SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN

FOUNDATION IN NATURAL BUILD ENVIRONMENT

PRESENTATION TITLE: COMPARISON OF BUSINESS IN KLANG VALLEY AND MELAKA

GROUP MEMBERS:

Names Student ID Presentation / Research Report Roles.

Alwin Ng Kun Ket 0323596 Interviewer, Report Compilation, Comparative

Analysis, Methodology, Subtitles Transcript

Chung How Cyong 0324152 Minutes of meeting, Recommendations, Interview Note

Darren Leong 0323645 Leader, Key summary, Analysis, Interviewer, Video

editor, Artistic cover, comparison of business

Goh Jia Jun 0323302 Comparative Analysis, Business challenges, Subtitles

Transcript

Kenneth Tan 0322482 Description of Business, Photographer, Research On

Business to interview

Ng Sheng Zhe 0323830 Description of Business, Photographer

Yip XiaoJung 0323852 History of Business, Nature or Markets, Comparison of

business

ENGLISH II / ENGLISH 2 (ELG 30605 / ENG 0205)

LECTURER: MR.GOPI

SUBMISSION & PRESENTATION DATE: 15th January 2015

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Table of contents

1. Key Summary 3

2. Methodology 4

3. A description of the history of the trade/business and what it involves. 5

4. Brief Description of the Businesses

a) Klang Valley 6-7

b) Melaka 7

5. Comparative Analysis of the Businesses’ Competitive Traits

a) Part I, Competition Of Business 9-14

Part II, Bios of Competitors

Part III, Strategies employed to compete with competitors

b) Part IV, Challenges faced by new business 15

c) Part V, Nature of Markets 15

d) Part VI, Comparison of Business (similarities and differences) 16

e) Part VII, Analysis of which business is more successful 17

6. Recommendation 18

7. Appendices 19-25

8. Reference 26

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Key Summary

This report is a comparative analysis of two Automotive Workshop (Tyre) businesses situated in two different geographical locations that has been operating for a minimum 10 to 15 years.

The two selected workshop are E.H Auto Cares Service Centre Sdn. Bhd. which is located in Bandar Sunway, Selangor and Hock Tyre Services and Battery Sdn. Bhd. which is located in

Melaka. This report is divided into different sections which are the key summary, brief description of the history of local Automotive Workshop businesses in Malaysia, brief description of the two selected businesses, comparative analysis of the two businesses’

competitive traits, recommendation, bibliography, appendices, attachments, and reference. Interviews has been conducted with each of the businesses’ owner in order to obtain further

information of their businesses. The collected information is then carefully analysed and reported with reference sources.

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Methodology

In a group of seven members, we were required to select two businesses within the same industry for research purposes. After several group discussions which were held after classes,

we decided to proceed with the automotive workshop (tyre) business under the services category as our research target. The two selected local and outstation workshops selected are E.H Autocare Services, which is located in Sunway, Subang Jaya and Hock Tyres Services

Sdn Bhd, which is located in Melaka. A week prior to the interviews, we contacted both the owners of the respective workshops to select a suitable time to conduct the interviews as well

as the on-site observations. The entire process took us approximately two weeks to complete.

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Brief history on Automotive Workshops

For the early car owners, there was no automotive workshops. Car owners were required to do their own maintenance. The well-to-do car owners hired personal drivers to drive them

around and maintain the vehicle.

As technology advances, vehicles were made cheaper and standardized parts were used. This meant that vehicles are more common. The vehicles were also easier to maintain. This

opened up a market and demand for automotive workshops.

These workshops are specialized and they cater for different markets like 4 wheel drive vehicles, high performance vehicles and road vehicles. Ever since vehicles in Malaysia were

made locally by manufacturers like Proton and Perodua, it has been made easier to purchase. Thus, there has been a growth in automotive workshops. This also showed an increase in the demand of professional mechanics. Ever since that, this business has been blooming.

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Brief Description of the Businesses

1.) E.H Auto Care Service Centre ( Klang Valley)

E.H Auto Cares Service Centre is a famous car service centre in Bandar Sunway. The shop

is located at 24, PJS 11/7, Bandar Sunway, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor which is just right

behind Sunway University. The interviewee was Mr Ng Chian Fain, the current owner of the

company. They had expanded their business with 3 branches of workshop including this also

ss2 and Klang. There are currently 8 employees in this branch including 1 clerk.

The main products sold in E.H Auto Care Service Centre are different brands of tyres,

batteries water, car accessories and etc. They also provide various types of services such as

wheel balancing, braking servicing, air conditioning services, vehicle repairs and gearbox

overhaul. The average number of estimated customer per month will be around 350 and most

of them are his regular customer. The average age group of his customer mostly are from the

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range 40-50 years old usually businessmen and they willing to spend their money. In

addition, the estimated annual revenue per year is approximately around 1.8 million ringgit.

In order to start up a business from scratch nowadays, around 300k-350k of capital is

required excluding the rental of the shop. This is because starting a business from scratch,

you need to purchase different types of machinery such as hydraulic jack and balancing

machine. Besides that, the owner must also need to have basic knowledge to run this kind of

business such as knowing how to solve technical problems and size of tyres to be used.

This is a family business and was founded by the Mr Ng Chian Fain’s father. His father used

to be an apprentice and worked in KLCC. From there, His father decided to start up his own

business after few years. . The business was first started in 1988 where the first branch was

initially opened at ss19, following that, in the year 1996 they shifted to the current location in

Bandar Sunway. The business had been operated for nearly 20 years.

According to Mr Ng, his strategy to keep his customers coming back is make sure they must

cater the need of the customers accordingly. He stated that car services centre is similar to a

clinic. Customers come to the workshop just hoping that they are able to solve their

problems. Other than that, as a businessman you must be humble to the customer. They must

know more about customers, communicate with them and satisfied customer will come back

also recommending to their friends.

Last but not least, E.H Auto Care Service Centre plan to increase the services provided in

the future is sending 2-3 employees for training course every 8 months to improve and learn

new technical skills in order to provide services to new model car such as hybrid car. Lastly,

they also make their business better by advertising though different sources such as

newspaper and Facebook page.

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2) Brief description of the business (Melaka)

Hock Tyre Services & Batteries Sdn Bhd is a popular tyre repairing shop in Melaka. It is located at 66, Jalan TTC 13, Taman Teknologi Cheng, Fasa 3C, 75250 Melaka, Malaysia.

This tyre shop can be found easily as it is located just in front of the Cowboy Supermarket. There are initially 5 branches and this tyre shop we are interviewing is the second shop of

Hock Tyre Services & Batteries Sdn Bhd. Until today, there are only 4 shops left operating as the first shop is no longer in operation. The second tyre shop is opened in year 1998 and it is now managed by the founder’s daughter named Joan Lim. Miss Joan works as an accountant

leading her few employees in her shop. There are 1 assistant and approximately 4 technicians in the shop.

The main products sold in the shop are tyres. They sell several brands of tyres such as

Silverstone, Toyo, Michelin, Yokohama and Kenda. However, they also sell accessories of cars such as engine oil, battery, wiper, brake pad and more. In addition, they sell suspension

for cars which act as a shock absorbers for cars. Besides, they provide lots of services such as dyno test, advance alignment, advance balancing, engine tuning and outdoor service. They also help their customers to change tyres and engine oil. They even provide car repair

services now to attract more customers. They have hundreds of customers in a month and they maintain their customer by having trust in each other.

Hock Tyre Services & Batteries Sdn Bhd started their business since 1989 in their

first shop. In 1989, they were just selling tyres and provide tyre changing services. They sell more products and provide more services to expand their business since the opening of their second shop in Melaka. The founder of Hock Tyre Services & Batteries Sdn Bhd is Lim

Choo Hock. Mr Lim is assisted and supported by his wife, Low Giap Boon. They opened their first shop at Taman Malim Jaya, Melaka on the 13th of November 1989. The first shop

was actually rented because Mr Lim did not have that much capital during that moment.

Their motive for starting the business was because there were not much tyre shop during 1989 in that particular area. Therefore, Mr Lim found out that it was a suitable place to make a fortune and opened their first tyre shop in that area. After being successful in this

industry, Mr Lim started opening a few branches during the year 1998, 2002 and 2007. Their recent development is that they manage to open another branch in January, 2013. Although

they have 4 shops by now, they have a plan which is to open more branches in Melaka. Furthermore, they have monopolized the tyre industry in that area as 4 of the shops are opened in the similar area. Overall, Mr Lim and his family manage to do well in tyre industry

and there is no doubt that they are the most successful tyre shop in that particular area.

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Comparative analysis

Part I, II, III

E.H. Auto Care Service Centre Sdn. Bhd (Klang Valley)

E.H Auto Care Service Centre Sdn. Bhd. is located in an industrial estate in No.24, Jalan PJS

11/7, Bandar Sunway, Petaling Jaya, which is unfortunately located among several other automotive shops. The top 3 competitors around the area are Apex Tire & Car Care Sdn. Bhd, GT Car Service Centre Sdn Bhd workshop and Tek Ming Auto Service S/B . However,

Mr Ng state that each of the competitors have their own field of specialization and therefore does not affect them much. Below are the brief bios of the competitors,

1. Apex Tire & Car Care Sdn. Bhd.

Apex Tire & Car Care Sdn. Bhd. is located at 2, Jalan PJS 11/20, Bandar Sunway, Petaling

Jaya, 46150 which is opposite E.H Auto Care Service Centre Sdn. Bhd. This company has 2 interconnected workshops together with a new decoration. They also specialize in continental

cars and provide vehicle maintenance such as oil changes, vehicle repairs, air conditioning service, etc. It shows a lot of different rims ranging from 14-22 inch beside the shop. This new design of the shop will attract more customers who don't have a specific car workshop

compare to E.H Auto Care Service Centre Sdn. Bhd.

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2. GT Car Service Centre Sdn Bhd

GT Car Service Centre Sdn Bhd is located at Jalan PJS 11/22, Bandar Sunway, 46150

Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. This workshop located near E.H Auto Care Service Centre. GT Car Service Centre is also one of the famous car service centres in that area because it provides a lot of services and also the service performance is higher than others.

This company also sells car accessories and vehicle parts.

3. Tek Ming Auto Service S/B

Tek Ming Auto Service S/B is located at Jalan PJS 11/24, Bandar Sunway Industrial Park 46150 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia which is located 130 meters away from E.H Auto

Care Service Centre Sdn. Bhd.. Tek Ming Auto Service specializes in tire sales and mainly sell famous brand Silverstone tires and rims.

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The strategies employed to compete with competitors (Klang Valley)

Service

Mr Ng, the owner of E.H Auto Care Service Sdn. Bhd. told us that they provide various types

of service to able to compete with other car care centre. Mr Ng said that car service will be like a doctor treat a patient, the owner of the vehicle will be the family member of the patient. Doctor not only treat the patients but also need to deal with their family. Mr Ng always

communicates with his customer friendly and know their thoughts so customer will keep coming back.

Pricing

Mr Ng always compares the price of his service with other workshops to make sure his

service won’t be too expensive or cheap so as his customer able to afford it

Advertisement

E.H Auto Care Service Centre Sdn. Bhd. promotes its company through newspaper and Facebook page. This enables for this company to compete with other companies in PJS 11

Performance

E.H Auto Care Service always maintains good performance and high efficiency. 7 workers

with quantified and experienced working together to serve their customers. Workers able to repair and solve customer’s problem in a short period so it will bring convenience to

customers.

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Hock Tyres Sdn Bhd (Melaka)

Hock Tyres Sdn Bhd is located at 66, Jalan TTC 13, Taman Teknologi Cheng, Fasa 3C, 75250 Melaka, Malaysia. It is also the biggest workshop in the area. Ms.Joan says it doesn’t

face much competition as it one of the most dominant automotive industry there (oligopoly). The three main workshops it faces competition from are Cheng Fu Tyre Services, L and K Car services and C and L Autoservices which are located nearby. Below are brief bios of the

competitiors,

1. Cheng Fu Tyre Services

Apex Tire & Car Care Sdn. Bhd. is located at 58, Jalan Ttc 13, Taman Teknologi Cheng,

75260 Melaka, Malaysia which is beside Hock Tyres. This company provides Common car maintenance tasks including, check/replace the engine oil and replace oil filters, inspect or

replace windshield wipers and checking or refilling windshield washer fluid. Not a big threat to Hock tyres because of its location which requires further travel to access

2. L and K Car services

L and K Car services is located at 36, Jalan Ttc 15, Taman Teknologi Cheng, 75260 Melaka,

Malaysia. This workshop quite a distance from Hock Tyres. L and K Car services is one of the infamous car service centres in that area because it doesn’t provide a lot of services and also the service performance is lower than others. This company also sells car accessories and

vehicle parts.

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3. C and L Autoservices

C and L Autoservices is located at No. 23, Jalan Ttc 15, Taman Teknologi Cheng, Melaka, 75250 Melaka, Malaysia which is located few blocks away from Hock Tyres. C and L

autoservices is often close and do not take in many customers, rarely a threat to hock tyres. It runs tire sales and mainly sell Silverstone tires and rims.

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The strategies employed to compete with competitors (Melaka)

Service

Ms. Joan says that the upmost important is the customer service provided to attract

customers. A good customer service will ensure the customer to revisit the workshop.

Pricing

Ms. Joan sets the price of her service at a reasonable price. She often follows the latest market pricing to obtain an estimated pricing for the services.

Advertisement

Hock Tyres promotes her workshop through the web. It is a good platform for advertising as

the social networking possibilities are limitless

Performance

Hock tyres ensure that the workshop provides the most up to date services to the customers to fullfill their expectation of a fast and reliable service. This rises the customer satisfaction on

an overall scale.

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IV) Obstacles faced by new businesses who wish to enter their markets today

One of the main obstacles faced by new businesses is the start-up capital. According to Mr Ng, start-up capital nowadays needs about RM 300, 000 not including the rental of the shop.

Apart from that, machines for tire servicing are also quite pricey.

Besides that, new businesses will face with their competitors who have started their business long time ago and also automotive are competitive in Malaysia. Customers usually will visit

the workshop with experience worker.

Last but not least, choosing a new location is very important for new business. People would like to go the nearest workshop rather than which is far away from the city. However, the

location is at the center of the city, the rental of the shop will be very expensive, which is not affordable for an owner who wish to start a new business.

V) Nature of the Markets

The nature of the markets for the business in Bandar Sunway, E.H. Auto Care Service Centre

Sdn. Bhd. and Melaka, Hock Tyre Service Batteries Sdn. Bhd. are oligopoly. This meant that both of the businesses and its rivals are dominating the market in that area. There are a few sellers in the market.

These businesses has their own pricing power. However, they still receive competition from

the rivals in the area. Therefore, each decision they make on the pricing of their goods can make a huge impact on the market. There is a mutual dependence between the businesses.

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VI) Similarities and Differences of Both Business

E.H Auto Cares Service

Centre, Bandar Sunway

Similarities Hock Tyre Services & Battery,

Melaka

Automotive Workshop Type of Businesses Automotive Workshop

Family Business Business Establishment Family Business

Largely local and returning

customers

Main Consumer & Customer Largely local and returning

customers

Commercial Area Location Commercial Area

Corner Lot Shop lot Location Corner Lot

3 Amount of Branches 3

E.H Auto Cares Service Centre, Bandar Sunway

Differences Hock Tyre Services & Battery, Melaka

27-28 Years (1987/1988) Years of Establishment 27 years (1989)

8 Total amount of staffs 7

High, business is situated in Bandar Sunway “Motorsport”

area, where majority of the stretch of road is Automotive

related business

Competitiveness in Location Little, business basically controls the whole area

~350 Average number of monthly customers

~500

1.8 Million RM Annual Revenue Figure ~7 Million RM

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VII) Conclusion of which business is more successful

Based on the comparative analysis, it can be conclude that Hock Tyre Services & Battery in Melaka is more commercially successful compared to E.H Auto Cares Service

Centre which is located in Bandar Sunway, Selangor. This is based on our findings through data collected and researching and analysing them.

First off, Hock Tyre Services & Battery has a higher annual revenue figure, with an estimated 7 Million Ringgit compared to E.H Auto Cares Service Centre’s 1.8 Million

Ringgit. This could most likely be due to the amount of products that Hock Tyre carry. E.H Auto Cares Service Centre acts more as a regular automotive workshop with certain specialization. Hock Tyre also has a high amount of average monthly customer at 500,

compared to E.H Auto’s 350. Another thing that we analyzed is the amount of products and services that they provide. Hock Tyre’s carries much more products ranging from sport rims,

exhaust pipes and having their own in-house suspension. Whereas E.H Auto mainly provides routine services and common products such as engine overhaul, tyre change and routine engine maintenance.

In conclusion, Hock Tyre Services & Battery is more commercially successful than

E.H Auto Cares Service Centre. This can be justified with supporting reasons from our report.

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Recommendation

After completing the case study, we noticed that these businesses had some limitations that restricted their ability to unleash their full potential in the market. The following are the 2

different recommendations provided for each business.

A) E.H. Auto Care Service Centre Sdn. Bhd. (Bandar Sunway)

I. Competitors

There are a lot of competitors located nearby the shop such as Kakimotor Sdn. Bhd. and GT Auto. Both shops offer the same services, with slightly similar price. The recommendation is

for the shop to provide better services with guaranteed quality in order for them to compete with other competitors. You cannot expect that to gain new customers every day. A customer

will come back to you if you provide satisfaction to them.

II. Attitude

Every business requires a good attitude towards the customers. Consumers expect fast and nice services, from the workers to the shop owner. E.H. Auto Care has three branches, and it

is hard to guarantee that the workers have good attitude towards their customers. Therefore, as a suggestion for the owner, every worker should undergo an interview and gain some feedback of services from the consumers.

B) Hock Tyre Services & Batteries Sdn. Bhd. (Melaka)

I. Technician Issue

They face the issue of lacking of skilled manpower. As Ms. Joan stated, she would love to expand her business but faces the lack of skilled technicians on the market. A suggestion is to hold courses and training programmes to produce their own technicians instead of hiring the

limited ones.

II. Location

Each of the branches have their specific targeted customers. The branch that we interviewed mainly focuses on the repair of 4-wheel drive vehicles. During the day of the interview, we

went to the branch and had to waste 30 minutes to get to the right place. The recommendation for the shop is the owner should recreate a shop sign with bigger font and nice design. This is to allow customers to notice the shop much more easily.

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Appendices

Photos: Klang Valley Interview

EH Auto Cares Service Centre

The Klang Valley Team

From the left: Kenneth, Mr. Ng, Darren, and Jia Jun

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EH Auto Care service Centre provides and sells many different types of engine oil and car

parts

A Car is being serviced by EH Auto Care Service Centres

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Photos: Melaka Interview

Hock Tyres Services Sdn Bhd

The Melaka Team

From the Left: Sheng Zhe, Ms. Joan, Yip, How Cyong, Alwin

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Hock Tyres Sells many different brands of tyres

They also sell many other car related stuff such as engine oil and wipers

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MINUTES OF THE MEETING

DATE: 14th December 2015

TIME: 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

VENUE: Library foyer

NAMES OF GROUP MEMBERS TUTORIAL GROUP

Yip Xiao Jung Friday 2-4

Kenneth Tan Wednesday 4-6

Ng Sheng Zhe Wednesday 4-6

Alwin Ng Friday 2-4

Darren Leong Wednesday 4-6

Goh Jia Jun Friday 2-4

Chung How Cyong Thursday 6-8

NO. ACTIVITY ACTION TAKEN BY

1.

Business selection

E.H. Auto Care (Bandar Sunway) Hock Tyre Sdn. Bhd. (Melaka)

All members

2. Contact the owners

This is to inform the shop owners for the interview

session. Members in charge are required to make confirmation with them for time and venue.

Darren Leong Kenneth Tan

3. Melaka Interview

Date: 28th December 2015

Yip Xiao Jung

Ng Sheng Zhe Alwin Ng Chung How Cyong

4. Assigning tasks

Key Summary- Darren

Methodology- Alwin History of Automotive Workshop- Xiao Jung

Brief description of business (Local)- Kenneth Brief description of business (Melaka)- Sheng Zhe Comparative Analysis (Local)- Jia Jun

Comparative Analysis (Melaka)- Alwin Nature of market- Xiao Jung

Similarities & Differences- Darren Which business is more commercially successful- Jia Jun

Recommendation/Suggestion- How Cyong Minutes- How Cyong

All members

5. Interview for local business

Date: 7th January 2016 Darren Leong Kenneth Lim Goh Jia Jun

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MINUTES OF THE MEETING

DATE: 11th December 2015

TIME: 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. VENUE: E6.11

NAMES OF GROUP MEMBERS TUTORIAL GROUP Yip Xiao Jung Friday 2-4 Kenneth Tan Wednesday 4-6 Ng Sheng Zhe Wednesday 4-6 Alwin Ng Friday 2-4 Darren Leong Wednesday 4-6 Goh Jia Jun Friday 2-4 Chung How Cyong Thursday 6-8

NO. ACTIVITY ACTION TAKEN BY

1.

Checking on the progress

This is to ensure the report writing is at least 65% done.

All members

2. Video editing

Members in charge have to include the subtitles for

both video. They are required to double check on the video and trim the unnecessary part.

Darren Leong Yip Xiao Jung

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MINUTES OF THE MEETING

DATE: 11th December 2015

TIME: 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. VENUE: E6.11

NAMES OF GROUP MEMBERS TUTORIAL GROUP Yip Xiao Jung Friday 2-4 Kenneth Tan Wednesday 4-6 Ng Sheng Zhe Wednesday 4-6 Alwin Ng Friday 2-4 Darren Leong Wednesday 4-6 Goh Jia Jun Friday 2-4 Chung How Cyong Thursday 6-8

NO. ACTIVITY ACTION TAKEN BY

1.

Checking on the progress

This is to ensure the report writing is at least 90% done.

All members

2. Compilation of the report

Every member are required to hand in their parts to

Alwin Ng for compilation. He will help to do final checking on grammar, spelling and alignment.

Alwin

3. Slides

After the report writing is completed, we are required to derive the information and to be put in

PowerPoint.

Yip Xiao Jung

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References

Ng, C.F. (2014, Dec 28). Personal Interview.

Lim, J. (2015, Jan 7) Personal Interview.