSIA)

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POH KONG HOLDINGS BERHAD

STRATEGIC DIRECTION
Poh Kong Holdings Berhad aims to strengthen its presence in personal accessories in
Malaysia by opening new outlets in Peninsular Malaysia as well as in East Malaysia,
specifically the provinces of Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo. In order to remain
competitive, the company is set to focus in opening new retail outlets in shopping centres
such as the AEON shopping centre rather than opening more standalone retail outlets. The
planned opening of several large shopping centres throughout Malaysia is set to provide the
company with the opportunity to increase the presence of its brand, allowing it to reach out to
substantial customer base. However, the imminent entry into Malaysia of more international
luxury goods brands which offer jewellery is set to present a major challenge for Poh Kong
due to rising levels of competition. Thus, the company needs to ensure that its jewellery
remains fashionable and trendy in line with evolving consumer needs, particularly among
younger consumers with strong purchasing power.

KEY FACTS
Summary 1
Poh Kong Holdings Berhad: Key Facts
Full name of company:
Poh Kong Holdings Berhad
Address:

16-20, Jalan 52/4, 46200 Petaling Jaya,

Selangor, Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

Tel:

+ 6 3 7958 8999

Fax:

+ 6 3 7958 8398

www:

www.pohkong.com.my

Activities:

Manufacturer and retailer of jewellery

Source:

Euromonitor International from company reports, company research

Summary 2
Year end July

Poh Kong Holdings Berhad: Operational Indicators

2010
2011

2012

Net sales

RM561 million

RM692 million

RM830 million

Net profit

RM33 million

RM41 million

RM52 million

Source:

Euromonitor International from company reports, company research

COMPANY BACKGROUND
Poh Kong Holdings Berhad is a large holding group established in 1976 and headquartered at
Petaling Jaya. Poh Kong was first listed on the main board of the Bursa Malaysia Securities
Berhad stock exchange in 2004 and at the end of the review period the company had its own
manufacturing facility located at Shah Alam, as well as more than 100 outlets throughout
Malaysia.

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POH KONG HOLDINGS BERHAD IN PERSONAL ACCESSORIES (MALAYSIA)

Poh Kong specialises mainly in the manufacture and retail of real jewellery made
predominantly from gold. In addition to manufacturing jewellery under its in-house brand, Poh
Kong is also the sole distributor in Malaysia for leading global jewellery brands such as
Moraglione 1922 and Schoeffel Luxury Pearl. Some examples of its in-house jewellery brands
include Tranz, Anggun, Happy Love and The Art of Auspicious Jewellery. In addition acting as
a retailer of jewellery, in 2006 Poh Kong ventured into the diamond business. Since then the
company has engaged in a variety of diamond-related activities including cutting and polishing
stones and the distribution, import and export of precious stones, often in collaboration with
Hong Kong-based companies.
Tranz boutique offers jewellery collections exclusively designed and manufactured by Poh
Kong. Its appealing gold jewellery features through modern yet classy designs. Inspirations
used by Tranz are drawn from the oceanic influences such as coral and octopi. Its Happy
Love range boasts a selection of elegant gold jewellery for oriental wedding use. Its Anggun
collection features Asian-inspired floral motifs which reflect the beauty of nature and various
collections under Anggun carry names such as Alamanda, Manja, Orkid, Melur, Unga Raya
and Karya Anggun. Finally, The Art of Auspicious jewellery collection showcases well-crafted
masterpieces incorporating elements of feng shui which denote blessings, good fortune and
longevity.
During the review period, Poh Kong operated under various different brand names including
Poh Kong, Poh Kong Gallery, Diamond & Gold, diamond Boutique, Tranz, Jade Gallery and
Oro Bianco. Retail outlets operated under these different names are scattered throughout
Peninsular Malaysia. Poh Kongs retail network is mainly concentrated in Peninsular Malaysia
and there are 100 Poh Kong retail outlets open under various fasciae throughout Peninsular
Malaysia. In 2013, executives of Poh Kong mentioned that they had no intention of expanding
their retail chain overseas due to the fact that high import duties for gold in most countries
would make it difficult to compete with other companies offering gold jewellery. However, the
company intends to venture into Sabah and Sarawak, Malaysians provinces on the island of
Borneo, by 2014 as part of its domestic expansion plan.
Towards the end of 2012, Poh Kong Holdings entered into partnered up with Moraglione
1922, an exclusive Italian jewellery brand. The Moraglione 1922 collection is inspired mainly
by European royalty, with four collections offered in Malaysia included Sofia, inspired by
Queen Sofia of Spain; Grace, inspired by Princess Grace of Monaco; Anastasia, inspired by
Princess Anastasia of Russia; and the Isabella collection, inspired by Queen Isabella of
Spain. Every piece of the Moraglione 1922 collection is 100% handmade in order to maintain
its uniqueness. As an outcome of this partnership agreement, the Moraglione 1922 collection
will be made available in selected Poh Kong Gallery outlets, with initial outlets including the
outlet at Poh Kongs headquarters in Petaling Jaya, Pavilion KL, Queensbay Penang and
Bangsar.
In addition to the partnership formed with this noted international jewellery brand, during 2012
the company also launched the latest collection under its own in-house brand, the Anggun
Collection and 2013 it launched new pieces under the Auspicious Jewellery Collection. The
launch of the Auspicious Jewellery Collection was undertaken by Poh Kong at its
headquarters in Petaling Jaya in January 2013. The Melur Collection and the Karya Anggun
Collection were launched in 2012. This new collection targets consumers who are fashionable
and trendy but who also appreciate traditional values. Several new designs are also being
added to the Bunga Raya Collection as well as to the Manja Collection, a petite set designed
specifically for children.
Poh Kong maintains strong investment in publicity and advertising, organising regular
roadshows to showcase its products. Among the notable events organised by the brand

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during 2012 was a 6-day European-themed roadshow to showcase some of its most stunning
collections of royalty-inspired jewellery at Pavilion KL, a project which was undertaken in
conjunction with the signage of partnership agreement with Moraglione 1922 from Italy.
Schoeffel luxury pearls from Germany, Luca Carati from Italy, Angel Diamond from Belgium
and Poh Kong Gallerys luxury collection were also featured during the showcase. This event
was graced with the presence of local celebrities such as Daniel Lee, Syafinaz Selamat and
Reshmonu as well as famous Malaysian designers including Carven Ong, Keith Kee and DL
Fashion Design.

PRODUCTION
Poh Kong Holdings Berhad supplies local demand from in-country production. The company
has established a 60,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in Shah Alam. Poh Kongs manufacturing
plant is used in the manufacturing its in-house brands, including Tranz, Anggun, Happy Love
and The Art of Auspicious Jewellery. In addition to its house brands, Poh Kong imports all of
the jewellery offered the brands which it represents including Luca Carati, Schoeffel and
Moraglione 1922, distributing them throughout Malaysia,.
Despite Poh Kong being the leading player in jewellery in Malaysia, the company did not
increase the production capacity at its Shah Alam manufacturing plant during 2013 as the
company currently finds its production capacity to be sufficient for handling local distribution.
In addition, the company has no intention to expand overseas in the short term, which makes
it unnecessary for the company to engage in increasing its production capacity.
Poh Kong does not export its jewellery due to the high import duties applicable to gold in
virtually all countries. As such, the brand manufactures and conducts retail activities for its
jewellery only within Malaysia.

COMPETITIVE POSITIONING
Poh Kong Holdings Berhad ranked as the leading player in personal accessories in Malaysia
in 2012 with an overall value share of 6%. The company remains the clear leader in personal
accessories in Malaysia due to its very strong leading position in jewellery, where it held a
value share of 12% in 2012. More importantly, Poh Kong led in real jewellery in Malaysia in
2012 with a 13% value share. Poh Kong owes its leading positions in jewellery and real
jewellery to its ability to consistently outperform its competitors such as Tomei and Tiffany.
Poh Kongs value shares in personal accessories and jewellery continued to increase during
2012 as growth was recorded in the number of outlets operated under its various retail brands
such as Poh Kong, Poh Kong Gallery, Diamond & Gold, diamond Boutique, Tranz, Jade
Gallery and Oro Bianco. The diverse range of retail concepts under which the company
operates represent fertile ground for Poh Kong to reach out to a wide range of consumer
groups with different needs and different levels of purchasing power. As such, the company
has been able to ensure that low-income consumers are also able to afford beautiful and
valuable jewellery. In addition to its efforts to strengthen its presence in Malaysia by opening
new retail outlets, Poh Kong has also formed partnerships with the owners of world-class
jewellery brands to diversify the range of jewellery options which are available in its outlets.
Some of the examples of classic jewellery brands the company offers in Malaysia include
Moraglione 1922, Luca Carati and Schoeffel.
The company is positioned in an intensely competitive industry which is also rather saturated.
Jewellery in Malaysia is an industry in which a high number of both domestic and international
companies compete, which means that Poh Kong will need to make strong efforts to survive

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amidst such strong competition by covering more retail locations in terms of store-based retail
outlets as well as venturing into non-store retailing, a move it is currently taking following the
signing of a partnership agreement with leading internet retailer Rakuten Malaysia in 2012.
Last but not least, the company also intends to maintain a wide product portfolio so as to
remain competitive within jewellery in Malaysia by meeting the increasingly sophisticated
demand of Malaysian consumers.
As the company markets its products under various brands, Poh Kongs product portfolio
encompasses various price points and the companys products cover the entire price
spectrum. The pricing strategies employed for Poh Kongs brands vary according to the
precise nature of each different brand. For instance, Poh Kong retail outlets offer products
ranging across the price spectrum, while Poh Kong Gallery in Pavilion KL houses an
extensive collection from world-renowned designers priced towards the higher end of the
price spectrum and targeting high-income consumers.
Poh Kong Holdings Berhad is very much a leader in terms of innovation in jewellery in
Malaysia and the company has a long history in Malaysia through its very strongly established
brands. Poh Kong was one of the first chained jewellery retailers to begin operating in
Malaysia and this gives it a major advantage over its less well-established competitors such
as Tomei Consolidated Bhd. In recent years, Poh Kong has expanded rapidly through the
development of various different retail concepts in order to cater to the needs of a wide range
of different consumers, which makes the company one of very few pioneering jewellery
companies to engage in such diversification of its product portfolio.
During 2013, Poh Kong moved away from opening new standalone retail outlets in order to
focus more on opening retail outlets in shopping centres. The company was especially
focused on the opening of new outlets in the AEON shopping mall as part of its close
cooperation with the company which manages this shopping centre. The purchasing patterns
of Malaysian consumers are shifting towards making major shopping expeditions to shopping
centres during weekday evenings and the weekend afternoons. As such, shopping centres
are set to eventually become the ultimate one-stop shopping destinations for Malaysian
consumers looking to purchase everything they need, including jewellery.
Summary 3
Category

Poh Kong Holdings Berhad: Competitive Position 2012

Value Share
Rank

Personal accessories

6.3%

Jewellery

11.9%

Real jewellery

12.6%

Source:

Euromonitor International from company research

Euromonitor International