Daikin sets a new culture
> Launching its first concept home featuring centralised air conditioning
THERE are many instances when one goes to a retail store to purchase, let’s say a new air conditioner, and has no clue which model or brand to get. With that in mind, Daikin Malaysia has come up with an interesting solution via the launch of its concept home in Semenyih, Selangor.
Daikin Malaysia developed the idea to introduce its customers to a new lifestyle concept by promoting its “home central air conditioning system”.
The home concept was designed to enable the customer to experience the air conditioning system and its benefits in order to get a feel of what they are purchasing.
THE SYSTEM According to Daikin Malaysia, it developed the air conditioning system with interior design as its focus. This was demonstrated during the launch, as the system featured “hidden” air conditioners which allow more space for design flexibility.
The Daikin home central air conditioning system is also designed to provide even air flow distribution, plus ideal temperature control and humidity balance to create a comfortable living environment.
THE REASON During the launch, Daikin Malaysia COO Ooi Cheng Suan shared the concept home’s aim and intention. In an exclusive interview with theSun, he said, “I think for any business to start (as a market leader), you need to invest. For us, the reason why we invested was because we saw the potential. This concept was not available in Malaysia but it has been successfully implemented in Hong Kong, China and Japan.”
WHY SEMENYIH? Ooi also shared why Diamond City in Semenyih was chosen as the location for Daikin’s first concept home. “We chose Semenyih because the developer of Diamond City, which is Country Garden, is familiar with the idea of the concept home in China. The approach is very well received in China, throughout Country Garden’s developments.
“Secondly, we noticed that there is a lot of new development in this area. As you can see, SP Setia and Eco World have some projects in this area. Hence, we felt Semenyih was a promising location where we could introduce house owners and property investors to this concept and give them options,” said Ooi.
THE EXECUTION With such an ambitious project, one may assume that there were a lot of challenges in executing the project. However, Ooi said that the company did not have much difficulty in setting up the concept house.
“It did not take us a long to execute the project. We had ‘teachers’ from China and Japan, whom we worked closely with. In fact, our engineers were sent to these places (China and Japan) to learn the ropes, the ins and outs of the design work from the locals. There were also concept houses in China and Japan which served as reference or yardsticks for us to develop our concept house,” informed Ooi. SETTING CULTURE When asked about “setting a culture” for other companies in the industry, Ooi stated that this culture was established for both competitors and customers.
“This home central air conditioning concept is actually a culture. It is a new culture of using air conditioning for residential homes. While most Malaysians are used to the simple wall-mounted air conditioning setup, what we are trying to do is to bring in a home centralised air conditioning concept where you won’t see the air conditioning unit but you can receive the comfort of air conditioning. So, this is going to be a new trend and a very successfully proven one,” shared Ooi.
MORE THAN ENGINEERING With the concept home in place, one can assume that staff and dealers are no longer just engineers.
“The engineers in our company do not just serve as engineers to install your air conditioning units. They are meant to also serve as consultants and as part of the sales team, especially in helping the customer to choose the right air conditioning system. They will provide customers with advice on a suitable unit or system for one’s house, one that matches with the interior design and can provide household members with comfort,” shared Ooi.
“Even our dealers go through a stringent approval process by us. They must be approved by us as we stress on providing good quality material, good workmanship and good design. These dealers have to undergo internal training. They will learn about good installation and about choosing the right air conditioning unit for the right design spaces. As a business leader, we share this knowledge and training with our business partners,” said Ooi. For more information, visit Daikin’s Facebook page.