eng research report

_________________________________________________________________________________________ FNBE JAN 2013 - ENGL 0205 English 2 | OOI ZHI-QIAN, VICKY LEE WEI KEE, TAN JESSIE, CHOONG QI XIE &

AUGUSTINE CHEN KEEN HOE

Textile Industry

______________________________

English 2 (ENGL 0205)

Report

Ooi Zhi-Qian 0313999

Vicky Lee Wei Kee 0313317

Tan Jessie 0313552

Choong Qi Xie 0313362

Augustine Chen Keen Hoe 0314175



Content

1. Research Proposal

1.1 Introduction

1.1.1 The Research Location

1.1.2 The Group

1.1.3 The Topic

1.2 Research Questions:

1.2.1 General Questions

1.2.2 Advertising

1.2.3 Technology

1.2.4 Human Resources

1.2.5 Competition

1.2.6 Business Productivity

1.3 Methodology

1.3.1 Interview

1.3.2 References

1.3.3 Meetings

1.4 Conclusion

2. Research Essay

3. Bibliography

4. Appendix

4.1 Meeting Minutes

4.2 Shop Details

4.2.1 Owner Profiles

4.2.2 Company Cards

4.2.3 Interior and Exterior View



Research Proposal

1.1 Introduction

1.1.1 The Research Location

Klang Valley, also known as Greater Kuala Lumpur is known to be one of the most

populated and heartland of industries in our country. This area consists of different

industries such as textiles, food, jewellry and many more. Each of these industries has

many different branches in different states of our country.

1.1.2 The Group

Our research group consists of five members and we are Vicky Lee Wei Kee,

Ooi Zhi-Qian, Tan Jessie, Choong Qi Xie and Augustine Chen Keen Hoe. We are all

from the same tutorial class that starts from 2.00pm to 4.00pm on every Monday under

our English lecturer, Mr. Nathaniel Woon Wai Cheong.

1.1.3 The Topic

Our group has decided to do a research on three different businesses of textile industry.

The selected shops for this research are Gulati’s, Madras and Kamdar. Each of these

shops are known as one of the biggest businesses in this industry. Each of them have their

own branches in every state of our country. We have picked a research location and that

is in Klang Valley.

1.2 Research Questions

1.2.1 General Questions

a. Who is the owner of the company?

b. What made the owner thought of starting a business?

c. How did the business start?

d. When was the business started?

e. Where was the first shop or headquarter of the brand?

f. What is the type of business? Family? Partnership? Individual? Etc.

g. How many branches are there? What are the locations of the branches?

h. How far did the business go? Locally or worldwide?

i. Where did the products come from? Locally or oversea?

1.2.2 Advertising

a. Has the shop done any advertisement to promote their products to the people?

b. How was the new product of the company being advertised to the people?



c. Was there any difficulties in advertising the products of the company?

1.2.3 Technology

a. Is there any advanced technology being used in the shop?

b. Are the technologies used up to date?

1.2.4 Human Resources

a. How many workers are employed in the shop?

b. Who are the workers? Does the owner of the shop only accepts workers of the same

race or more than one?

c. How are the workers? Are they normally hardworking or lazy in work?

d. How much are the workers being paid for their monthly salary?

1.2.5 Competition

a. Was there any competitors around the area?

b. Who are the competitors around the area?

c. How did the company deal with their competitors?

d. Did any of the competitors affect the company’s sales and other progress?

1.2.6 Business Productivity

a. Has the company’s business been successful throughout all these years?

b. Which product is known as best seller? How many of that product was being sold?

c. Which product is the opposite? How did the company overcome it?

1.3 Methodology

1.3.1 Interview

The interviews was held during Deepavali holiday. The interviews between the

owner/manager/supervisor and our group were held in person. The interviews were

requested on that day instead of making appointments with the person-in-charge the day

before the interview. Each of the group members were given an individual task in every

interviews such as asking the questions, recording the whole interview and taking

pictures of the shop and its products. In each of the interviews, we started off by asking

for the owner/manager/supervisor/person-in-charge and requested for an interview with

that person. We would introduce ourselves to the person-in-charge and explain to them

that the interview was only for assignment purpose and no personal informations will be

shared to the public in respect for the company’s privacy. After getting the approval to

have an interview regarding to the company, we would first started off by asking a few

general questions and then the personal details of the company. In the end of each

interviews, we would also request for their business cards. After the day trip in Klang



Valley, one of our members who was in charge of the recording would change it to

transcripts and the informations from the transcripts were all applied into the research

essay.

1.3.2 References

The references related to the textile industry and the companies selected to be

interviewed by our group are put into the report to support our interview as evidence. We

first did a few rough research on the companies selected in the internet before going for

the interviews during the Deepavali break. We have always looked for more reference to

have a better understanding after the interviews to apply in our research essay.

1.3.3 Meetings

A few group meetings were held in our campus as it is the most convenient place to

gather everyone for the meeting. The details of the meetings were all recorded in Meeting

Minutes that was prepared by our English lecturer to keep up our planning progress for

this research. When it is inconvenient for all of us to gather and meet up to discuss, we

would hold our meetings online on our Facebook group and we even created a group chat

on Whatsapp in case some of our members can’t receive any notifications online. These

are also the ways for our members to share our own ideas and informations received in

our individual research.

1.4 Conclusion

Our research group hope to learn more and understand the businesses that we have

selected in the textile industry in our country. We are sure that we will be able to study

further regarding the textile informations and get to know more about the history behind

the companies chosen for this research assignment through the interviews we had with

the person-in-charge of the shops. Also, the group meetings will help us to catch up our

research progress to compile all the summed up informations in this research. Lastly, we

will also be able to have a strong understanding in the industry and to support our

understanding through the references found.



Research Essay

For years and decades, the textile industry has blossomed like wildfire around the city

area as well as the suburbs. Varying from race and distinguishable by culture, the textile business

is more than what meets the eye (Statistics of Malaysian Textile Industry). Before I started this

research, I always thought, “Textile industries are just stores who traded clothing material.” Have

you ever thought of anything similar before? By doing the research that we did, we were able to

find out just how wrong that idea was. However, it’s hard to find something as simple and yet as

diverse in culture as the textile industry. Although similar, many businesses which seem to share

a lot in common actually don’t. Based on our research, we picked out 2 shops that seem really

similar, but only at first glance. They’ve both aslo refused to tell us their main competition for

privacy reasons. We have chosen to use the Sikh (Gulati’s Silk House) and the Indian (Madras)

textile businesses as examples, to contrast just how much difference a similar textile business can

have. The main focal points of contrast are between the history of the store, the range of products

of the store, and the methods of how the stores carry out their business.

Madras and Gulati’s Silk House (Gulati’s) have both been in the business for more than

25 years, where Madras was originally opened as a store to help earn extra income for the

family. The original owner was the current shop owner’s mother. She started while she was very

young and her brother soon took over the business. Currently, all the siblings from the owner’s

generation are taking care of the store. Since it was only a small store when it opened, there were

very limited supplies, and as such the business used to sell other products (ie. food and



cassettes), but over time slowly focused more on textiles. They upgraded their business slowly

and steadily until it reached its current magnitude, where it has found great success.

The Gulati’s business on the other hand, started in a different manner when compared to

the Madras business. Instead of originally being an alternative income source to help support the

family, the owner of Gulati’s began with the intent of becoming the lead producer of textiles in

the local market as there were few competitors in the earlier years of its inception. The Gulati’s

business had the added advantage of having a family friend who was previously experienced

with the textile industry, and helped build the reputation it now owns. Overtime, the Gulatis

business became large enough to expand to a larger market with a larger set of customers.

This veteran populated industry can be challenging for any newcomers to the industry as

other businesses already have an average head start of 20 years in terms of business experience.

They will have to overcome these already experienced business people and without proper

advise, they will most likely never get very far in the business and most end up failing months

after starting the business. What any newcomer can do, is learn from businesses such as these

(Young CEOs say entrepreneurs should learn from others' mistakes, 2013). When we learn from

others, we don’t put ourselves at risk of losing anything. Furthermore, we also pick up the

weaknesses of other businesses around thus providing you with additional info to implement to

your business for better success over the area. Doing this will surely help in making sure your

business doesn’t fail.



Besides that, a clear difference in product range between the two companies can clearly

be seen when looked at carefully. When Madras started, they only sold cheaper products such as

polyester. These products used very basic prints for the designs. The product range then was

truly limited. Now, they’ve grown to have a much wider and definitely more diverse design and

material choice for their saris and textiles. From cotton, polyester and chiffons, to pure silk, they

have it all. The popular ones however are the casual wear, the chiffons and the cotton, that make

the bulk of the sales. For special events like Deepavali and weddings however, most prefer to

buy pure silk. The material pricing can range from RM15 to a whopping RM10,000. These

prices are for our premium stock, which is made out or pure silk and gold plated silver tread.

“We don’t put these products up for sale because it is very valuable. If people are looking for it,

they will come and find us for it.” Says shop Madras shop owner Latchumi Veeran. According to

her, if you were to sell this back to India, it would fetch the same price because of the gold.

Gulati’s however had a similarly different history. It started with cheap materials and

simple designs too but as mentioned before, they had help so they knew how to conduct the

textile business and did not focus their products on other things besides textiles. Their products

now range from cotton, polyester, chiffons and pure silk. The usual products customers want are

the polyester and chiffons. Again, pure silk is usually reserved for special occasion. Although

similar in terms of materials, their designs vary as do their price ranges. Products range from

RM30 to RM 5,000. These high end products, including products made from Italian Pure Silk,

are usually for VIPs or personal orders.



When examined, these two shops have different varieties of products because of their

customers. To suit the need and to compete with the other businesses, they try to get unique

textiles to provide customers with choices that other stores do not. Madras for example provides

gold plated Saris straight from India. No other store can compete with that and that’s how they

get more customers, regular and new. Gulati’s takes a different approach by prioritizing the

VIPs. So far, both of the companies have been doing well with their current business.

The methods they use to carry out this business is also important. As the founder of

Madras came about to start the business, it was very tough. She was a very young widow and she

had mouths to feed. She just went with what she felt was right and through trial, error and

experience, she has carried the business to what it is today. Now, in addition to selling textiles

and saris, Madras takes in custom orders. They have their own personal tailors, ages 20 to 50.

The time it takes to fulfil these custom orders depends on season. Normally, it takes only an hour

or two to get it done. This isn’t the case if it’s during Deepavali or Thaipusam. Because there are

too many customers, they can’t get it done within the normal time frame of one to two hours,

unless you are in an urgent rush. In terms of competition, they do have a lot, but Madras feels no

pressure as they have their own selection of textiles. As it is unique, it is only available here.

Besides that, they also have regular customers and some have been regulars for as long as 30

years. Even the 3rd generation which includes the grandmother, the mother and the daughter, are

still buying from them. Their priority on regulars are so strong that even Australians come back

to buy from them when they re-visit Malaysia. In terms of advertisements, they do not advertise

regularly. The only time they advertise is during Deepavali through the radio or Tamil

newspapers. Their business hours are from 9am to 10pm.



In contrast to that, Gulati’s started off though and held through till now but they don’t

focus more on regulars as much as Madras. Although they do have regulars and the business is

quite stable, they are constantly trying to get more people to come to their store. In Gulati’s point

of view, getting more customers is more important than concentrating on regulars. As they are

trying to get unique textiles to attract new customers, they get new customers every day. This

helps spread the news faster and more efficiently. Basically, when more customers know, more

news spreads. The advertisement through word of mouth is almost exponential. There are on

some cases where Americans and Chinese from mainland China who come and buy materials

from their store. Recently, there have been customers from Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia as

well (Customers Opt For Plain Designs In Bright Colours, 203). The store’s working hours are

from 10am to 9pm.

There are many factors that affect how well a business does. Although Madras and

Gulati’s both run a monopolistic business by having no total control over the market price and

having consumers compare the prices, they do have their differences (Monopolistic Competition,

2013). Madras has taken a more personal approach to the business. Giving your customers a

fantastic experience when they visit your store is a sure way to get a good reputation and boost

future clientele (Harper, 2011). With this, they feel almost no threat to the business as they have

already established a well-known name and they have many regular customers. Gulati’s on the

other hand, focuses more on getting new customers to broaden their influence. The amount of

people who know them are increasing every day. Though they do have regulars, it is not their

main interest. The amount of competition in the area is extreme and both stores has come up with



their own ways to fight the competition. Even if it’s individual efforts in improving the business,

a little can help a lot (SE Asia's Top Textile Market Seeks to Clean Up Its Act, 2013).

There are always companies opening up every day and even though they are just another

Christmas ornament being hung up on the same tree, each ornament has their differences. Each

individual business has their ups and down and the various ways they deal with their business.

Madras has their business at the top of the food chain with them being one of the oldest textiles

in Malaysia. Gulati’s has their ever flowing stream of new customers to support and spread the

news about their store. Both businesses are companies with unique tactics and strategies to do

their best in the industry.

Based on our group research however, we have found that Madras is the more successful

business of the two. As the textile industry carries culture as well as business (Rosmah: Textile

Symbol of Art and Heritage , 2012; Textile Techniques, 2013; Textile Treasures, 2008). Madras

focuses more on the regulars all the while getting new customers to come (Gersdorff, 2004).

Because they focused on the regulars, they got enough profit to expand and enhance the business

so much so that other newer customers are basically drawn in naturally without much effort from

Madras. Secondly, Madras offers custom services. This is an extra step Madras has taken to

further enhance their customer range and reputation as a textile business. The custom service

would make the customers happy and pass good words about the place and their customer

service (Gersdorff, 2004). This in itself is all Madras needs in terms of advertisement. Cost and

time is saved as Madras only needs to advertise once or twice per year. Besides that, this mix of



customer priority, customer relations, cost saving, strategic planning, and the sheer amount of

experience the owners of Madras has makes it a giant in Malaysian textile industry.

Our group’s suggestion would to the two businesses is to let go of certain beliefs. The

two businesses tend to hold on to certain things too tightly. Madras has their business going well

the way it is but why not try something new for a change ? Gulati’s is also at fault as they do not

try to focus on their regulars more. Textiles aren’t something you buy and use once, so why not

focus on regulars so people come back for more when they’ve been satisfied with your service

for all the time they’ve been using your product? Basically speaking, Gulati’s and Madras needs

to swap sides for a while to see what is on the other sides. Besides that, they can petition for the

government to help out. Recently, the industry hasn’t been blooming as it did in the past (Textile

Industry in Quandary, 2012 ). They could get a lot more customers and maybe even another

establishment just to cater to the new range of customers.

MADRAS GULATI’S

Started to help out family, needed extra income Started with intent on going far in the business

Had standard materials, gold plated ones for

special customers, RM15 – RM10,000

Had standard materials, pure Italian silk for

special customers, RM30 – RM5,000

Focused on regulars, seldom advertised, has

tailors for custom orders, operates from 9AM

to 10PM

Focused on new customers, has no tailors,

operates from 10AM to 9PM



References

Textile Treasures. (6 December, 2008). The Star: Travel. The Star Newspaper.

Textile Industry in Quandary. (12 April, 2012 ). The Star: Archive. The Star Newspaper.

Rosmah: Textile Symbol of Art and Heritage . (18 April, 2012). The Star: Nation. The Star

Newspaper.

Monopolistic Competition. (2013). Retrieved 27 November, 2013, from Investopedia:

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/monopolisticmarket.asp

SE Asia's Top Textile Market Seeks to Clean Up Its Act. (3 November, 2013). The Star:

Regional. The Star Newspaper.

Textile Techniques. (10 March, 2013). The Star: Women. The Star Newspaper.

Young CEOs say entrepreneurs should learn from others' mistakes. (18 October, 2013).

Retrieved 26 November, 2013, from Boston Business Journal:

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/blog/startups/2013/10/young-ceos-say-entrepreneurs-

should.html

Customers Opt For Plain Designs In Bright Colours. (11 July, 203). The Star: Nation. The Star

Newspaper.

Gersdorff, S. D. (8 November, 2004). Rely on the regulars. Retrieved 27 November, 2013, from

Crain's Chicago Business:

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20041106/ISSUE02/100022517/rely-on-the-

regulars

Harper, P. (2011). How to delight your customers: Get persona. Retrieved 23 November, 2013,

from Microsoft Business: http://www.microsoft.com/business/en-

us/resources/marketing/customer-service-acquisition/how-to-delight-your-customers-get-

personal.aspx?fbid=b3hSiWyGssL

Statistics of Malaysian Textile Industry. (n.d.). Retrieved 20 November, 2013, from Malaysian

Knitting Manufacturers Association: http://www.sabah.edu.my/fan/stats1.htm



Bibliography

Textile Treasures. (6 December, 2008). The Star: Travel. The Star Newspaper.

Textile Industry in Quandary. (12 April, 2012 ). The Star: Archive. The Star Newspaper.

Rosmah: Textile Symbol of Art and Heritage . (18 April, 2012). The Star: Nation. The Star

Newspaper.

Monopolistic Competition. (2013). Retrieved 27 November, 2013, from Investopedia:

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/monopolisticmarket.asp

SE Asia's Top Textile Market Seeks to Clean Up Its Act. (3 November, 2013). The Star:

Regional. The Star Newspaper.

Textile Techniques. (10 March, 2013). The Star: Women. The Star Newspaper.

Young CEOs say entrepreneurs should learn from others' mistakes. (18 October, 2013).

Retrieved 26 November, 2013, from Boston Business Journal:

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/blog/startups/2013/10/young-ceos-say-entrepreneurs-

should.html

Customers Opt For Plain Designs In Bright Colours. (11 July, 203). The Star: Nation. The Star

Newspaper.

Gersdorff, S. D. (8 November, 2004). Rely on the regulars. Retrieved 27 November, 2013, from

Crain's Chicago Business:

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20041106/ISSUE02/100022517/rely-on-the-

regulars

Harper, P. (2011). How to delight your customers: Get persona. Retrieved 23 November, 2013,

from Microsoft Business: http://www.microsoft.com/business/en-

us/resources/marketing/customer-service-acquisition/how-to-delight-your-customers-get-

personal.aspx?fbid=b3hSiWyGssL

Statistics of Malaysian Textile Industry. (n.d.). Retrieved 20 November, 2013, from Malaysian

Knitting Manufacturers Association: http://www.sabah.edu.my/fan/stats1.htm



Appendix

4.1 Meeting Minutes

Meeting Title: Discussion on the Research Project

Minutes [Meeting Date]

24/10/2013

[Meeting Time]

4pm [Meeting Location]

LT 10

MEETING CALLED BY Ooi Zhi-Qian

TYPE OF MEETING Discussion on the research project

FACILITATOR

NOTE TAKER Vicky Lee Wei Kee

TIMEKEEPER Choong Qi Xie

ATTENDEES Vicky Lee Wei Kee, Ooi Zhi-Qian, Choong Qi Xie, Tan Jessie and

Augustine Chen

Agenda topics

[Time allotted]

4.15pm

[Agenda topic]

Decide on which textile shops to go

[Presenter]

Vicky

Lee

DISCUSSION Discuss on which textile shops we are going to interview, whether in Malacca or

the Klang Valley. And

also deciding on whether to do comparison of textile business in Malacca and the Klang

Valley.

CONCLUSIONS After some discussion, all of us decided to conduct our interviews in the Klang

Valley because not all of

our group members going for the Malacca trip.

ACTION ITEMS PERSON RESPONSIBLE DEADLINE

All of us will be going to conduct all three interviews in

the Klang Valley. All group members



[Time allotted]

4.30pm

[Agenda topic]

decide on the locations of textile

shops

[Presenter]

Vicky

Lee

DISCUSSION To decide which locations to conduct the interviews.

CONCLUSIONS After doing some research, everyone agreed to do all 3 interviews in Masjid

Jamek as there are many

textile shops around that area and decided to conduct the interview during the Deepavali

Break.


All group members will be going to Masjid Jamek to

do the interview except Jessie.

The rest of the

members except

Jessie.

3th-10th

Nov 2013

[Time allotted]

4.45pm

[Agenda topic]

Decide on which textile shops in

Masjid Jamek to go

[Presenter]

Vicky

Lee

DISCUSSION Decide on which textile shops in Masjid Jamek to go.

CONCLUSIONS After searching in the Internet, Jane Ooi listed out a few textile shops which we

can go to conduct the

Interviews, they are Nagoya, Madras, Kamdar, Gulati’s and etc.


Everyone will be going together to conduct the

interviews one by one. All group members

[Time allotted] [Agenda topic] [Presenter]

DISCUSSION



CONCLUSIONS



DISCUSSION

CONCLUSIONS




Meeting Title: Discussion on Conducting Interviews


31/10/2013

[Meeting Time]

1.00pm

[Meeting Location]

247


TYPE OF MEETING Discussion on Conducting Interviews

FACILITATOR

NOTE TAKER Vicky Lee Wei Kee


ATTENDEES Vicky Lee Wei Kee, Ooi Zhi-Qian, Choong Qi Xie, Tan Jessie and

Augustine Chen

Agenda topics

[Time allotted]

12.10pm

[Agenda topic]

Decide on the date and time to

conduct the interview.

[Presenter]

Vicky

Lee

DISCUSSION All group members discuss about their schedules during the Deepavali Holiday

and set a date in which

All of us are free to go to conduct the interviews.

CONCLUSIONS Everyone agreed to conduct the interview on 4th November 2013 (Tuesday).

We will start conducting our interview at 1pm sharp.


Everyone will be going on that day except for Jessie.

The rest of the

members except

Jessie.

4th Nov

2013

[Time allotted]

12.20pm

[Agenda topic]

Discuss on our transportation during

the interview day.

[Presenter]

Vicky

Lee

DISCUSSION To discuss about our transportation on the day we are going to conduct our



interview.

CONCLUSIONS After doing research about public transports, the four of us decided meet at

Kelana Jaya Station at 12pm

then take LRT straight to Masjid Jamek. At Masjid Jamek, we will be using GPS to guide us to

our destination on foot.


Augustine Chen will pick up Vicky Lee from Sunway

Pyramid then head towards Kelana Jaya Station.

Augustine Chen and

Vicky Lee

Ooi Zhi-Qian and Choong Qi Xie will go to the station

by their own car.

Ooi Zhi-Qian and

Choong Qi Xie

[Time allotted]

12.30

[Agenda topic]

Discuss on roles during the interview

day

[Presenter]

Vicky

Lee

DISCUSSION To decide on the roles of each of everyone when we are conducting our

interview.

CONCLUSIONS Before that day, is responsible to list out the questionnaire of the interview.

Ooi Zhi-Qian and Augustine Chen are responsible to interview the manager/boss of the shop,

whereas Choong Qi Xie is

responsible to record the audio of the interview process. Vicky Lee act as a photographer.


Listing out the questionnaire Ooi Zhi-Qian

Interview the manager/boss of the shop Ooi Zhi-Qian and

Augustine Chen

Recording the audio of the interview process Choong Qi Xie

photographer Vicky Lee


DISCUSSION



CONCLUSIONS



DISCUSSION

CONCLUSIONS




Meeting Title: Discussion on The Distribution of Work


18/11/2013

[Meeting Time]

3.00pm

[Meeting Location]

E 6.21


TYPE OF MEETING Discussion on the distribution of work

FACILITATOR

NOTE TAKER Augustine Chen


ATTENDEES Vicky Lee Wei Kee, Ooi Zhi-Qian, Choong Qi Xie, and Augustine Chen

Agenda topics

[Time allotted]

3.15pm

[Agenda topic]

Discuss on the distribution of work of

the research paper.

[Presenter]

Vicky

Lee

DISCUSSION Discuss on the distribution of research paper work.

CONCLUSIONS The research paper work is divided into a few parts: the cover page which is

hand drawn, report, research essay, transcripts and interviews.

Ooi Zhi-Qian is responsible to do the entire report of the interview, Augustine Chen is the

leader of the research essay, Choong Qi Xie is responsible to type the transcripts and

interviews, Vicky Lee is responsible to complete the meeting minutes templates whereas

Jessie will be in charge of key summary and references.

All of us will work together to complete the research paper.


To complete the meeting minutes templates and

artistic cover page. Vicky Lee

19th Nov

2013

Type the transcripts and interviews. Choong Qi Xie 19th Nov

2013

Complete and improve the research essay. Augustine Chen 23th Nov

2013

Other parts of the reports. Ooi Zhi-Qian 23th Nov

2013



Key summary and references. Jessie 23th Nov

2013


DISCUSSION

CONCLUSIONS



DISCUSSION

CONCLUSIONS



DISCUSSION

CONCLUSIONS





DISCUSSION

CONCLUSIONS




Discuss on Progress and Compilation of the Report


25/11/2013

[Meeting Time]

5pm

[Meeting Location]

Library Level 3


TYPE OF MEETING Discussion on progress of the report

FACILITATOR

NOTE TAKER Augustine Chen


ATTENDEES Vicky Lee Wei Kee, Ooi Zhi-Qian, Choong Qi Xie, and Augustine Chen

Agenda topics

[Time allotted]

5.15pm

[Agenda topic]

Discuss on the progress of the report

[Presenter]

Vicky Lee

DISCUSSION Discuss on the progress of each members on the report. Any problems related to

the report is discussed

among group members.

CONCLUSIONS Each members is doing their part and almost done with it.


To complete the meeting minutes templates and

artistic cover page. Vicky Lee

Type the transcripts and interviews. Choong Qi Xie

Complete and improve the research essay. Augustine Chen

Other parts of the reports. Ooi Zhi-Qian

[Time allotted]

5.30pm

[Agenda topic]

Continue with our work and dividing

tasks

[Presenter]

DISCUSSION Each member is allowed to carry on with their work. The leader Jane divided the



tasks in detail.

CONCLUSIONS Work is divided and everyone start working.


Choose and edit photos for the appendix. Vicky Lee Wei Kee and

Ooi Zhi-Qian

2 hours

from now

Artistic cover to be scanned and printed Vicky Lee Wei Kee 2 hours

from now

Transcripts of interviews Choong Qi Xie and

Augustine Chen

2 hours

from now

Compare and Contrast of the 3 businesses and

research essay

Ooi Zhi-Qian and

Augustine Chen

2 hours

from now

Introduction and Conclusion of the report Ooi Zhi-Qian 2 hours

from now

Re-arrange of the whole report Ooi Zhi-Qian 2 hours

from now

[Time allotted]

7.30pm

[Agenda topic]

Compilation of the whole report [Presenter]

DISCUSSION The report is arranged and double-checked once.

CONCLUSIONS Everything was get done and be printed out to be compiled.


The report is printed out to be bind. Choong Qi Xie

Compilation of the whole report. Vicky Lee Wei Kee


DISCUSSION



CONCLUSIONS



DISCUSSION

CONCLUSIONS




4.2 Shop details

4.2.1 Owner profiles

Gulati’s Madras Kamdar

Name: Deevar Sachdev

Age: 47

Position: Supervisor

Name: Latchumi Veeran

Age: 51

Position: Manager

Name: Raj

Age: 54

Position: Manager



The transcript of the interviews

Gulati’s Silk House

May I know your age?

47

What’s is your race?

Sikh

How many owners are they?

One owner

Is this a family business?

Yes, Gulati’s is the family name

Total number of employees?

We have 15 branches; one is just beside this shop. Total around 400+ employees

What is the race of your employees?

Malays, Bangladeshi, Sikh, Indian

Age of employees?

From 20 to 60+

When did this business started?

28 years. since 1985.

Which one is the headquarter?

This store is the current hq. The previous one closed down.

Do you have a specific name for the HQ?

No

How did your business started?

Gulati’s is the family name. It started as a small business. The founder sold simple textile in her

house.

Why did she start this business?

To earn extra income to support the family



How many floors are they in this branch?

Five floors.

Are your branches only in local? Any international branches?

No, only in Malaysia.

Who are you suppliers and where are the factories?

The entire textile is imported from Korea, China, India, Italy.

What time does your shop open?

10am to 10pm everyday.

Are you products mainly just for Sikh? Does any other race customer come here too?

Yes, Other races come here too, like Malay Chinese Indian.

What are the types of products?

Most of the types. Like cotton, polyester, chiffons pure silk, and others.

When the owner started, what are the types?

There were cheap materials at first with common designs and other cheaper quality products.

How many customers do you guys get normally?

There are usually around 50 or so on normal days. That depends, on weekends we got more

customers. Around more than 75-150 on the weekend. During holidays, we get around 150+

customers. It even goes up to 250 on the day before seasonal holidays.

What are the most popular textile that your customer buy?

Common ones like chiffons and polyester. But for special occasions or weddings, they choose

pure silk and other expensive products otherwise. They just get the washable sari like cotton or

chiffons.

How many tailors do you guys have? How old are they?

Yes we do…but just a handful only. They are around 30 -50 years old.

Are there any competitors that you have?

Ye we do, however, we do our best to meet the customer’s needs so as to not lose our regulars.

Are there any hard time so far in this business?

Don’t think so.



Has she ever wanted to give up on this business?

Not at all.

Which is the main shop that started this business?

This store is the first Gulati’s.

How do you overcome your competitors?

We provide what the other does not. Also, we got our own long term customer that come every

week. We got a pretty stable business here.

Strategies. When it just started, how do you guys promote and advertise your shop?

We just do our best to let the customer know about our store. Getting unique textile that other

don’t have. New customer are coming in everyday, there are even Americans and Chinese came

here before to get my textile.

Pricing for your products?

Start from rm30-rm5000. Rm5000 are pure silk from Italy. Not every shop bring in these high

quality silk. These one-of-a-kind textiles are usually personal order for our VIP customers. The

expensive part is the imported pure silk from italy. A lot of YB came here and buy our textile,

even YB from other countries



Kamdar


54


Malay.

How many owners are they? are you the only one?

One owner, I’m not the owner.


Yeah.


We have 29 shops/branches, total around 1200 staff in total.

What are the races of your employees?

All include Chinese.

Age of employees?

From 18 to 60.


Since 1972, 41 years in business we are one of the oldest textile store in Malaysia.


This.


Not really.


My boss took over this business from his sister. His sister started from a small textile industry

store.

Why did she started this business?

She’s interested is the textile line and motivation by her mother.




This branch has got 3 floors.


Only in Malaysia and also Brunei.


All of them are suppliers from other countries.


10am to 10pm, everyday. Open on every public holiday.

Are you products mainly just for Malays? Does any other race customer come here too?

Yes, Chinese and Indians come here too. Other foreigners come here too to buy our textile too.


All types. Like cotton, polyester, chiffons pure silk, mixed.

What are the type you sell when you guys just started?

We sell those cheap ones like polyester, and washable ones.


Depends, on weekends we got more customers. Around 40 on weekday, 80 on weekends.


Casual ones and plain ones.


We got 2 tailors. 34 and 45 years old.

Is there any competitors that you have?

They are not a lot of competition here.

What types of customers do you normally get?

Most of customers are mothers, and long-term customers.

Since your boss sister came up with this business, is there any hard time so far?

Not really.


Never, she has been strong all this time to maintain this business.

Which is the main shop your mother started?



The shop at Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman.


We just do our best to overcome this problem, give our best service. Also, providing what the

customer wants.


Start from rm15-rm5000. Rm500 are imported pure silk



Madras Sdn. Bhd.


51.


Indian.

How many owners are they? are you the only one?

My mother and brother.


Yeah.


We have two shops/branches; one is just opposite this shop. total around 35.

What is the race of your employees?

Malays, Bangladeshi, Vietnamese.

Age of employees?

From 20 to 50.


37 years to be exact., since 1976. We are the oldest Indian textile store in Malaysia.


The opposite shop.


Masjid India.


It started from my mother. She started when she is very young. Then my brother continues now.

The entire siblings are taking care of this shop.

Why did she started this business?

She started with just some tidbits, then sell only few types of textile. Later by later, she focus

more on the textile. She used to sell casket cassette, if you know what is it and also food. Then



later we have more types of textile. Then now we have a lot of varieties of textile, just in this one

store.


This branch have got 3 floors, first floor is silk sari, second floor is for men, third floor is for

children. The other branch has other stuff like stainless steel, luggage.


Nope, only in Malaysia. But all the textile are direct imported from India.


All of them are suppliers from India.


10am to 9pm, everyday, only close on Deepavali day, 1 day in a whole year. Open on every

public holiday.

Are you products mainly just for Indian? Does any other race customer come here too?

Yes, Chinese also come here too. Malay too. They buy for their costumes and stuff. Other

foreigners come here too, like Moroccan, Saudi, Pakistani, lots of multi races. Last week, they

are a lot of Chinese came here to buy textile for their program.


Like different types of quality. Like cotton, polyester, chiffons, pure silk, mixed. A lot of types

of sari.

When you mom started, what are the types?

She sell those cheap ones like polyester, normal printed design. Very limited. Now we have all

types of textile.


That depends, on weekends we got more customers. Around more than 100-150 on the weekend.

On holiday, we got around 200 customers. It even goes up to 300 on the day before Deepavali.


Casual ones like chiffons. But for Deepavali or weddings, they choose pure silk sari. Normally,

they just get the washable sari like cotton or chiffons.

Do you guys do customize sari or others?



Yeah, we got our own tailors in our shop. we can do it within an hour also. But it depends on the

season. Normal day we can finish within one or two hours. Season period we cant do that, like

Deepavali or Thaipusam. Like those customer are rushing, we will finish them in an hour or two

for those sari and blouse.


We got 4 tailors. 25-45 years old.

Are there any competitors that you have?

They are a lot of competition here. But we have our own choice. I don’t feel pressured at all. We

have our own unique textile that other shop don’t have. Plus, we have our customers; a lot of

long-term customers, some even buy our textile non stop for the past 30 years.

What types of customers do you normally get?

Even the third generation still buying our textile. Mother grandmother and youngster.

Since your mother came up with this business, is there any hard time so far?

My mother is a very young widow, she started off not that easy.


No no no, she is a very strong and brave lady. Iron lady. She still come here quite often to check

out. Everyday she come by in the evening and look around, she’s 73 years old. She lives in

masjid India, she just walk here by herself. I also live near here. Near the mosque.

Which is the main shop your mother started?

The opposite shop has 37 years of history. This shop is just 3 years.


We don’t have any problem, we do our part/business, we have our own customers. Even the

competitor can’t be like us. I know what the customers like and don’t like, I hand pick all the

textile myself. Other shop, most of them order by the staff, the owner not around, they just order

what the salesman asks them to. My sister and me order all of them from India, we order what

the customers want and like. We know what our regular customer wants.

Strategies. When you mom started it, how do you guys promote and advertise your shop?

Normally radio advertisement, paper advertisement. But some other shop put ads on radio, but

we don’t need to do that, we got regular customers. We put radio ads once or twice per year.

Newspaper ads normally on Deepavali, Tamil newspaper. But we also got new customer every

day, there are even Australians came here before to get my textile, they are also my regular

customers.




Start from rm15-rm10000. Rm10000 are pure silk that you can get from here easily, only from

India. I can show it to you guys if you want. Not all shop bring in these silk, only us. We don’t

put it out for sale, people will look it up from us. These sari, if you trade in in India, you get get

the exact amount back. Its silver plate with gold. This is also one-of-a-kind. The beads are not

that expensive; the expensive part is the pure silk. Mostly are those minister will buy these

textile. A lot of YB came here and buy our textile. Even Rosmah came here. Mahathir’s wife

came here last week; she’s also my regular customer for the past 30 years.



4.2.2 Company cards



4.2.3 Interior and exterior view of the shops

Gulati’s Silk House

This is the exterior view of the Gulati’s Silk House

located in Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kuala Lumpur.

There are the posters and advertising boards placed on top of the

shop entrance to promote their new products and discount sales.



Right side of the entrance

Left side of the entrance

The pictures above shows the interior views of both sides of the shop as there is a wall that acts

like a divider in the shop. Inside the shop, it is occupied with mainly textiles of different designs

and patterns. They displayed their textile products by covering them over a long stick that stands

and placing them nicely on the shelves that are placed against the wall of the store.



Madras Store Sdn. Bhd.

The exterior view of the headquarter

The exterior view of the opposite branch

The pictures above shows the entrances of the Madras Store. The stores are both located in Jalan

Masjid India, Kuala Lumpur. They only have these two branches. The first picture shows the

signature store or headquarter store, and as for the second picture it is the other branch of the

store that is located opposite of the first store.



The views of the storeroom

The picture above shows how the textile products are being stored in the shop. These areas are

known as the storeroom. The storeroom is actually opened and the customers are able to see the

newly packed stocks unlike any other textile shops that has another huge room to store their new

products.



As you can see the pictures of their interior views of the shop above, the store is not so spacious

and is occupied with their textile products everywhere. Some of them were hung on the ceilings

while some of them are folded and stacked on the tables. This pictures were taken in the third

floor which is the toppest floor of the building.



Kamdar

The exterior view of the huge Kamdar textile store

that is located in Kuala Lumpur. This is the biggest

store in Kamdar.They have many other branches

everywhere in the Kuala Lumpur.

The interior view of the store. As you can see from the picture,

the store is not so packed and occupied with the products

compared to interior space in Madras store.



This is the view of the small office in the store. In the picture, the textile products that are

customised and pre-ordered by the customers are specially placed in these shelves.

These are the information posters of their business hours and the products

located in each floors that are placed on the walls of the store.



The pictures above shows how the textile products are being displayed to the customers in the

store. There are different ways how the products are being displayed compared to Gulati’s and

Madras.

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