Winning in Malaysia
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Share this Intelligence Applied Winning in Malaysia Intelligence Applied Asia Pacific Malaysia has long been considered as one of Asia’s most developed economies. But while international brands have enjoyed a relatively accessible and receptive market in Malaysia for many years, they are coming up against increasingly strong competition from local brands. Well known international brand Havaianas, for instance, is being shouldered out of the market by local fashion brand dFlipperslipper, which is also available overseas and is taking market share. Home-grown company Exabytes managed to anticipate demand for web-services in the Malaysian market, which has made them one of the leading providers of web-hosting services in the country, as well as leading growth in Singapore and the USA. The international expansion of these local brands strengthens their position in the local market and will give them more ammunition to keep big international organisations at a distance. Another big challenge global brands are coming up against is the need to target different ethnicities and religions in this highly fragmented market. The Muslim Malay population make up around 70% of consumers, who are growing in influence and spending power. Around 20% are Chinese Malaysians – mostly Buddhist – whilst the remaining 10% are made up of Christians and Hindus. Clearly this calls for certain considerations when creating brand campaigns. For a predominantly Muslim population, brands need to ensure they are aligned with traditional values around family, marriage and culture. In the personal care industry there is a growing demand for halal cosmetics, as shown by Sunsilk’s Clean & Fresh variant. This was marketed specifically to hijab-wearing Malaysian women and – unlike competitor brands – didn’t show women flaunting their hairstyles. Looking at different sectors, the FMCG industry is experiencing rapid growth with local Malaysian brands more empowered than ever before. South East Asian brand WIPRO UNZA is challenging global brands with local products like Safi, special skincare products to meet the needs of the modern Muslim women, while Nestlé’s share of the market is being eroded by the likes of IndoCafé and Kapal Api.
Transcript of Winning in Malaysia
Share this Intelligence Applied
Winning in Malaysia
Intelligence AppliedAsia Pacific
Malaysia has long been considered as one of Asia’s most developed economies. But while international brands have enjoyed a relatively accessible and receptive market in Malaysia for many years, they are coming up against increasingly strong competition from local brands.
Well known international brand Havaianas, for instance, is being shouldered out of the market by local fashion brand dFlipperslipper, which is also available overseas and is taking market share.
Home-grown company Exabytes managed to anticipate demand for web-services in the Malaysian market, which has made them one of the leading providers of web-hosting services in the country, as well as leading growth in Singapore and the USA. The international expansion of these local brands strengthens their position in the local market and will give them more ammunition to keep big international organisations at a distance.
Another big challenge global brands are coming up against is the need to target different ethnicities and religions in this highly fragmented market. The Muslim Malay population make up around 70% of consumers, who are growing in influence and spending power. Around 20% are Chinese Malaysians – mostly Buddhist – whilst the remaining 10% are made up of Christians and Hindus. Clearly this calls for certain considerations when creating brand campaigns.
For a predominantly Muslim population, brands need to ensure they are aligned with traditional values around family, marriage and culture. In the personal care industry there is a growing demand for halal cosmetics, as shown by Sunsilk’s Clean & Fresh variant. This was marketed specifically to hijab-wearing Malaysian women and – unlike competitor brands – didn’t show women flaunting their hairstyles.
Looking at different sectors, the FMCG industry is experiencing rapid growth with local Malaysian brands more empowered than ever before. South East Asian brand WIPRO UNZA is challenging global brands with local products like Safi, special skincare products to meet the needs of the modern Muslim women, while Nestlé’s share of the market is being eroded by the likes of IndoCafé and Kapal Api.
Share this Intelligence Applied
Winning in Malaysia
About the author Dan Foxman is head of Client Impact & Expertise at TNS Malaysia, focusing on delivering high-level expertise and impact that enables clients to make better marketing decisions. He has worked in research for over 20 years in a number of markets including the UK, China and Malaysia. Before moving into his current role, Dan was part of the TNS Shopper practice, leading expertise across the Asia Pacific region. regional roles across both clients and geographies in APAC for shopper insight work. About TNSTNS advises clients on specific growth strategies around new market entry, innovation, brand switching and stakeholder management, based on long-established expertise and market-leading solutions. With a presence in over 80 countries, TNS has more conversations with the world’s consumers than anyone else and understands individual human behaviours and attitudes across every cultural, economic and political region of the world. TNS is part of Kantar, one of the world’s largest insight, information and consultancy groups.
Please visit www.tnsglobal.com for more information.
With stiff competition from home-grown talent, multinationals need to understand the local nuances to appeal to Malaysia’s discerning consumer, who has a growing choice at their fingertips.
Malaysia is a highly connected market. Connected Life, TNS’s annual report of 60,000 consumers, found that 95% of Malaysia’s population now own a smartphone. The average millennial (aged 16-24) spends 3.8 hours every day on their phones – the equivalent of 1,241 hours a year – making this age group a ripe target for digital marketing via social media or instant messaging platforms.
One brand that has capitalised on this connectivity to make a splash in the market is Nando’s, the South African chicken restaurant, which has invested heavily in digital in recent years. With plans to open 140 stores across Malaysia within the next 10 years, reaching a wider audience through Facebook and other digital platforms will play a key part of this strategy. The last year has also seen major developments in the e-commerce market as home-grown brands adopt cash-on-delivery payments. This has helped address concerns from wary consumers about the safety and reliability of online payments. Brands like Lazada – seen by many as the Asian equivalent of Amazon – have capitalised on this, with latest figures suggesting there are now over 7 million online shoppers in Malaysia. The most popular online purchases are travel services (including flights and accommodation), film tickets, fashion products and consumer electronics.
There is no doubt that Malaysia is a complex and increasingly sophisticated market, yet one that offers significant returns for brands which invest the time to tailor their campaigns to the religious, cultural and personal preferences of the local consumer.
Millenials spend 3.8 hrs a day on phones
95% of Malaysia’s population now own a smartphone.
