Malaysian must be familiar with the two leading brand of massage chairs......Ogawa and OSIM.
Previously, only OSIM International Ltd listed on the Singapore Exchange.
Last month. Ogawa World Bhd, previously operated under Healthy World Lifestyle Sdn Bhd listed on Bursa Malaysia.
Ogawa is the market leader in Malaysia, with a 44.8% market share, according to a report by Affin Investment Bank. Its closest competitor, Singapore-listed OSIM International Ltd, holds a 32.2% share.
However, OSIM has grown to a market value of almost RM1bil, and it even partnered Temasek Holdings Pte to take over Brookstone Inc, a chain store in the US.
Ogawa, which only has a market value of RM137mil at the first week of it value.
If Ogawa able to grow it market size to OSIM's billion level without any right issue,bonus issue and private placement. It share price have to jump at least 9 times higher from now.
OSIM also acquired nutrition retailer Global Active Ltd, which operate GNC outlet. GNC reputable for it weight loss product.
Ron Sim, the man whose company is almost synonymous with massage chairs, has come a long way. More than two decades ago, he was struggling to keep his 100 sq ft electronics-goods shop at People's Park going.
"Back then, I was trying to survive," says Sim, chairman and chief executive of Osim International, which has since grown into a 560-outlet health and fitness product marketing company that has a presence in every continent except South America, the Arctic and Antarctica.
Ogawa World Bhd started out as a trading business for household and electrical products such as water purifiers in 1986. The company, which was started by Wong Lee Keong and Lim Poh Khian, entered the health and wellness market 10 years later.
"massage culture" in the US is still in its "infancy", where the penetration rate is only about 1% of the 100 million households. In Asia, like Japan, for example, the penetration rate is around 30%, says OSIM's Sim.
OSIM has a upper hand in US market with the acquisition of Brookstone. Ogawa, has a catch up game to play.
Another risk factor is increasing competition from its existing competitors as well as new smaller entrants from China. "The emergence of copycat products at competitive prices will likely pose a key threat to the growth potential of mainstream retailers like Ogawa," states Hwang-DBS. As a result, Ogawa is looking to diversify its product range by introducing up to 10 new products per year. The company is also looking to grow its Deki brand, which is targeted at lower-income customers.
Over-dependence on major suppliers is one of the Ogawa's risks. Its two major suppliers, Fujiryoki (Shanghai) Trading Co Ltd and Xiamen Comfort Science & Technology Co Ltd, contributed to 64.4% of its products as at September last year. However, Ogawa has a healthy cash pile of RM34.9 million and no borrowings.
Surprisingly, both Ogawa and OSIM also market Blood Pressure Monitor,Thermometers, and Weighting Scales. It is not sure both company sources the product from the same suppliers?
Technorati Tag: Biotechnology Malaysia Health & wellness klse massage
