Saturday, November 10, 2012

Eyecon Takes Top Spot In SME Corp's 2012 E50 Award

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 9 (Bernama) -- Optical appliances provider, Eyecon Group Sdn Bhd today took the top spot in SME Corp Malaysia's annual E50 Award 2012, which honours the best 50 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia.

Source from (Bernama): http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v6/newsbusiness.php?id=708420
Published: November 10, 2012

Also in this year's list of 50 gems, was frozen food manufacturer Sydney Cake House Sdn Bhd which took the second spot and mattress and beds manufacturer Goodnight Sdn Bhd which came in third.

The E50 Award, a mark of entrepreneurial excellence and which has attracted 1,673 participants and established an alumni of 511 companies so far, also placed facilities management services firm KFM Holdings Sdn Bhd and asset management services provider Sinar Jernih Sdn Bhd among the top 10 ten in its list.

Deloitte Malaysia Sdn Bhd Country Managing Partner Tan Theng Hooi said there has been an increase in awareness, understanding and initiatives taken by the companies to drive their branding strategies.

Tan said the winners were driven by clear branding strategies with in-depth understanding of their brand values.

"With clarity of their brand values, the winners have successfully promoted brand differentiation through active promotions and branding initiatives," he said in his speech during the 2012 Enterprise 50 Award Ceremony Friday evening.

The event was graced by International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.

Each winner received an award trophy and a certificate and was also automatically nominated for the Industry Excellence Award and the National Productivity Award.

Tan said the manufacturing industry recorded the highest participation of 38 per cent and half of the top 10 winners.

"An interesting observation to also note is the increase in nominations received from the services industry which has increased from two per cent last year to 25 per cent this year and some of them have performed very well," he said.

In terms of geographical spread, Selangor and Wilayah Persekutuan commanded the highest participation at 79 per cent of the total nominations received this year.

With regards to market presence, Tan said a change in the companies export mix where only 5.5 per cent of the companies have exported more than half of their products, as compared to 25 per cent last year.

Significantly, he added that 36 per cent of the companies recorded no exports.

"This is an interesting shift where the winners have now focused in the local markets tapping on the untapped market segments."

In coping with difficult economic situations, Tan said the top three actions taken by the winners were cost effective management, customer segmentation for better understanding of their needs and expectations and focus on investment that gave higher returns.

"We have seen the top 10 winners effectively work to improve these three areas whilst some of them also engaged in strategic partnerships and joint ventures to enhance competitiveness and increase revenues and earnings."

Tan said Deloitte worked with SME Corp in driving the E50 awards programme by providing end-to-end technical support, from the launch of the programme to finalising the 50 winners. It also provide detailed analysis and evaluation of the top 10 winners.

"This analysis and evaluation will provide guidance for the winners to better manage their businesses and boost their contribution towards the country's economic growth," he said in a statement.

The event was jointly organised by SME Corp Malaysia and Deloitte Malaysia, with support from partners namely RHB Bank Bhd, TM Bhd, Business Times, Media Prima Bhd and Malaysia SME.

The dinner was also attended by SME Corp Chairman Datuk Ir. Dr. Mohamed Al Amin Abdul Majid and SME Corp Chief Executive Officer Datuk Hafsah Hashim.

-- BERNAMA 

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