 
|
| Supportive family:
Ms Seet poses for a picture with her proud husband Michael Ng and
daughters Vivien and Charlyn at the Singapore Business Awards press
conference. She is only the second woman to clinch a trophy in the
23-year history of the awards |
She said a triple whammy - the yuan
appreciation against the US dollar, the lower tax export rebate and higher
labour cost - has made it very hard to operate in China, particularly for
textile exporters.
'When the US dollar depreciates against the
yuan, it is very hard to survive as margins are very slim,' said Ms Seet,
chief executive of Beijing Smart Garments.
The US dollar has depreciated about 8 per
cent against the yuan from a year ago.
In addition, Beijing has reduced the 13 per
cent rebate tax for exporters to 9 per cent and is looking to further slash it
as part of measures to shrink the US trade deficit with China, she said.
Then there is the Labour Law Reform which
imposes a minimum wage for workers plus other regulations which has increased
wage costs at least 12-15 per cent, said Ms Seet.
The tough measures are hard especially on
contract manufacturers, she said. 'We have to value add, like offer designs,'
said Ms Seet who is also the chairman of the Singapore Chamber of Commerce and
Industry in China.
For Beijing Smart Garments, it has also
switched to selling in euros to its customers in Europe and in Australian
dollars to its clients Down Under. On the impact on Singaporean-owned
factories operating in China, Ms Seet said they may not be affected as badly
as the local exporters. 'Singapore companies are more law abiding, they'll be
better cushioned because they have already been complying with regulations,'
said Ms Seet, the 2007 winner of the Outstanding Chief Executive (Overseas)
award.
Ms Seet is only the second woman to clinch
a trophy in the 23-year history of the Singapore Business Awards. Olivia Lum
of Hyflux won the Businessperson of the Year award in 2005.
Working in Beijing since 1995, Ms Seet said
it was a very difficult decision then as her two daughters were young - aged
five and 14.
In addition, she knew no one and was not
familiar with the culture. 'China was not what it is now and it was very
foreign to me, especially when Chinese was not a language I was fluent in. I
had no friends, nor colleagues whom I knew well. The main consideration was
for the family business to survive,' said Ms Seet.
Her proud husband Michael Ng and daughters
Vivien and Charlyn were at yesterday's Singapore Business Awards press
conference.
'Honestly I never realised she was that
capable,' said Mr Ng. He said the decision to send his wife to Beijing in 1994
was because of her experience in running the family's retail outlets in
Singapore, China Silk House, which subsequently closed down.
Ms Seet is now looking forward to list
Beijing Smart Garments in Singapore in two to three years' time.
The company is a joint venture between Ms
Seet's family and the Shunyi Municipal Government.
It has more than 2,800 staff producing some
1.5 million suits a year and exporting to more than 15 countries. It also
operates about 100 retail outlets in China. Last year, Beijing Smart Garments
posted sales of 400 million yuan (S$78.7 million) and profits of 17 million
yuan. - 2008 April
1 BUSINESS
TIMES
Sewing up the family
business
Dorothy Seet, the Outstanding Chief/Senior
Executive (Overseas) for 2007, is only the second woman to clinch a trophy in
the 23-year history of the Singapore Business Awards.
|
| Ms Seet: With
a staff strength of 3,000, BSG currently produces about 1.2 million
suits a year for brands such as Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and Burberry |
Ms Seet, general manager of Beijing Smart
Garments (BSG), is used to blazing trails. When she left home 14 years ago for
Beijing to help in the family business, it was her husband and their two young
daughters who stayed in Singapore. Although Singaporean mothers do work
overseas, they are a small minority.
Initially, Ms Seet was in Beijing to start
a women's line for BSG, a joint venture with the Shunyi county government
which had been set up in 1985 by her in-laws.
So well did the smaller unit perform that
when the parent company ran into problems a few years later, she was promoted
to its general manager.
'When I took over in 1999, the company was
facing one of its worst years,' says Ms Seet.
BSG had a net loss of 10 million yuan
(S$1.97 million), an unstable staff situation, and debtors were chasing for
payment, recounts Ms Seet.
'At that point in time, BSG also had
non-core business investments in food outlets, advertising, etc. These
businesses were also facing financial losses. There was a tremendous effort
undertaken to streamline the operations, do away with all non-core businesses
and gradually bring the company back to financial health,' she says.
BSG began its climb back into the black and
in 2004 reported a profit of 10 million yuan on a turnover of 280 million yuan.
By 2007, profits had risen to 17 million yuan and turnover was 400 million
yuan.
While the going had been tough, it hadn't
been without rewards.
In 2006, BSG was honoured with the 'China
Well-Known Trademark' as well as the 'Beijing Famous Brand' awards.
'This is recognition of the company's
achievement in the garment industry. There are no more than 200 clothing
companies nationwide that are given this recognition as there are stringent
conditions required to qualify,' notes Ms Seet. It came with a prize of 3.5
million yuan, tax free.
With a staff strength of 3,000, BSG
currently produces about 1.2 million suits a year for brands such as Ralph
Lauren, Calvin Klein and Burberry. Its biggest export market is Japan followed
by Europe and the US. In 2005, it churned out 800,000 suits.
BSG has also gone into retailing. Domestic
sales used to make up about 30 per cent of the total; this has since grown to
40 per cent. BSG is targeting 50 per cent in domestic sales, tapping China's
growing middle class.
It now has 88 shops across China and
expects to add another 17 this year selling under two brands - Roma and Smart.
Of these, about 10 per cent are franchised outlets.
Ms Seet says the company is working on
developing its franchise programme and aims to have 50 franchised outlets in
the next 18 months. Sales for the domestic market are about 150 million yuan.
As the business grows BSG had explored
setting up production in Vietnam but decided that conditions would not suit
its stringent quality control.
Instead, it turned to outsourcing with
'cooperative factories'. Under this model BSG is responsible for technical
support as well as the management system of the production plant but does not
fund the capital investment for the factories.
Ms Seet is poised to take BSG to the next
stage, seeking a public listing in Singapore within the next two years.
'The company is growing at a steady pace
and the domestic market has great potential for further growth,' she says.
What has been the hardest part of the last
14 years?
Being away from her daughters, she says. 'I
must admit I did miss their growing up years and sometimes still have regrets.
I am fortunate that the two girls grew up well and that helped my decision to
continue to work in China,' Ms Seet says.
'In the beginning, it was extremely
difficult for me emotionally as both girls were young. We would hold each
other and cry our hearts out every time we had to part,' she adds.
Her daughters are now grown - Vivien is 28
and Charlyn, 20. Vivien got married last year and Charlyn is now in Melbourne
University doing her final year in media.
Everyone has to strike a balance and make
sacrifices at some point in life, Ms Seet says. She has had to balance her
life travelling between home in Singapore and work in China as well as other
business trips.
'If I had not taken the decision to
continue with the business and protect the 'family' investment, BSG may not be
around anymore,' she says.
- 2008 April 1 BUSINESS
TIMES
