Page 50 - From Zero To Hero

50 | fromzerotohero
To date, Malaysia accounts for 55% of Khind’s
totalturnover,whiletheremaining45%comesfrom
the overseas market. Khind’s biggest international
market thus far isSingapore,wheretheirpresence is
strongly seen in the retail, wholesale and industrial
electrical business. Khind’s Singapore operations
have almost 120 employees working for the group.
The Singapore market alone accounts for RM31
million of turnover.
Besides Singapore, Khind also has a strong pres-
ence inWestAsiaandNorthAfrica, that account for
almost RM33million in terms of turnover.
In 2001, Khind took another giant leap with a
key milestone when they acquired Mistral, a well
known Australian brand. Thus, Mistral Singapore
Pte. Ltd – a subsidiary of Khind Holdings Berhad
was born. Looking at the company’s growth, Khind
is growing at a compounded rate of 20%every year.
In 2012 alone, Khind Holdings Berhad had
achievedquiteafeat,closingRM240millioninsales.
Khindrecognisedtheneedto lookbeyondMalaysia,
and tap into the export potential.
For the last two years, there have been acqui-
sitions of four cluster of companies, namely in
Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore and China. A
Singaporean company was also acquired in 2012,
with strong retail business presence in Brunei and
Singapore respectively.
The company continues to look for acquisition
opportunities and newmarkets, particularly in re-
newableenergyandgreentechnology.Fromresearch
andyearsof strategicbusinessdevelopment,Khind
has recognised enormous potential for this inWest
Asia andNorth Africa.
Building A Brand
withMATRADE’s Assistance
LikemanyotherMalaysiancounterparts,Khindat-
tendedandparticipatedinMATRADEtradefairsand
trade missions in the early years, allowing for early
penetration into international markets. “InMarch
2007,MATRADEapprovedabrandpromotiongrant
of RM1.991 million, that has helped greatly in our
ownbrandbuildingexercises,”saysChengPingKeat,
Group CEOof KhindHoldings Berhad.
MATRADE’s role in facilitating trade between
Malaysiancompaniesandforeignbuyershasallowed
forbusinesses toexplorenewfrontiers inuncharted
landsforthebusiness.Thecompanyregardsgovern-
mentassistanceasasteppingstonefor thebusiness.
“WhatMATRADEdoes is like a booster, a bonus
ofsorts.However,itisreallyuptoustobeself-reliant
and independent after that,” Cheng adds.
Competing in the global stage
Khind’sworkculturedefineshowthey interactwith
the rest of the world. The company prides itself on
teamworkandanattitude that aims for continuous
improvement in all aspects of the business as key
drivers for their exponential growth. Keeping up
with the times, Khind also uses social media as a
tool toengagewiththeir employees,where internal
staff can interact and keep abreast with the latest
developments of the company online.
Through trust andprogressive education, Khind
believes that adapting to change andbeing resilient
in times of challenges are their strengths that have
brought themthus far.
Withastrong focusoncustomer satisfactionand
qualityproductdelivery,Khindcontinuestocompete
inaglobal arenawhile strengthening theirpresence
in both local and international playing fields alike.
Success is not instant – Words
from Cheng Ping Keat
Success, inCheng’swords, doesnothappenwiththe
snap of a finger.
“It tookKhind 25 years to build its international
business thatnowgenerates almostRM130million
inturnover.Thatdoesn’thappenovernight. A lot of
hard work, experience and continuous striving for
excellence is what brought the business to where it
is today,” he says.
To build a multi-million dollar business starts
from building a solid foundation and gaining
relevant experience to support that level of
growth.
Learning about the market, its stability
and demands, as well as understanding global
business culture will assist in churning out the
numbers. Most importantly, it is very crucial to
understand a product’s core competency before
anything else.
“The question we always ask is what can we do,
andwhat does themarketwant?Thesehelpuswith
gauging our customers and their needs better,”
explains Cheng.
“Once in a while, we may slip and fail. Do not be
discouraged. Turn your failures into experiences to
learnfrom. Alwayshaveapositive relationshipwith
failure,” he adds.