1999 – 2001 Windsor Gallery (Malaysia)
Owner
The Company
During the last 3 years of my, very successful, 10-year tenure at the Asian Headquarters of the German B. Braun company, it became painfully clear that I had accomplished the ultimate goal for any expatriate: to make one-self obsolete. For all my departments I had found very capable managers (often from the pool of talent available in any organisation) and I started to get bored. It was then that I contacted my brother in the Netherlands. We had in the past philosophised on starting our own business and we had now both arrived at the junction where we were ready to try.
Our initial idea was born from my experience with houses and furniture during my long expatriate years: I had lived in and redecorated many colonial houses. My wife and I enjoyed furnishing a house according to its own style and, due to the availability of very skilled low costs labour, this could be done at no great expense. Having seen these possibilities, my brother and I thought it might be a great idea to bring this option to Europe. Our idea was to use the internet, still somewhat in its infancy, and capable software (e.g. solidworks) to enable our European clients to design their house-perfect furniture online and have it produced by the same skilled carpenters, upholsterers, etc. that I had been using for years: drawings, alterations and the like would be transmitted near instantly to our workshops in Malaysia. Unfortunately we were ahead of our time: the software, though already much easier to use than prior incarnations, was still too hard for casual users to conquer, while also the availability of internet was nowhere as ubiquitous as needed. In the end we had little choice but to move into the import/export of standardised furniture, a path already well trotted where we had no particular USP. Therefore in 2001 we decided for me to move back to Europe so I could additionally try my luck at Giftwrap.
The Job
After spending several months trying to get our bespoke furniture idea up and running, I obviously had made many inroads in the Malaysian furniture industry. As such when we switched to sourcing standardised furniture I already knew most of the quality manufacturers and we thus were swiftly able to source outstanding bedroom furniture, dining sets, as well as all leather settees. Unfortunately, no matter of haggling could unmake the cost advantage of places like China, Thailand and Indonesia. This had not been an issue with our initial idea where very clear precise communication was more important than labour cost. Our initial idea hinged on skill and the ability to get our wishes across; our prices needed to compete with ‘made-in-Europe’. Now all these advantages were moot, price had become king.
My Successes
My true success, setting up a network of dedicated skilled carpenters, upholsterers and the like, combined with first class furniture factories for all kind of fitting accessories, unfortunately did not obfuscate the fact that our basic premise was ahead of its time.
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