Turning KL into a 'mini Basel'
ONCE a year, some 1,800 companies from the watch, jewellery and precious-stone industries will gather in Basel to attend the Baselworld - The World Watch and Jewellery Show.
The annual event, which captures some 100,000 visitors from the specialist retail and wholesale trade, allows major watch and jewellery brands to showcase their prototypes and innovations for the upcoming seasons.
For Tan Sri Francis Yeoh Sock Ping - managing director of YTL Corp Bhd and also a frequent Baselworld visitor - the vision is to turn Kuala Lumpur into a "mini Basel", where it attracts luxury watch makers and principals, as well as jewellery designers to showcase their innovations and prototypes in Asia.
Yeoh believes the goal is reasonable as Kuala Lumpur is currently one of the preferred destinations for global watch brands.
"As retailers, I think Malaysia is strategically positioned to be a regional hub for major watch brands. As a hub, geographically, we are well-connected to China and all the big buyers.
"There's a growing trend of Asian buyers. So, why don't we make KL (Kuala Lumpur) a mini Basel, where the watch principals can showcase certain pieces at Starhill for the "A Journey Through Time" exhibition, make some of the prototypes here ... Most of the buyers are Asians, anyway," he said in an interview here recently.
Yeoh believes it is only a matter of time before Kuala Lumpur will turn into a "mini Basel". Last year, he managed to convince a watch maker to showcase its prototype during the A Journey Through Time exhibition.
"This year, I have managed to convince 10 brands so far," he added.
Besides being strategically located, Yeoh said cheap rentals in Kuala Lumpur's offer an advantage over places like Hong Kong or Singapore.
"Many years ago, we saw the trend of increasing Asian buyers for luxury watches, we also saw the trend of watch makers wanting a bigger presence in the region. So, we did a lot of homework and found that Malaysia can be the centre of all watches and give these watch brands a big home.
"So, we converted a department store - stripped it and dedicated two floors to luxury watches and jewellery.
"We began to attract many big brands and they were excited to have a mall owner with vision. They have always been wanting to exhibit their power and innovation in Asia, but the rentals in Asia are quite expensive.
"In Hong Kong, a sq ft for prime area can be above RM1,000. Here, they are only paying RM30 to RM40," explained Yeoh.
It is also due to low rentals that makes Kuala Lumpur one of the better margin operations.
"In terms of sales per sq ft, KL is the best. Meaning, KL may not sell more watches than Hong Kong, but because of the rent, it has the sales per sq ft efficiency - the margins are very good. So, with huge-enough volume, it makes it very viable for watch principals to invest here," he said.
This year, A Journey Through Time will be held at Starhill Gallery from November 22 to December 1, featuring major luxury brands such as Bedat & Co, Boucheron, Van Cleef & Arpels, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Carrera Y Carrera, Franck Muller, Richard Mille, Omega, Hublot, Mouawad and Maurice Lacroix.
Source : New Straits Times
Date : 15 October 2012
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