SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN

FOUNDATION IN NATURAL BUILD ENVIRONMENT

Principles of Economics [ECN30205]

Report title:
A Comparative Analysis of 2 Businesses of Similar Industry in
Different Geographical Locations

Group members:

Foo Ji Sun (0323550)

Tan Yan Jie (0323906)
Loh Wen Jun (0323551)
Yeoh Sin Yuen (0323737)
Tan Vin Nie (0323706)

PRINCIPLE OF ECONOMICS [ECN30205] | FNBE March 2015 | Semester 2 | PAGE 1

No

Content

Summary

Background of Information of the business

Pages
3
4-5

- Fella Design Sdn Bhd

- Home Star Furnishing Sdn Bhd
3

Comparative Analysis of the Businesses Competitive

6 - 11

Traits
4

Recommendation

12 - 13

Appendices

14 - 20

Reference

21

Summary

PRINCIPLE OF ECONOMICS [ECN30205] | FNBE March 2015 | Semester 2 | PAGE 2

We have done our research on two similar businesses, which are furniture industry. One of the
furniture industries that we have chosen are Fella Design, which is located at Melaka. We have
interviewed a worker in Fella Design. From the interview, we get to know how his owner
operates and runs the business so successfully. The other furniture industry we chose is Home
Stars, located at Kuala Lumpur. We feel honored to have interviewed a senior employee. She is
very familiar with the operation and management of the business. We have learned how the
obstacles affect their business as well as how they face and solve the problems. Between these
two businesses, we found that there are major contrast on how they manage to run and maintain a
business.
Before going for an interview, we have to call to the company of the furniture industry to make
an appointment with him or her. We have prepared approximately 20 questions in order to help
us to collect and gather the information about the businesses. After we have done the interview,
we start to do our reports using the information and knowledge we have learned from the visit.

PRINCIPLE OF ECONOMICS [ECN30205] | FNBE March 2015 | Semester 2 | PAGE 3

Brief Bio of Fella Design

One of the companies we have interviewed is Fella Design. The location of the branch we have
interviewed is located in Bukit Baru, Melaka, while their headquarters is located in Bukit
Subang, Shah Alam. Fella Design has 14 branches all across Malaysia, which are in Bukit
Subang, Ampang, Selayang, Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya, Alor Setar, Penang, Ipoh, Sungai Petani,
Johor, Melaka, Kuala Terengganu, Kuantan and Kota Kinabalu and has up to around 3 staff in
each branch. The main products that are sold in Fella Design are furniture. The estimated current
number of customers, specifically in the Melaka branch is 30-40. Fella Design has been
furnishing Malaysian homes for over 25 years, but the branch in Melaka is currently headed by
MS Yee. Their motive for starting the business is clearly to make money to earn a living but also
to provide high quality premier furniture and fabric. In the past few years, Fella Design had
successfully expanded their business by opening branches all across Malaysia due to the
tremendous incline in business. Fella Design is confident that they can work towards being the
market and industry leader, creating a household brand name that will meet and exceed customer
expectations.

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Brief Bio of Home Star:

The furniture shop that we had chosen to interview was Home Star, which is located in
Batu Caves, Gombak Selangor. The full name of the shop is Home Star Furnishing Sdn Bhd.
From the beginning, a small furniture retail shop was established in Old Klang Road in 1990.
Since then Home Star Furnishing has expanded steadily over the period of years. Foo Hon Meng
and Lim Lih Jiun founded the business in 1997. There are 4 branches currently which is in
Gombak, Selayang, Puchong and Shah Alam. Currently, they are still deciding to open new
branches in other area to further expand the business. Besides that, the most common product
that was sold was furniture, in which customers often brought from the shop besides other
products. They also sell other products such as decorations and flowers.
Home Stars reputation is judged based on the quality products delivered to their
customer at a fair value. The management is fully supportive of its best service they can provide
to their customers. Since the business was founded, the estimate number of customer that the
shop have is estimated around 36540. There are 80 staffs and employees of the shop including
locals and foreigner. The furniture shop produces new designs and better quality to enhance the
customer choices. Customer can get what they had requested to suits their homes and livings.
The pricing of the furniture was also quite affordable and also influences customer to come. In
addition to that, there are promotions and sales, which the price had been lowered. In other
words, the price of the furniture was already at standard and fixed price. If the price were to be
tolerate further, there will be loses in our profit and the expenses for owning the products would
be higher.
Apart from that, their motive for starting the business is to make a living. Starting a
furniture business to earn profit to support their lives. They wish to be successful in life and
giving the customer the most satisfaction of the furniture. There are also several competitors,
which also established and sell furniture like Home Star. These also disrupt the Home Stars
reputations by reducing the number of buyers. Although it seems competitive between each of
the competitors, Home Star was still a successful business because of their satisfying prices and
quality.
PRINCIPLE OF ECONOMICS [ECN30205] | FNBE March 2015 | Semester 2 | PAGE 5

Comparative Analysis of the Businesses Competitive Traits

Fella Design
In Melaka, there are around 60 to 80 businesses operating in furniture industry. Market
shares of this business are quite small in Melaka because Melaka is a small state. Furniture
industry requires a big area and suitable location to display and store their goods. Therefore, this
considers a very hard decision to run a furniture industry in Melaka because they have to face the
problems of renting. Fella Design is located at Ayer Keroh, Melaka. There are approximately 8 to
10 furniture industries in this area. Lorenzo, Rozel, SSF and Hoe Heng are considered quite near
to Fella Design, which are just 8 kilometers away.
We have figured out the top three competitors through interview and observation in order
to compare their main products and specialties with Fella Design. The first strong competitor for
Fella Design is Lorenzo which is just 7 minutes of driving distances. Lorenzo is an international
branded furniture retailer with a history of 33 years. It has many branched in different countries
such as Singapore, China and Taiwan. Lorenzo has much more customers compared to Fella
Design because of its branded name. Its huge display area and comfy surrounding also attract
many customers to come and enjoy looking for their furniture. The main product for Lorenzo is
the sofa, which is same as Fella Design. Therefore, it considers hard for Fella Design to compete
with such a big company.
The second strong competitor is Rozel. Rozel has 16 branched where are distributed in all
states of Malaysia. Rozel has over 24 years of experience in the manufacture, sales, marketing
and distribution of furniture in Malaysia. The most popular product in Rozel is leather sofa. The
modern lifestyle and luxurious design of their sofas have become the favorite of the customers
nowadays. The price of their furniture is quite expensive because they are mostly made of
leathers.
The third competitor for Fella Design is SSF. SSF have 22 showrooms with a total shop
area of over 500,000 square feet. It sells large variety of products such as furniture, lighting,
curtain and etc. The innovative design themes of SSF range from French country homes,
PRINCIPLE OF ECONOMICS [ECN30205] | FNBE March 2015 | Semester 2 | PAGE 6

Victoria, Oriental, Fusion, Modern, to English homes have satisfied various customers
expectations. It looks classic and elegant with a western design. However, some of the customers
prefer modern or traditional designs compared to western style of designs. Therefore, the number
of customers in SSF is still below than Lorenzo and Rozel.
Fella Design have planned some strategies to compete with their competitors. The owner
decides to expand their business by having branches at different states. Nowadays, they are
having 14 branches at Malaysia, which are located at Selangor, Kuantan, Ipoh, Penang and so on.
In Melaka, they bought a house few months ago, which is just located opposite to their shop in
order to enlarge the area to display their furnitures. Other than that, they constantly evaluate all
their business areas to ensure operational excellence. Fella Design emphasizes the importance of
providing good service to meet and exceed customer expectations.
The worker in Fella Design stated that it is quite difficult for a new business to enter their
markets because they need to have a large amount of capital to operate their business. Renting is
the most serious problem if they dont have enough money to rent a store for their goods.
Therefore, it is good if they can find some partnerships together run and manage this business.

PRINCIPLE OF ECONOMICS [ECN30205] | FNBE March 2015 | Semester 2 | PAGE 7

Home Star
In Selangor, the businesses are more competitive compared to Melaka. Selangor is the
most populous state which has approximately 5.46 million of people while Melaka has less
people with 0.82 million population. Therefore, the number of furniture industries definitely high
in Selangor which will cause a very competitive market. There are approximately 150 to 200 of
furniture industries in Selangor. There are different furniture industries distributing in Klang
Valley which are Star Living, Li Meng, Valencia, Maju Home, Milanohaus and etc. All these
industries are located approximately 10 kilometers away from Home Star.
We have figured out the top three competitors after interviewing with an senior
accountant, Margaret. The first strong competitor for Home Star is Star Living, which is located
at Subang Jaya, Selangor. With a long heritage since 1981, Star Living has a strong retail
presence in Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and China with over 43 retail showrooms, and an
export network of over 45 countries. Their factories are set up in Dongguan, China and Johor,
Malaysia. Their production and sales are extremely high because they have many showrooms
and factories in different places and countries. The number of customers in Star Living is high
for every month because they sell different types of furniture such as sofa, dining table, wardrobe
and etc. Their furniture are designed in different ways in order to achieve customers demands
and expectations. They have consistently brought to market superior quality products in modern
innovative designs that are current to market demands. It considers a very hard challenge for
Home Star to compete with.
The second strong competitor is Maju Home, which is located at Subang Jaya, Selangor.
Maju Home has a 3 storey stand-alone establishment occupies a standalone building, offering
estimated 75 000 square feet floor space for the customers to browse at their leisure. Their comfy
and wide spaces for the display of their furniture have increased the number of customers visit.
Maju Home has a new exhibition area, The Exhibit. The Exhibit is entirely refreshed every
season in accordance to new and exciting themes, to best show the customers their new and
favourite models. Their furniture have been used in different commercial areas such as Old
Town, MCT and LGB. The prices of furniture in Maju Home are quite expensive compared to
other industries. Therefore, they have provided many promotion sales in order to attract the
customers.
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The third strong competitor is Milanohaus. Milanohaus is located at Petaling Jaya,

Selangor, which is approximately 20 kilometer away. Milanohaus have employed skilled and
renowned Italian designer to oversee the manufacturing process in Shanghai. They are selling a
series of furniture with Italian design which looks elegant and modern. The main product in
Milanohaus is leather sofa. Their M&D sofas are considered very expensive because of the
Italian brand. However, there are customers who like Italian design and will come all along to
find their suitable furniture.

To compete with the competitors, Home Star has planned a lot of strategies to face the
obstacles. Margaret, the senior accountant had stated that they have meeting for every month in
order to see whether it is necessary to adjust the prices of furniture. They also need to find an
alternative ways to face the implement of GST. GST has become a major setback for Home Star
as they need to pay additional fees for their inventories to their suppliers. They would also
provide promotion sales for different seasons in order to maintain the number of customers.
From the interview, we know that it is difficult to enter market for new business because
they need a large capital to deal with the implement of GST. Other than paying for GST, they
have to find a large area to display their furniture as well. Therefore, they have to pay for GST
and renting if their business is newly enter the market with low profits.

PRINCIPLE OF ECONOMICS [ECN30205] | FNBE March 2015 | Semester 2 | PAGE 9

Competitive Traits

Fella Design (Melaka)

Home Star (Selangor)

1. Number of Competitors (in

50-80

150-200

2. Barrier to Entry (Weak or

Moderate, the capital is not too

Strong, the capital is very high

Strong? Why?)

high because the number of

because the number of furniture

furniture industries in Melaka is

industries in Selangor is too

still considered low.

high.

3. Differentiated or

Standardized products, the main

Differentiated products, they

Standardized Products (if

product in Melaka is normally

sells different products such as

differentiated provide 2 to 3

sofas.

sofa. Dining table and wardrobe

ranges e.g. 2 to 10, 10 to 50, 50

to 150, etc.)

examples)
4. Pricing Power (Price Maker

in order to gain high profits.

Price Taker

Price Taker

5. Other Characteristics (e.g.

Low close product substitutes,

High close product substitutes,

Any close product substitutes,

no mutual dependence,

no mutual dependence, constant

mutual dependence, constant

inconsistent advertising

advertising

Monopolistic competition

Monopolistic competition

or Taker? Why?)

advertising)
6. Verdict (Monopoly?
Oligopoly? Perfect
Competition?)

Based on our analysis, Home Star would be the more commercially successful business. Home
Star has about 26 years of experiences which could easily handle all the obstacles or difficulty in
PRINCIPLE OF ECONOMICS [ECN30205] | FNBE March 2015 | Semester 2 | PAGE 10

the competitive market. Other than that, the variety of furniture they sell also attracts many
customers come and look for their suitable furniture. However, Fella Design only focus on
selling the sofas which only gives limited options for customer. Another reason is Home Star has
more customers compared to Fella Design. Therefore, they gain more profits for each month
compared to Fella Design. Their good services and products are also the main recipe to success.

Recommendation

PRINCIPLE OF ECONOMICS [ECN30205] | FNBE March 2015 | Semester 2 | PAGE 11

Fella Design
Overall, Fella Design has a high variety of products for both leather and fabric. The shop is
located at an area where most of the factory are located. Even though located near the factory,
but the number of customers is also quite high. However, there are some recommendations for
the shop so that the business of Fella Design can be improved.

1. Installation of Automatic Sliding Door

An automatic sliding door at the entrance of the shop should be installed to ensure a cooler
environment. This is to ensure that customers doesnt feel the heat while choosing their own
furniture in the shop. Not only that, because Fella Design is located near factories, so there must
be lots of dust and smoke around, installing sliding door can ensure that the furniture wont get
caught with the smell of smoke produce by the factories.
2. Improve the attitude of the workers
Workers attitude toward customers are important for a business. If the worker is not friendly to
the customer, the customer will not buy from that shop again. Not only that a bad attitude of a
worker could make a business shut down, it might also effect other branches of that particular
shops name.

3.

The place need more lightning

The store has many furniture inside and most of it looks brown and dark. Unfortunately, the
lightning over there is not bright enough so it looks dark inside the shop. On the other hand,
customers hard to choose their furniture nicely because there is not enough lightning and it is a
bit scary inside. The Fella Design could install more light so that the shop looks much brighter
than before.

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Homestar
Homestar is located around factory because it is a warehouse. Homestar can be said to have the
most kind of furniture among all others furniture warehouse around that area. Apart from that,
there are also some recommendations that can be implemented to improve the business.
1. The arrangement of furniture in not that neat
Homestar warehouse is a big place and there is lots of different types of furniture around there.
Unfortunately it is a little too big and messy because all types of furniture mix together. I think
they should separate into different categories so that customers re easy to choose which section
they should go when they need that.
2. The environment over there is hot
The warehouse is big and the air over there is uncomfortable. I think that they should install air
condition so that the customer wont be choosing their furniture in a hot area. Other than that, the
furniture will also can be in a better condition because the air over there is much cooler.
3. The place is not so clean
The floor of the warehouse is cement so there is dust around it. The dust make the customers
uncomfortable because of the some of them are allergic to dust and they will continue sneezing
when there is dust around. Other than that, the dust will make the furniture dirty and the
customers need to clean it or the workers over there need to clean it before sending it to the
customers house.

PRINCIPLE OF ECONOMICS [ECN30205] | FNBE March 2015 | Semester 2 | PAGE 13

Appendices

Fella Design
Contact details
Telephone: +606 231 7501
Fax: +606 231 7503
Email: customercare@fella.com.my
Website: www.fella.com.my
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/FellaDesignGroup

Address
5258, Jalan Penghulu Abbas,
Bukit Baru, 75350 Melaka.

Pictures
1) Storefront

2) Company logo
PRINCIPLE OF ECONOMICS [ECN30205] | FNBE March 2015 | Semester 2 | PAGE 14

3) Other branches

Bukit Subang

Ampang

Selayang

Petaling Jaya

Alor Setar

Penang

Ipoh

Sungai Petani

Johor
4) Advertising

Kuala Terengganu

Kota Kinabalu

Home Star

PRINCIPLE OF ECONOMICS [ECN30205] | FNBE March 2015 | Semester 2 | PAGE 15

Contact Details
Telephone: 603- 6185 5705
Fax: 603- 6186 560
Email: enquiry@homestar.com.my
Website: www.homestar.com.my
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Home-Star-Furnishing-Group-269830186534201/

Address
Lot 10234, Batu 8, Jalan Batu Caves, Daerah Gombak,
68000 Batu Caves, Selangor Darul Ehsan.

Pictures
1) Storefront

2) Company Logo

PRINCIPLE OF ECONOMICS [ECN30205] | FNBE March 2015 | Semester 2 | PAGE 16

3) Other branches

Prima Selayang
4) Advertising

Puchong

Shah Alam

Interview Questionnaire
PRINCIPLE OF ECONOMICS [ECN30205] | FNBE March 2015 | Semester 2 | PAGE 17

1) When was the business founded?

2) Who are the key founders?

- Current position:
- Who is the owner?
3) Where is current location?
-

Any change of location before?

4) What prompted the founders to start this business?

- What is your motivation?
- How much you like your job (Rate 1 to 10)
- How long have you been working on this (what make you stay so long in this
industry?)

5) What are your main products?

- Products:

6) Who are your customers? (E.g. Age group, income-level, education-level, etc.)
- Specific age group? family? ftudent?
- Income level (on the price of service charge)
- Education level (no need)

7) What is the business annual revenue figure?

- Daily income:
PRINCIPLE OF ECONOMICS [ECN30205] | FNBE March 2015 | Semester 2 | PAGE 18

- Annual figure:

8) How many branch offices/stores do you have (if applicable)?

- How many employees are there?
- Sole trader or partner?
- Any franchise?

9) Can you provide us a brief history of your business and its most recent developments?
- Is there a different location before? Has it always been here?
- Start own business or take over someone business?

10) Do you have many competitors? Who are they? Who are your top 3 competitors?

11) How big is your market share as well as your top competitors?

12) Is the business constantly facing strong competition from other competitors? What
strategies have they used to compete with you?
-

Lower price?

13) How much capital is required to start this business? What, if any, specialized field of
knowledge do you need to run this business?
- Capital, how much you spend on rental and utility?

14) Generally, do you feel it is easy or hard to enter this market? Why?

PRINCIPLE OF ECONOMICS [ECN30205] | FNBE March 2015 | Semester 2 | PAGE 19

15) How do you compete with your competitors (i.e. what strategies do you employ to divert
customers away from your competitors?)

16) How often do you release a new product (note: this assumes the business sells
differentiated products)?

17) Are your pricing decisions strongly affected by your competitors? Why or why not?

PRINCIPLE OF ECONOMICS [ECN30205] | FNBE March 2015 | Semester 2 | PAGE 20

References
Home Star Furnishing Sdn Bhd Company Website
http://www.homestar.com.my/en/
Fella Design Sdn Bhd Company Website
http://www.fella.com.my/

PRINCIPLE OF ECONOMICS [ECN30205] | FNBE March 2015 | Semester 2 | PAGE 21