ONE ON ONEA TALK WITH ASSA ABLOYon unlocking new experience to a more open worldthrough innovative access solutionsSince its formation in 1994, ASSA ABLOY has grownfrom a regional supplier of mechanical locks tobecoming an international group with 48,000employees and operations in over 70 countries.Being a global leader in access solutions, ASSA ABLOYstands committed to delivering an extensive rangeof access solution products to satisfy the need forsecurity, safety, and convenience.B&I recently met with Mr Rex Pennefather, the GeneralManager of ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions Malaysia Sdn Bhd, whoshared his thoughts on Malaysia’s market trend and consumerbehaviour for smart door opening solutions.B&I: Can you give us a brief overview of your capacity as theGeneral Manager of ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions Malaysia SdnBhd?MR REX: ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions Malaysia is part ofthe greater China and Southeast Asian business unit of the ASSAABLOY Group. There are a total of eight countries in this businessunit, with a general manager or country director domiciled in eachcountry. For general managers like me, our core responsibilityinvolves overseeing all business elements namely full strategicplanning, P&L responsibility, channel strategy, stock anddistribution management, procurement, as well as supply chainand sales partnerships.The inner workings of our regional office are rather complex,but I am well supported by a strong team of managers who areresponsible for the many different facets of the business includingprojects and specifications, disruptive and innovative retailchannels, traditional, modern, and big box retail, distributionpartners, finance, supply chain and logistics. Currently, we haveabout 2,000 customers that we support and service in Malaysia.B&I: What are your views on Malaysia’s consumer behaviour forsmart home solutions?MR REX: I think Malaysia is poised for a great uptake insmart home solutions. As you may know, smart home solutionscover a wide range of products like digital door locks, smartwireless receivers, safes, CCTV and many others etc. One of thefundamental requirements to create a smart home environmentis a solid network infrastructural backbone, good connectivity andubiquitous phone coverage – Malaysia is well on its way to achievethis by strengthening its digital footprint. The country now hasseven internet service providers, a growing 5G network and thegovernment has recently launched national digital infrastructureplan, Jalinan Digital Negara (JENDELA), designed to steer thecountry towards greater digital connectivity by boosting theefficiency of the national infrastructure and optimising spectrumusage. In terms of demographics, Malaysia has around 77.2%urban population and 84% are under the age of 54. This is anexciting statistic for ASSA ABLOY, as these are considered the newgeneration of consumers with a growing appetite and willingnessto adopt to smart solutions.With these favourable facts in hand, we had expected greaterand earlier uptake of smart home solutions. Although we areseeing uptakes in larger, upscale residential and commercialprojects, there has been a lesser response from the typical privatehomeowners. I think one of the stumbling blocks in Malaysia ison the income bracket. For example, in 2019, it was reportedthat Malaysia’s average salary was RM3,224 and the median wasRM2,442 – this is comparatively lower than the neighbouringcountries in the region like Singapore and Hong Kong. As a result,smart home solutions are an expensive investment since they areusually priced upwards of RM1,000 per product.Even though the country is still in the early adopter phase webelieve with a proper financial model and easy pay type schemeswe could drive volumetric uptake of these offerings. I believepeople 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-rangeproducts into the market ensuring greater accessibility of thesesolutions to the general population helping to improve theirsecurity, safety, and convenience.B&I: What are your projections on Malaysia’s door openingsolutions market, in view of COVID-19 pandemic and the currenteconomic situation?MR REX: Like most other industries globally, the Malaysianconstruction sector took a large knock because of the COVID-19pandemic. While there were hopes and expectations that we’ll berecovering in Q1 2021, the sudden spike of infections in January20 Mar-Apr 2021 | www.b-i.biz
Mr Rex Pennefather,General Manager of ASSA ABLOYOpening Solutions Malaysia Sdn Bhd.Mar-Apr 2021 | www.b-i.biz 21
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