Roondy to promote high-end shoes through brand-building
By CHEAH CHOR SOOI
(New Straits Times)
ROONDY (M) Sdn Bhd, the maker, designer and distributor of Lewre footwear, is taking on aggressive product development and brand-building as the way forward in the middle- to high-end shoe market.
The company will emphasise becoming a reliable original equipment manufacturer (OEM) by mastering the latest product design, conforming to high product quality and ensuring that orders are delivered on time.
In addition, Roondy will focus on re-engineering its supply chain by implementing capacity and demand planning with selected factories to achieve constant improvement in quality and delivery time.
It has also reviewed its outsourcing strategy by endorsing only vendors or suppliers who can deliver both the volume and premium market segments.
The company spends more than RM500,000 a year on human resource development and information technology to strengthen the competency of its product development, procurement and quality control teams, managing director Lew Fong Vo said.
"We want to create a niche in the industry by focusing on mature markets such as the US, Europe and Japan as well as offering a different product line to reap the advantage or product assortments.
"Even if we sell under the OEM label, most of the designs origiated from us, which goes to say that the buyers trust our creative designs.
"We also intend to slowly bring home the creative designs available in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Paris, Italy or New York at value for money for our Malaysian customers," he told Business Times in Kuala Lumpur.
In the course of product development, Lew and his eight member team of designers and marketing personnel spend more than six months in a year travelling to meet various designers and customers for product outsourcing and inspiration.
Roondy also has in-house designers who conduct research on the latest trends in local shoe fashion. They are supported by a sample product development team capable of coming out with shoe samples within 24 hours.
Curently, 60 per cent of Roondy's shoes are made for the OEm-cum-export market, with the remaining 40 per cent sold uner the Lewre brand.
Lewre shoes are retailed at a price rang or Rm100 to RM400 a pair. Seventy per cent of Lewre shoes are women's footwear.
Lew said Roondy is also strengthening the Lewre brandname through strategic communication activities, such as advertising in trade and fashion publications and participating in international shoe fairs like the GDS International Shoe Fair in Dusseldorf, Germany, Japan Shoe Fair, Hong Kong Shoe Fair and London Fashion Week.
"At the recent London Fashion Week, we participated in exhibition and fashion shows side-by-side with renowned designers such as Arkadius, Ben de Lisi, Jasper Conran and Dexter Wong.
"I also work closely with Datuk Jimmy Choo's couture designing team whenever I am in London to share both their fashion trends and product innovation," he said.
Lew established the Lewre brand in 1997 after 10 years of experience and exposure in the international market as an OEM producer.
Lewre shoes are available in Australia, Thailand, the Phillipines, Singapore and Taiwan.
"For the OEM market, we target customers in Europe, US, Japan, Hong Kong and West Asia. The products range from high fashion shoes to simple casual footwear containing a touch of the Orient and European flair." he said.
The distribution channels for the domestic market consist of Lewre's own retail outlet and operator outlets. Concept shops can be found at 1-Utama and the Mid Valley Megamall in Kuala Lumpur.
Apart from the concept shops, Lewre's counters and corners can be found in Metrojaya, Isetan, Panache and Primavera.
"We plan to open more concept shops outside Malaysia... we hope in Beijing, Shanghai, Bangkok and Chinese Taipeh by end of this year.
"In addition, we want to appoint more distributors in regional countries like Thailand, Singapore, the Phillipines and Taiwan as well as move further north to tap the strong middleclass market in China," Lew added.
