Building Investment (March-April 2021)

ONE ON ONE
A TALK WITH ASSA ABLOY
on unlocking new experience to a more open world
through innovative access solutions
Since its formation in 1994, ASSA ABLOY has grown
from a regional supplier of mechanical locks to
becoming an international group with 48,000
employees and operations in over 70 countries.
Being a global leader in access solutions, ASSA ABLOY
stands committed to delivering an extensive range
of access solution products to satisfy the need for
security, safety, and convenience.
B&I recently met with Mr Rex Pennefather, the General
Manager of ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions Malaysia Sdn Bhd, who
shared his thoughts on Malaysia’s market trend and consumer
behaviour for smart door opening solutions.
B&I: Can you give us a brief overview of your capacity as the
General Manager of ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions Malaysia Sdn
Bhd?
MR REX: ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions Malaysia is part of
the greater China and Southeast Asian business unit of the ASSA
ABLOY Group. There are a total of eight countries in this business
unit, with a general manager or country director domiciled in each
country. For general managers like me, our core responsibility
involves overseeing all business elements namely full strategic
planning, P&L responsibility, channel strategy, stock and
distribution management, procurement, as well as supply chain
and sales partnerships.
The inner workings of our regional office are rather complex,
but I am well supported by a strong team of managers who are
responsible for the many different facets of the business including
projects and specifications, disruptive and innovative retail
channels, traditional, modern, and big box retail, distribution
partners, finance, supply chain and logistics. Currently, we have
about 2,000 customers that we support and service in Malaysia.
B&I: What are your views on Malaysia’s consumer behaviour for
smart home solutions?
MR REX: I think Malaysia is poised for a great uptake in
smart home solutions. As you may know, smart home solutions
cover a wide range of products like digital door locks, smart
wireless receivers, safes, CCTV and many others etc. One of the
fundamental requirements to create a smart home environment
is a solid network infrastructural backbone, good connectivity and
ubiquitous phone coverage – Malaysia is well on its way to achieve
this by strengthening its digital footprint. The country now has
seven internet service providers, a growing 5G network and the
government has recently launched national digital infrastructure
plan, Jalinan Digital Negara (JENDELA), designed to steer the
country towards greater digital connectivity by boosting the
efficiency of the national infrastructure and optimising spectrum
usage. In terms of demographics, Malaysia has around 77.2%
urban population and 84% are under the age of 54. This is an
exciting statistic for ASSA ABLOY, as these are considered the new
generation of consumers with a growing appetite and willingness
to adopt to smart solutions.
With these favourable facts in hand, we had expected greater
and earlier uptake of smart home solutions. Although we are
seeing uptakes in larger, upscale residential and commercial
projects, there has been a lesser response from the typical private
homeowners. I think one of the stumbling blocks in Malaysia is
on the income bracket. For example, in 2019, it was reported
that Malaysia’s average salary was RM3,224 and the median was
RM2,442 – this is comparatively lower than the neighbouring
countries in the region like Singapore and Hong Kong. As a result,
smart home solutions are an expensive investment since they are
usually priced upwards of RM1,000 per product.
Even though the country is still in the early adopter phase we
believe with a proper financial model and easy pay type schemes
we could drive volumetric uptake of these offerings. I believe
people are willing to switch to smart home solutions and therefore,
these products should be more widely available to everyone.
ASSA ABLOY is currently in the midst of offering more lower-range
products into the market ensuring greater accessibility of these
solutions to the general population helping to improve their
security, safety, and convenience.
B&I: What are your projections on Malaysia’s door opening
solutions market, in view of COVID-19 pandemic and the current
economic situation?
MR REX: Like most other industries globally, the Malaysian
construction sector took a large knock because of the COVID-19
pandemic. While there were hopes and expectations that we’ll be
recovering in Q1 2021, the sudden spike of infections in January
20 Mar-Apr 2021 | www.b-i.biz