Cuir Boutique

Luggage is essentially made to be functional and practical — nothing more, nothing less.
 
The basic requirements are for it to be safe enough to protect personal belongings on a long-haul flight and withstand frequent bumpy rides from airplane turbulence to baggage handling by tired airport employees.

In the past, it was just a box on wheels with handles. These days it has evolved into a fashion statement and even a status symbol for some people.

That would explain why the main concourse areas of some shopping malls are not only decked with boughs of holly this time of the year, but also a large assortment of luggage, bags and travel accessories from many different brands — some international and well known, and others that are niche and limited in range.

The holiday season generally means an overall improvement in sales for many luggage retailers and manufacturers as customers often look for a new bag for their holiday travelling.

“Malaysians are opting for lightweight bags with four wheels so that they are easy to wheel and manoeuvre especially through crowded areas.

Quality and an international brand are also important because better-known brands come with product safety features and guarantees that adhere to global standards.

“In terms of appearance, hard cases are quite quick to sell because of their variety of colours and styles, even though they are relatively a new type of product in this market,” explained Cuir Group director and owner Eva Poon.

Originally from Hong Kong, Poon founded the group in 1997 with Malaysian husband and managing director, Jeffrey Tan.

The company operates Cuir Boutique, a leather and travel goods business in Malaysia.
According to Poon, the business as a whole, generally sees a 20% jump in sales this time of the year.

Its retail customers are people who are well travelled and know what they need and want from a product.

Poon says that business is usually “quite good” due to the high turnover of sales for some of the more popular brands it carries such as Antler, Barry Smith and Poney.

“Antler and Barry Smith contribute about 30% each to our sales so they contribute 60% of our overall revenue per year.

Antler is a luxury brand that has been around for almost 100 years and all the products have a 10 year warranty in over 15 countries, hence its popularity with our customers,” said Poon.

While almost every major shopping centre has a luggage and travel shop featuring irresistible discounts and promotional deals, Poon appears unfazed by the competition.

“Besides our exceptional customer service from knowledgeable and engaging staff, product quality is a fundamental selling point and we don’t compromise on quality.

“We are the sole distributor for established international brands like Victorinox-Swiss, Corocco, Deuter and a retailer for Alfred Dunhill, Guess, Hedgren, Samsonite and Guy Laroche — these brands represent our corporate image that stands for class and luxury.

“One competitive advantage is our pricing because our logistics chain is efficient and we get most of the products directly from the manufacturing facility. This minimises our distribution costs, hence, it lowers the final retail selling price,” said Poon.

To ensure that their customer service is up to par, the company’s headquarters in Jalan Maarof in Bangsar, Kuala Lupur provides hands-on employee training for all of its 50 staff members. The location also provides after-sales customer services such as repairing damaged goods or providing temporary replacements during the time.

“We also also handle product inquiries and recommending specific types of bags that would suit travel occasions and events, be it for business, sports, big tours or solo trips.Every customer will have their own needs depending on their age, lifestyle, travel style, colour preference and other considerations,” said the company’s business development manager Josephine Teong.

Cuir Boutique has one store in Hong Kong as well as six outlets and five counters or kiosks in Klang Valley malls such as Midvalley Megamall, Sunway Pyramid Shopping Centre and Isetan KLCC.

Next year will mark the start of further growth for the business as it will be opening another two outlets in Kuala Lumpur International Airport, in the domestic and international terminals in the first quarter.

It will also expand with a new outlet in Sabah in March next year as well as another store soon to be opened in Hong Kong.

It doesn’t end there, as Poon is constantly looking for suitable locations for the business.

“We don’t have a steadfast and solid plan which is rather unusual for a business.

“We are Christians and rely on our faith and trust that God will guide us to find strategic places to start our new outlets where our business will thrive.

“We are looking to have our factory in Kuala Lumpur within a year and that’s not something that I initially thought about until I asked God for guidance and he showed me that this was the next step,” explained Poon, adding that she has been “very blessed” to be the distributor of such popular and well-known brands.

But even with divine guidance, Poon also experienced the initial teething problems that most new businesses face when starting out.

“When we began, one of the problems we encountered was to find the right place to open our first store.

“We opened our first outlet in Sunway Pyramid followed by the second one in Midvalley Megamall. Prayer really helps so we’re always thankful for the good things that happen to us, but also learn from the tribulations,” said Poon.

The company’s breakthrough came when it started operations from its headquarters in 2007 as that gave it the opportunity to serve a new market — its corporate clients.

“There are 20 corporate clients we work with that are banks, oil and gas and insurance companies as well as small and medium enterprises.

“We work with them on their redemption deals and reward schemes for their customers. For company events, we provide door gifts or custom-made products with their corporate logo or names.

As an SME ourselves, we are flexible with our business packages and from experience, corporate budgets can range from RM50 to RM50,000 so we’ll do our best to deliver an exceptional product,” said Teong.

Aside from travel luggage, Cuir Boutique also carries accessories like international adapters, passport holders and pouches, locks and travel handbags.

Source: The Star Online