Saturday, May 29, 2010

A Malaysian firm delivering the American dream

Saturday March 27, 2010 The Star
A Malaysian firm delivering the American dream


THE multi-level marketing industry in the United States and Japan combined is estimated to be worth US$56bil last year, compared with that of Malaysia at US$1.26bil.
Cosway USA Inc president Steve Spaulding identifies three key factors that will help Cosway make inroads into the US – the group’s unique business model, timing of the global economy, and the leadership and vision of the company.
“We are capitalising on Cosway’s ability to offer the best quality at the lowest price,” Spaulding says. It’s an exciting business model, which will help the local economy. Besides giving people the chance to be an entrepreneur, Cosway would give jobs to local manufacturers whose businesses have been languishing as a result of the global economic crisis.
Stephanie Davis, Cosway’s international director of sales and marketing, says: “Despite the turmoil that the Americans have been through over the last two years, with many of them being put out of jobs, many are still holding on to the American dream.
“It’s the entrepreneurial spirit in them that wouldn’t die. And here we have a Malaysian firm delivering the American dream. And it’s not just an American dream but also a global dream.”
Cosway will start operations in the US by the end of May and it plans to have 120 stores in the country during the first year of operations. It is also targeting the same number of stores for its first year of operations in Japan, which is expected to start in August this year.
“Network marketing thrives in bad economies,” says eCosway Japan president Sean Macdonald. He believes Cosway will be a hit in Japan as the country’s economy continues to remain sluggish.
“Firstly, our product prices are going to be much more competitive than those offered by the local hypermarkets, which are usually located far out of town due to the high rentals in the cities,” he says.
“Secondly, our stores will be in both rural and urban areas, providing the locals easy access to our products. Hence, this gives us the added advantage when we compete against hypermarkets.
“And thirdly, our wide range of products will give us the advantage over convenience stores,” Macdonald says, adding that “Cosway will be positioned as both a convenience store and a hypermarket in Japan.”
Founder and CEO Al Chuah says he expects each store in these countries to generate an average turnover of US$50,000 per month.
But Davis quips: “Oh, that’s a very conservative figure.” She believes the average turnover of each store will exceed Chuah’s expectations significantly.
Indeed, it’s a global dream in the pipeline for the Cosway group. It’s a business that’s been touted as the next big thing for its ultimate major shareholder, Main Market-listed Berjaya Corp Bhd. And if the dream materialises, Cosway will set another global success story for a Malaysia-born company.

(original link: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/3/27/business/5931163&sec=business)

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