Khind – into the future
KHIND is one of few madein-Malaysia brands that has succeeded, not just in remaining relevant in the market, but as a competitive industry player. This year, the company celebrates its 55th anniversary and is proud to share its humble beginnings.
EARLY YEARS The brand Khind was founded by Cheng King Fa in 1961 in Sekinchan. It has since grown in leaps and bounds, with business operations throughout Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Fushan in China and Dubai for the Middle East and African markets. The manufacturing plant in Sekinchan also serving as a warehouse and manufacturing facility and a logistics gateway for the brand.
Shares Khind-Mistral (M) Sdn Bhd marketing general manager Albert Tan: “Khind-Mistral Malaysia is a strategic unit of Khind Holdings, a public-listed company. Khind-Mistral also accounts for a third of the group’s revenue and Khind is proud to profess that we have more than 800 employees in the Khind family.”
Tan, with more than 23 years of experience in marketing management, brand building and product development, joined Khind some three years ago. “I joined the company because I saw the huge potential it had in the appliances industry,” informed Tan who sees to the overall business performance and profit and loss (locally and abroad), apart from working closely with various functional and operational divisions in product development, marketing and warehousing/logistics.
CALL FOR CHANGE For the man with this herculean task, his biggest challenge is to ensure the brand remains relevant in today’s market. “We do not want consumers to buy our products just because there is a promotion. We want to shout out about the value our products can deliver, the special features,” shared Tan who devised a strategy to change consumers’ mindsets.
Khind, having known to be using the “consumer push effect”, which attracts customers with its sales promotions and offers, soon changed the scenario using the “consumer pull effect”. Together with his team, Tan came up with a strategic plan to transform the brand known for its good, safe, compatible and value-in-pricing goods to something more, highlighting its strong product features and functions. A huge exercise was carried out, revisiting Khind’s entire range of products, relooking at its strengths and weaknesses, revamping and improving along the way. After two years of product housekeeping, research, development and change, Tan, like a proud father, is pleased with the impressive range of products Khind can offer consumers today.
There are six product categories under Khind: fans; air-moving products; kitchen/cooking apparatus; home gadgets; big appliances; and accessories.
“On the average, we have between 180 and 200 models in the market to meet different consumer needs,” informs Tan. Mistral, on the other hand, focuses on the first two categories and is positioned as a more premium label compared with Khind.
KEEPING WITH THE TIMES In realising the need to keep abreast of modern trends and technologies to stay engaged and connected with consumers, Khind was led to venture into online and e-commerce marketing. With the start of Khind Online, customers can now learn about new and upcoming products, communicate and make purchases for both Khind and Khind-Mistral products, while on the move. Recognised as an important platform for growth and investment, Khind also collaborates with major e-commerce players like Lazada, Groupon, 11street and others.
A strong brand that has ridden through many rough seas like the Forex crisis of 1997, the 2008 recession and impact of the 2015 GST, Khind remains competitive among brands like Pensonic, Cornell, Faber, Elba, Tefal and others. “In certain product segments, we can proudly say that we are on par with international brands from Japan and Korea. But we are also aware of the emerging China labels like Midea and Haier, which will soon become key competitors of Khind in the near future.”
With so much competition, the Khind brand still holds place as one of top three in its segment, winning the hearts of consumers in product design, competitive pricing and after-sales service.
“Check out our range of doubleboiler cookers of which we are leading in the market,” shares Tan. Their air purifier and stainless steel “Signature” series also provides handsome looking products that make beautiful “home furnishing” pieces.
VALUE IN PEOPLE While a company and its products may be important, Khind recognises the fact that it is the people who matter most. With that, the company has come up with a spectacular approach in celebrating its 55 years in the market ... by “delivering happiness”.
“Instead of celebrating the many milestones we’ve crossed in just a day of celebration, we decided to show our appreciation to all those who have helped make Khind the successful brand it is,” informed Tan.
And so, the company has since shown its appreciation various ways and means, “delivering happiness” to the people who have played relevant roles in its success including employees, its management teams, business associates, manufacturing partners, retailers, stakeholders, shareholders, suppliers, retailers and consumers.
A series of events and campaigns to “deliver happiness” has been drawn up for the whole year: from team building games and activities held at fabulous resorts to treasure hunts and business talks to inspire albeit gala dinners and awards presentations, including promotions, campaigns and more are set to deliver happiness to all the people who have played a role in the success of the Khind brand.