The Sun Shines on ye olde Sui Wah
IT was a bad time in Penang.
A bowl of noodles was five sen, the salary of a domestic maid was around RM50 per month and there were no multinational corporations to give Penangites high- paying jobs.
It was a time when many young Penangites were leaving their homes for better opportunities in North America and UK.
That was about the time that Suiwah Corp Bhd was set up – in 1959, two years after Merdeka.
However, it steered its development and growth across the rugged economic and political terrains of the 1960s and 1970s to become established as a household name in the retailing and supermarket industry.
“The situation worsened after Penang lost its duty- free status in 1967. Unemployment was around 16% in 1967, with recession setting in,” says group executive director Cynthia Hwang.
“To operate efficiently, and since we could not afford to engage outside help, we had to depend solely on family members to manage the business.
“My father, who was 18 years old in 1967, had to decide against leaving for Australia to further his studies, as my grandfather needed his help to run the sundry shop,” she says.
Under the helm of her father and group managing director Datuk Hwang Thean Long, Suiwah emerged unscathed, after having confronted many economic and political crises of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, to be a leading public- listed group involved principally in retailing, departmental store, manufacturing, and property development activities in 1995.
Over the course of 57 years, it struggled through the period when Penang lost its duty- free status in 1967, the Hartal Riots of 1967, and bore witness to the establishment of the Free Trade Zone in 1970.
The group currently has some 1,000 workers, of which about 500 are in the retailing and supermarket business division.
Cynthia said the group’s ability to adapt, its commitment to a strong loyalty programme for customers, and an experienced workforce of senior sales and management employees, accounted for the group’s success and achievements.
Hwang Siong Wah, Thean Long’s father, started a mini- market in Air Itam market under the Suiwah brand in 1959, using the name of his wife, Sui, and that of his own, Wah.
Cynthia, who is being groomed to take over the group’s business, says the initial times were tough, as unemployment was high and purchasing power was low.
Suiwah’s merchandise in those days comprised mainly of essential household items, and food and beverage products sourced locally, and priced affordably.
Although Penang was hard hit by a property slump in the second half of 1980s, which lasted till the early 1990s, the company undertook expansion in 1986.
“In the second half of 1980s, we expanded out of our base in Air Itam to set up Suiwah Jelutong in 1985, and Suiwah Bayan Baru and Lai Lai Ayer Itam in 1986.
“We competed mainly on competitive pricing and by penetrating into untapped markets on the island.
“The stores did not fare badly, despite the fact that they were set up during an economic downturn, as they lasted between eight and 21 years.
“Suiwah Bayan Baru was closed in 1994, Lai Lai Ayer Itam 1999, and Suiwah Jelutong 2006.
“We decided to close the stores as plans were being made to replace them with new supermarket- cum- departmental stores designed with fresh shopping themes that appealed to a younger generation, using the “Sunshine” brandname,” she said.
In 1992, the group set up Sunshine Bayan Baru, the first of the Sunshine outlets, followed by Sunshine Lip Sin in 2008, and Sunshine Farlim in 2009.
“We are now undertaking the development of Sunshine Tower, a mixed development project in Bandar Baru Air Itam, scheduled for completion in 2019.
“The project, comprising a 39- storey block of retail shops, business suites, hotel, wellness centre, and serviced apartment, should be a significant contributor to the group’s revenue in 2019, when the project is completed,” she added.