1. Rattan Furniture
Maker
Penang

2. Wang Wei Ming, Chinese, 68 ears old

3. Hap Seng Rottan
Location : Lebuh Armenium
Type of Business : Rottan & Bamboo Furniture Maker
Operations Hours : 8.00am - 5.00pm, weekdays
History : 3rd Generation and since 1920s

5. What Service?
•Fix rattan seat / rattan made furniture
•Self-made rattan & bamboo furniture
•Sell rattan & bamboo furniture
•Focus on big furniture like chair and table

7. About Owner
•Wang Wei Ming, 3rd generation
•Started on furniture making since young
•Was the first few bamboo & rattan furniture shop

8. Up & Down
•1980s, Maximum 20 workers
•1990s, China made furniture started occupy
market
•1990s late, Plastic made furniture introduced
•2000s, market full of factory made furniture, other
shop transform into furniture retail shops
•Now, left only him and his wife running the
business

9. Fun Facts
• Most of the product sell to tourist
• Rich people like to design their own furniture and
ask them to make it
• Is more like a traditional handmade gift than a
furniture
• Never need to do advertisement
• Male youngster surprisingly the main customer

11. Issues

12. Competition
• Mainly from China
• Have been its strength in the global economy
• China is the giant producer and manufacturer of bamboo
products
• Well-known – monopolize the bamboo industry
• Neglected
• More number of people involved in this industry in China

13. Efficiency
• Low production speed as compared to the mechanized
mass-produced furniture
• Most do not appreciate the sacrifices needed to produce
perfection
• Much like everything else in the modern lifestyle – food,
transport, internet
• Preferred speed and convenient
• Lack of human resources
• Old age – lower efficiency

14. Resource
• Cost increased – harder to get resource – less
people harvesting bamboo
• Bad quality – poor environment affects growth of
bamboo
• Generally has a low natural durability
• Highly susceptible to attack by wood-boring
beetles when untreated

15. Resource
• Not favourable when there are more durable
material available – timber and metal
• Variation in wall thickness present difficulties in
standardization of material
• When aesthetic qualites is ignored, there is no
need to use bamboo products

16. Globalization
• Slowly facing extinction – eliminated
• Emergence of better alternative
• Treat as a piece of traditional art – rather than a
furniture
• Youth doesn’t see the value of these traditional
products
• No demand
• Need constant proper maintenance – undesirable
characteristic – busy lifestyle – nobody wants to

17. Globalization
• Need constant proper maintenance – undesirable
characteristic – busy lifestyle – nobody wants to
spend time on these maintenance
• Sophisticated skills required – difficult – not many
people willing to learn and make a living out of it

19. Strategies
• Create better quality furniture
• With better looking design
- to attract people to buy it,
- which will bring in new costumer
- and will be accepted in today’s market.

21. Strategies
• Give free classes or internship
-
to people who wants to learn the art of making furniture
• With giving out internship,
- you can bring it people to work
-
for you to create new furniture
•
At the same you can find someone younger
-
with new ideas to help run the business

22. Strategies
• Find better quality bamboo
• Or find a cheaper product
-
-
such as metal and create something using metal and
bamboo
to reduce the cost of production