Malaysia is a highly developed economy facing strong competition from local brands, which are gaining market share from international counterparts. Global brands must navigate a diverse consumer landscape, with a significant Muslim population that influences buying preferences, especially in the personal care sector. The rise of e-commerce and digital marketing further complicates the market, presenting opportunities for brands that tailor their strategies to local cultural and religious nuances.

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Winning in Malaysia
Intelligence Applied
Asia Pacific
Malaysia has long been considered as one
of Asia’s most developed economies. But
while international brands have enjoyed a
relatively accessible and receptive market in
Malaysia for many years, they are coming
up against increasingly strong competition
from local brands.
Well known international brand Havaianas, for instance, is
being shouldered out of the market by local fashion brand
dFlipperslipper, which is also available overseas and is taking
market share.
Home-grown company Exabytes managed to anticipate demand
for web-services in the Malaysian market, which has made them
one of the leading providers of web-hosting services in the
country, as well as leading growth in Singapore and the USA. The
international expansion of these local brands strengthens their
position in the local market and will give them more ammunition
to keep big international organisations at a distance.
Another big challenge global brands are coming up against is
the need to target different ethnicities and religions in this highly
fragmented market. The Muslim Malay population make up
around 70% of consumers, who are growing in influence and
spending power. Around 20% are Chinese Malaysians – mostly
Buddhist – whilst the remaining 10% are made up of Christians
and Hindus. Clearly this calls for certain considerations when
creating brand campaigns.
For a predominantly Muslim population, brands need to ensure
they are aligned with traditional values around family, marriage
and culture. In the personal care industry there is a growing
demand for halal cosmetics, as shown by Sunsilk’s Clean &
Fresh variant. This was marketed specifically to hijab-wearing
Malaysian women and – unlike competitor brands – didn’t show
women flaunting their hairstyles.
Looking at different sectors, the FMCG industry is experiencing
rapid growth with local Malaysian brands more empowered
than ever before. South East Asian brand WIPRO UNZA is
challenging global brands with local products like Safi, special
skincare products to meet the needs of the modern Muslim
women, while Nestlé’s share of the market is being eroded by
the likes of IndoCafé and Kapal Api.

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Winning in Malaysia
About the author
Dan Foxman is head of Client Impact &
Expertise at TNS Malaysia, focusing on
delivering high-level expertise and impact
that enables clients to make better
marketing decisions. He has worked in
research for over 20 years in a number of markets including
the UK, China and Malaysia. Before moving into his current
role, Dan was part of the TNS Shopper practice, leading
expertise across the Asia Pacific region. regional roles across
both clients and geographies in APAC for shopper insight
work.
About TNS
TNS advises clients on specific growth strategies around new
market entry, innovation, brand switching and stakeholder
management, based on long-established expertise and
market-leading solutions. With a presence in over 80 countries,
TNS has more conversations with the world’s consumers than
anyone else and understands individual human behaviours and
attitudes across every cultural, economic and political region
of the world. TNS is part of Kantar, one of the world’s largest
insight, information and consultancy groups.
Please visit www.tnsglobal.com for more information.
With stiff competition from home-grown talent, multinationals
need to understand the local nuances to appeal to Malaysia’s
discerning consumer, who has a growing choice at their fingertips.
Malaysia is a highly connected market. Connected Life, TNS’s
annual report of 60,000 consumers, found that 95% of
Malaysia’s population now own a smartphone. The average
millennial (aged 16-24) spends 3.8 hours every day on their
phones – the equivalent of 1,241 hours a year – making this
age group a ripe target for digital marketing via social media or
instant messaging platforms.
One brand that has capitalised on this connectivity to make
a splash in the market is Nando’s, the South African chicken
restaurant, which has invested heavily in digital in recent years.
With plans to open 140 stores across Malaysia within the next
10 years, reaching a wider audience through Facebook and
other digital platforms will play a key part of this strategy.
The last year has also seen major developments in the
e-commerce market as home-grown brands adopt cash-on-
delivery payments. This has helped address concerns from wary
consumers about the safety and reliability of online payments.
Brands like Lazada – seen by many as the Asian equivalent of
Amazon – have capitalised on this, with latest figures suggesting
there are now over 7 million online shoppers in Malaysia. The
most popular online purchases are travel services (including
flights and accommodation), film tickets, fashion products and
consumer electronics.
There is no doubt that Malaysia is a complex
and increasingly sophisticated market, yet one
that offers significant returns for brands which
invest the time to tailor their campaigns to the
religious, cultural and personal preferences of
the local consumer.
Millenials spend 3.8 hrs
a day on phones
95% of Malaysia’s
population now
own a smartphone.