Eng research report

Textile Industry
______________________________
English 2 (ENGL 0205)
Report
Ooi Zhi-Qian
Vicky Lee Wei Kee
Tan Jessie
Choong Qi Xie
Augustine Chen Keen Hoe

0313999
0313317
0313552
0313362
0314175

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FNBE JAN 2013 - ENGL 0205 English 2 | OOI ZHI-QIAN, VICKY LEE WEI KEE, TAN JESSIE, CHOONG QI XIE &
AUGUSTINE CHEN KEEN HOE

Content
1.

Research Proposal
1.1
Introduction
1.1.1 The Research Location
1.1.2 The Group
1.1.3 The Topic
1.2
Research Questions:
1.2.1 General Questions
1.2.2 Advertising
1.2.3 Technology
1.2.4 Human Resources
1.2.5 Competition
1.2.6 Business Productivity
1.3
Methodology
1.3.1 Interview
1.3.2 References
1.3.3 Meetings
1.4
Conclusion

2.

Research Essay

3.

Bibliography

4.

Appendix
4.1
Meeting Minutes
4.2
Shop Details
4.2.1 Owner Profiles
4.2.2 Company Cards
4.2.3 Interior and Exterior View

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Research Proposal
1.1

Introduction

1.1.1 The Research Location
Klang Valley, also known as Greater Kuala Lumpur is known to be one of the most
populated and heartland of industries in our country. This area consists of different
industries such as textiles, food, jewellry and many more. Each of these industries has
many different branches in different states of our country.
1.1.2 The Group
Our research group consists of five members and we are Vicky Lee Wei Kee,
Ooi Zhi-Qian, Tan Jessie, Choong Qi Xie and Augustine Chen Keen Hoe. We are all
from the same tutorial class that starts from 2.00pm to 4.00pm on every Monday under
our English lecturer, Mr. Nathaniel Woon Wai Cheong.
1.1.3 The Topic
Our group has decided to do a research on three different businesses of textile industry.
The selected shops for this research are Gulati’s, Madras and Kamdar. Each of these
shops are known as one of the biggest businesses in this industry. Each of them have their
own branches in every state of our country. We have picked a research location and that
is in Klang Valley.

1.2
Research Questions
1.2.1 General Questions
a. Who is the owner of the company?
b. What made the owner thought of starting a business?
c. How did the business start?
d. When was the business started?
e. Where was the first shop or headquarter of the brand?
f. What is the type of business? Family? Partnership? Individual? Etc.
g. How many branches are there? What are the locations of the branches?
h. How far did the business go? Locally or worldwide?
i. Where did the products come from? Locally or oversea?
1.2.2 Advertising
a. Has the shop done any advertisement to promote their products to the people?
b. How was the new product of the company being advertised to the people?
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c. Was there any difficulties in advertising the products of the company?
1.2.3 Technology
a. Is there any advanced technology being used in the shop?
b. Are the technologies used up to date?
1.2.4 Human Resources
a. How many workers are employed in the shop?
b. Who are the workers? Does the owner of the shop only accepts workers of the same
race or more than one?
c. How are the workers? Are they normally hardworking or lazy in work?
d. How much are the workers being paid for their monthly salary?
1.2.5 Competition
a. Was there any competitors around the area?
b. Who are the competitors around the area?
c. How did the company deal with their competitors?
d. Did any of the competitors affect the company’s sales and other progress?
1.2.6 Business Productivity
a. Has the company’s business been successful throughout all these years?
b. Which product is known as best seller? How many of that product was being sold?
c. Which product is the opposite? How did the company overcome it?

1.3
Methodology
1.3.1 Interview
The interviews was held during Deepavali holiday. The interviews between the
owner/manager/supervisor and our group were held in person. The interviews were
requested on that day instead of making appointments with the person-in-charge the day
before the interview. Each of the group members were given an individual task in every
interviews such as asking the questions, recording the whole interview and taking
pictures of the shop and its products. In each of the interviews, we started off by asking
for the owner/manager/supervisor/person-in-charge and requested for an interview with
that person. We would introduce ourselves to the person-in-charge and explain to them
that the interview was only for assignment purpose and no personal informations will be
shared to the public in respect for the company’s privacy. After getting the approval to
have an interview regarding to the company, we would first started off by asking a few
general questions and then the personal details of the company. In the end of each
interviews, we would also request for their business cards. After the day trip in Klang
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Valley, one of our members who was in charge of the recording would change it to
transcripts and the informations from the transcripts were all applied into the research
essay.
1.3.2 References
The references related to the textile industry and the companies selected to be
interviewed by our group are put into the report to support our interview as evidence. We
first did a few rough research on the companies selected in the internet before going for
the interviews during the Deepavali break. We have always looked for more reference to
have a better understanding after the interviews to apply in our research essay.
1.3.3 Meetings
A few group meetings were held in our campus as it is the most convenient place to
gather everyone for the meeting. The details of the meetings were all recorded in Meeting
Minutes that was prepared by our English lecturer to keep up our planning progress for
this research. When it is inconvenient for all of us to gather and meet up to discuss, we
would hold our meetings online on our Facebook group and we even created a group chat
on Whatsapp in case some of our members can’t receive any notifications online. These
are also the ways for our members to share our own ideas and informations received in
our individual research.

1.4

Conclusion
Our research group hope to learn more and understand the businesses that we have
selected in the textile industry in our country. We are sure that we will be able to study
further regarding the textile informations and get to know more about the history behind
the companies chosen for this research assignment through the interviews we had with
the person-in-charge of the shops. Also, the group meetings will help us to catch up our
research progress to compile all the summed up informations in this research. Lastly, we
will also be able to have a strong understanding in the industry and to support our
understanding through the references found.

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Research Essay
For years and decades, the textile industry has blossomed like wildfire around the city
area as well as the suburbs. Varying from race and distinguishable by culture, the textile business
is more than what meets the eye (Statistics of Malaysian Textile Industry). Before I started this
research, I always thought, “Textile industries are just stores who traded clothing material.” Have
you ever thought of anything similar before? By doing the research that we did, we were able to
find out just how wrong that idea was. However, it’s hard to find something as simple and yet as
diverse in culture as the textile industry. Although similar, many businesses which seem to share
a lot in common actually don’t. Based on our research, we picked out 2 shops that seem really
similar, but only at first glance. They’ve both aslo refused to tell us their main competition for
privacy reasons. We have chosen to use the Sikh (Gulati’s Silk House) and the Indian (Madras)
textile businesses as examples, to contrast just how much difference a similar textile business can
have. The main focal points of contrast are between the history of the store, the range of products
of the store, and the methods of how the stores carry out their business.

Madras and Gulati’s Silk House (Gulati’s) have both been in the business for more than
25 years, where Madras was originally opened as a store to help earn extra income for the
family. The original owner was the current shop owner’s mother. She started while she was very
young and her brother soon took over the business. Currently, all the siblings from the owner’s
generation are taking care of the store. Since it was only a small store when it opened, there were
very limited supplies, and as such the business used to sell other products (ie. food and

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cassettes), but over time slowly focused more on textiles. They upgraded their business slowly
and steadily until it reached its current magnitude, where it has found great success.

The Gulati’s business on the other hand, started in a different manner when compared to
the Madras business. Instead of originally being an alternative income source to help support the
family, the owner of Gulati’s began with the intent of becoming the lead producer of textiles in
the local market as there were few competitors in the earlier years of its inception. The Gulati’s
business had the added advantage of having a family friend who was previously experienced
with the textile industry, and helped build the reputation it now owns. Overtime, the Gulatis
business became large enough to expand to a larger market with a larger set of customers.

This veteran populated industry can be challenging for any newcomers to the industry as
other businesses already have an average head start of 20 years in terms of business experience.
They will have to overcome these already experienced business people and without proper
advise, they will most likely never get very far in the business and most end up failing months
after starting the business. What any newcomer can do, is learn from businesses such as these
(Young CEOs say entrepreneurs should learn from others' mistakes, 2013). When we learn from
others, we don’t put ourselves at risk of losing anything. Furthermore, we also pick up the
weaknesses of other businesses around thus providing you with additional info to implement to
your business for better success over the area. Doing this will surely help in making sure your
business doesn’t fail.

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Besides that, a clear difference in product range between the two companies can clearly
be seen when looked at carefully. When Madras started, they only sold cheaper products such as
polyester. These products used very basic prints for the designs. The product range then was
truly limited. Now, they’ve grown to have a much wider and definitely more diverse design and
material choice for their saris and textiles. From cotton, polyester and chiffons, to pure silk, they
have it all. The popular ones however are the casual wear, the chiffons and the cotton, that make
the bulk of the sales. For special events like Deepavali and weddings however, most prefer to
buy pure silk. The material pricing can range from RM15 to a whopping RM10,000. These
prices are for our premium stock, which is made out or pure silk and gold plated silver tread.
“We don’t put these products up for sale because it is very valuable. If people are looking for it,
they will come and find us for it.” Says shop Madras shop owner Latchumi Veeran. According to
her, if you were to sell this back to India, it would fetch the same price because of the gold.

Gulati’s however had a similarly different history. It started with cheap materials and
simple designs too but as mentioned before, they had help so they knew how to conduct the
textile business and did not focus their products on other things besides textiles. Their products
now range from cotton, polyester, chiffons and pure silk. The usual products customers want are
the polyester and chiffons. Again, pure silk is usually reserved for special occasion. Although
similar in terms of materials, their designs vary as do their price ranges. Products range from
RM30 to RM 5,000. These high end products, including products made from Italian Pure Silk,
are usually for VIPs or personal orders.

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When examined, these two shops have different varieties of products because of their
customers. To suit the need and to compete with the other businesses, they try to get unique
textiles to provide customers with choices that other stores do not. Madras for example provides
gold plated Saris straight from India. No other store can compete with that and that’s how they
get more customers, regular and new. Gulati’s takes a different approach by prioritizing the
VIPs. So far, both of the companies have been doing well with their current business.

The methods they use to carry out this business is also important. As the founder of
Madras came about to start the business, it was very tough. She was a very young widow and she
had mouths to feed. She just went with what she felt was right and through trial, error and
experience, she has carried the business to what it is today. Now, in addition to selling textiles
and saris, Madras takes in custom orders. They have their own personal tailors, ages 20 to 50.
The time it takes to fulfil these custom orders depends on season. Normally, it takes only an hour
or two to get it done. This isn’t the case if it’s during Deepavali or Thaipusam. Because there are
too many customers, they can’t get it done within the normal time frame of one to two hours,
unless you are in an urgent rush. In terms of competition, they do have a lot, but Madras feels no
pressure as they have their own selection of textiles. As it is unique, it is only available here.
Besides that, they also have regular customers and some have been regulars for as long as 30
years. Even the 3rd generation which includes the grandmother, the mother and the daughter, are
still buying from them. Their priority on regulars are so strong that even Australians come back
to buy from them when they re-visit Malaysia. In terms of advertisements, they do not advertise
regularly. The only time they advertise is during Deepavali through the radio or Tamil
newspapers. Their business hours are from 9am to 10pm.
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In contrast to that, Gulati’s started off though and held through till now but they don’t
focus more on regulars as much as Madras. Although they do have regulars and the business is
quite stable, they are constantly trying to get more people to come to their store. In Gulati’s point
of view, getting more customers is more important than concentrating on regulars. As they are
trying to get unique textiles to attract new customers, they get new customers every day. This
helps spread the news faster and more efficiently. Basically, when more customers know, more
news spreads. The advertisement through word of mouth is almost exponential. There are on
some cases where Americans and Chinese from mainland China who come and buy materials
from their store. Recently, there have been customers from Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia as
well (Customers Opt For Plain Designs In Bright Colours, 203). The store’s working hours are
from 10am to 9pm.

There are many factors that affect how well a business does. Although Madras and
Gulati’s both run a monopolistic business by having no total control over the market price and
having consumers compare the prices, they do have their differences (Monopolistic Competition,
2013). Madras has taken a more personal approach to the business. Giving your customers a
fantastic experience when they visit your store is a sure way to get a good reputation and boost
future clientele (Harper, 2011). With this, they feel almost no threat to the business as they have
already established a well-known name and they have many regular customers. Gulati’s on the
other hand, focuses more on getting new customers to broaden their influence. The amount of
people who know them are increasing every day. Though they do have regulars, it is not their
main interest. The amount of competition in the area is extreme and both stores has come up with
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their own ways to fight the competition. Even if it’s individual efforts in improving the business,
a little can help a lot (SE Asia's Top Textile Market Seeks to Clean Up Its Act, 2013).

There are always companies opening up every day and even though they are just another
Christmas ornament being hung up on the same tree, each ornament has their differences. Each
individual business has their ups and down and the various ways they deal with their business.
Madras has their business at the top of the food chain with them being one of the oldest textiles
in Malaysia. Gulati’s has their ever flowing stream of new customers to support and spread the
news about their store. Both businesses are companies with unique tactics and strategies to do
their best in the industry.

Based on our group research however, we have found that Madras is the more successful
business of the two. As the textile industry carries culture as well as business (Rosmah: Textile
Symbol of Art and Heritage , 2012; Textile Techniques, 2013; Textile Treasures, 2008). Madras
focuses more on the regulars all the while getting new customers to come (Gersdorff, 2004).
Because they focused on the regulars, they got enough profit to expand and enhance the business
so much so that other newer customers are basically drawn in naturally without much effort from
Madras. Secondly, Madras offers custom services. This is an extra step Madras has taken to
further enhance their customer range and reputation as a textile business. The custom service
would make the customers happy and pass good words about the place and their customer
service (Gersdorff, 2004). This in itself is all Madras needs in terms of advertisement. Cost and
time is saved as Madras only needs to advertise once or twice per year. Besides that, this mix of

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customer priority, customer relations, cost saving, strategic planning, and the sheer amount of
experience the owners of Madras has makes it a giant in Malaysian textile industry.

Our group’s suggestion would to the two businesses is to let go of certain beliefs. The
two businesses tend to hold on to certain things too tightly. Madras has their business going well
the way it is but why not try something new for a change ? Gulati’s is also at fault as they do not
try to focus on their regulars more. Textiles aren’t something you buy and use once, so why not
focus on regulars so people come back for more when they’ve been satisfied with your service
for all the time they’ve been using your product? Basically speaking, Gulati’s and Madras needs
to swap sides for a while to see what is on the other sides. Besides that, they can petition for the
government to help out. Recently, the industry hasn’t been blooming as it did in the past (Textile
Industry in Quandary, 2012 ). They could get a lot more customers and maybe even another
establishment just to cater to the new range of customers.

MADRAS

GULATI’S

Started to help out family, needed extra income Started with intent on going far in the business
Had standard materials, gold plated ones for

Had standard materials, pure Italian silk for

special customers, RM15 – RM10,000

special customers, RM30 – RM5,000

Focused on regulars, seldom advertised, has

Focused on new customers, has no tailors,

tailors for custom orders, operates from 9AM

operates from 10AM to 9PM

to 10PM

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References
Textile Treasures. (6 December, 2008). The Star: Travel. The Star Newspaper.
Textile Industry in Quandary. (12 April, 2012 ). The Star: Archive. The Star Newspaper.
Rosmah: Textile Symbol of Art and Heritage . (18 April, 2012). The Star: Nation. The Star
Newspaper.
Monopolistic Competition. (2013). Retrieved 27 November, 2013, from Investopedia:
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/monopolisticmarket.asp
SE Asia's Top Textile Market Seeks to Clean Up Its Act. (3 November, 2013). The Star:
Regional. The Star Newspaper.
Textile Techniques. (10 March, 2013). The Star: Women. The Star Newspaper.
Young CEOs say entrepreneurs should learn from others' mistakes. (18 October, 2013).
Retrieved 26 November, 2013, from Boston Business Journal:
http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/blog/startups/2013/10/young-ceos-say-entrepreneursshould.html
Customers Opt For Plain Designs In Bright Colours. (11 July, 203). The Star: Nation. The Star
Newspaper.
Gersdorff, S. D. (8 November, 2004). Rely on the regulars. Retrieved 27 November, 2013, from
Crain's Chicago Business:
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20041106/ISSUE02/100022517/rely-on-theregulars
Harper, P. (2011). How to delight your customers: Get persona. Retrieved 23 November, 2013,
from Microsoft Business: http://www.microsoft.com/business/enus/resources/marketing/customer-service-acquisition/how-to-delight-your-customers-getpersonal.aspx?fbid=b3hSiWyGssL
Statistics of Malaysian Textile Industry. (n.d.). Retrieved 20 November, 2013, from Malaysian
Knitting Manufacturers Association: http://www.sabah.edu.my/fan/stats1.htm

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Bibliography
Textile Treasures. (6 December, 2008). The Star: Travel. The Star Newspaper.
Textile Industry in Quandary. (12 April, 2012 ). The Star: Archive. The Star Newspaper.
Rosmah: Textile Symbol of Art and Heritage . (18 April, 2012). The Star: Nation. The Star
Newspaper.
Monopolistic Competition. (2013). Retrieved 27 November, 2013, from Investopedia:
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/monopolisticmarket.asp
SE Asia's Top Textile Market Seeks to Clean Up Its Act. (3 November, 2013). The Star:
Regional. The Star Newspaper.
Textile Techniques. (10 March, 2013). The Star: Women. The Star Newspaper.
Young CEOs say entrepreneurs should learn from others' mistakes. (18 October, 2013).
Retrieved 26 November, 2013, from Boston Business Journal:
http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/blog/startups/2013/10/young-ceos-say-entrepreneursshould.html
Customers Opt For Plain Designs In Bright Colours. (11 July, 203). The Star: Nation. The Star
Newspaper.
Gersdorff, S. D. (8 November, 2004). Rely on the regulars. Retrieved 27 November, 2013, from
Crain's Chicago Business:
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20041106/ISSUE02/100022517/rely-on-theregulars
Harper, P. (2011). How to delight your customers: Get persona. Retrieved 23 November, 2013,
from Microsoft Business: http://www.microsoft.com/business/enus/resources/marketing/customer-service-acquisition/how-to-delight-your-customers-getpersonal.aspx?fbid=b3hSiWyGssL
Statistics of Malaysian Textile Industry. (n.d.). Retrieved 20 November, 2013, from Malaysian
Knitting Manufacturers Association: http://www.sabah.edu.my/fan/stats1.htm

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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Appendix
4.1

Meeting Minutes

Meeting Title: Discussion on the Research Project
[Meeting Date]
24/10/2013

Minutes

[Meeting Time]
4pm

MEETING CALLED BY

Ooi Zhi-Qian

TYPE OF MEETING

[Meeting Location]
LT 10

Discussion on the research project

FACILITATOR
NOTE TAKER

Vicky Lee Wei Kee

TIMEKEEPER

Choong Qi Xie

ATTENDEES

Vicky Lee Wei Kee, Ooi Zhi-Qian, Choong Qi Xie, Tan Jessie and
Augustine Chen

Agenda topics
[Time allotted]
4.15pm

[Agenda topic]
Decide on which textile shops to go

[Presenter]
Vicky
Lee

Discuss on which textile shops we are going to interview, whether in Malacca or
the Klang Valley. And
also deciding on whether to do comparison of textile business in Malacca and the Klang
Valley.
DISCUSSION

CONCLUSIONS

After some discussion, all of us decided to conduct our interviews in the Klang
Valley because not all of

our group members going for the Malacca trip.

ACTION ITEMS

PERSON RESPONSIBLE

All of us will be going to conduct all three interviews in
the Klang Valley.

DEADLINE

All group members

_________________________________________________________________________________________

[Time allotted]
4.30pm

[Agenda topic]
decide on the locations of textile
shops

[Presenter]
Vicky
Lee

DISCUSSION

To decide which locations to conduct the interviews.

CONCLUSIONS

After doing some research, everyone agreed to do all 3 interviews in Masjid
Jamek as there are many

textile shops around that area and decided to conduct the interview during the Deepavali
Break.

ACTION ITEMS

PERSON RESPONSIBLE

DEADLINE

All group members will be going to Masjid Jamek to
do the interview except Jessie.

The rest of the
members except
Jessie.

3th-10th
Nov 2013

[Time allotted]
4.45pm

[Agenda topic]
Decide on which textile shops in
Masjid Jamek to go

[Presenter]
Vicky
Lee

DISCUSSION

Decide on which textile shops in Masjid Jamek to go.

CONCLUSIONS

After searching in the Internet, Jane Ooi listed out a few textile shops which we
can go to conduct the

Interviews, they are Nagoya, Madras, Kamdar, Gulati’s and etc.

ACTION ITEMS

PERSON RESPONSIBLE

Everyone will be going together to conduct the
interviews one by one.

All group members

[Time allotted]

[Agenda topic]

DEADLINE

[Presenter]

DISCUSSION

_________________________________________________________________________________________

CONCLUSIONS

ACTION ITEMS

[Time allotted]

PERSON RESPONSIBLE

[Agenda topic]

DEADLINE

[Presenter]

DISCUSSION

CONCLUSIONS

ACTION ITEMS

PERSON RESPONSIBLE

DEADLINE

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Meeting Title: Discussion on Conducting Interviews
[Meeting Date]
31/10/2013

Minutes

[Meeting Time]
1.00pm

MEETING CALLED BY

Ooi Zhi-Qian

TYPE OF MEETING

[Meeting Location]
247

Discussion on Conducting Interviews

FACILITATOR
NOTE TAKER

Vicky Lee Wei Kee

TIMEKEEPER

Choong Qi Xie

ATTENDEES

Vicky Lee Wei Kee, Ooi Zhi-Qian, Choong Qi Xie, Tan Jessie and
Augustine Chen

Agenda topics
[Time allotted]
12.10pm
DISCUSSION

[Agenda topic]
Decide on the date and time to
conduct the interview.

[Presenter]
Vicky
Lee

All group members discuss about their schedules during the Deepavali Holiday
and set a date in which

All of us are free to go to conduct the interviews.

CONCLUSIONS

Everyone agreed to conduct the interview on 4 th November 2013 (Tuesday).

We will start conducting our interview at 1pm sharp.

ACTION ITEMS

PERSON RESPONSIBLE

DEADLINE

Everyone will be going on that day except for Jessie.

The rest of the
members except
Jessie.

4th Nov
2013

[Time allotted]
12.20pm
DISCUSSION

[Agenda topic]
Discuss on our transportation during
the interview day.

[Presenter]
Vicky
Lee

To discuss about our transportation on the day we are going to conduct our

_________________________________________________________________________________________

interview.

After doing research about public transports, the four of us decided meet at
Kelana Jaya Station at 12pm
then take LRT straight to Masjid Jamek. At Masjid Jamek, we will be using GPS to guide us to
our destination on foot.
CONCLUSIONS

ACTION ITEMS

PERSON RESPONSIBLE

Augustine Chen will pick up Vicky Lee from Sunway
Pyramid then head towards Kelana Jaya Station.
Ooi Zhi-Qian and Choong Qi Xie will go to the station
by their own car.

Augustine Chen and
Vicky Lee
Ooi Zhi-Qian and
Choong Qi Xie

[Time allotted]
12.30

[Agenda topic]
Discuss on roles during the interview
day

DEADLINE

[Presenter]
Vicky
Lee

DISCUSSION

To decide on the roles of each of everyone when we are conducting our
interview.

CONCLUSIONS

Before that day, is responsible to list out the questionnaire of the interview.

Ooi Zhi-Qian and Augustine Chen are responsible to interview the manager/boss of the shop,
whereas Choong Qi Xie is
responsible to record the audio of the interview process. Vicky Lee act as a photographer.
ACTION ITEMS

PERSON RESPONSIBLE

Listing out the questionnaire

Ooi Zhi-Qian

Interview the manager/boss of the shop

Ooi Zhi-Qian and
Augustine Chen

Recording the audio of the interview process

Choong Qi Xie

photographer

Vicky Lee

[Time allotted]

[Agenda topic]

DEADLINE

[Presenter]

DISCUSSION

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Meeting Title: Discussion on The Distribution of Work
[Meeting Date]
18/11/2013

Minutes

[Meeting Time]
3.00pm

MEETING CALLED BY

Ooi Zhi-Qian

TYPE OF MEETING

[Meeting Location]
E 6.21

Discussion on the distribution of work

FACILITATOR
NOTE TAKER

Augustine Chen

TIMEKEEPER

Choong Qi Xie

ATTENDEES

Vicky Lee Wei Kee, Ooi Zhi-Qian, Choong Qi Xie, and Augustine Chen

Agenda topics
[Time allotted]
3.15pm
DISCUSSION

[Agenda topic]
[Presenter]
Discuss on the distribution of work of
the research paper.
Lee

Vicky

Discuss on the distribution of research paper work.

The research paper work is divided into a few parts: the cover page which is
hand drawn, report, research essay, transcripts and interviews.
Ooi Zhi-Qian is responsible to do the entire report of the interview, Augustine Chen is the
leader of the research essay, Choong Qi Xie is responsible to type the transcripts and
interviews, Vicky Lee is responsible to complete the meeting minutes templates whereas
Jessie will be in charge of key summary and references.
CONCLUSIONS

All of us will work together to complete the research paper.
ACTION ITEMS

PERSON RESPONSIBLE

To complete the meeting minutes templates and
artistic cover page.

Vicky Lee

Type the transcripts and interviews.

Choong Qi Xie

Complete and improve the research essay.

Augustine Chen

Other parts of the reports.

Ooi Zhi-Qian

DEADLINE

19th Nov
2013
19th Nov
2013
23th Nov
2013
23th Nov
2013

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Key summary and references.
[Time allotted]

[Agenda topic]

Jessie

23th Nov
2013

[Presenter]

DISCUSSION

CONCLUSIONS

ACTION ITEMS

[Time allotted]

PERSON RESPONSIBLE

[Agenda topic]

DEADLINE

[Presenter]

DISCUSSION

CONCLUSIONS

ACTION ITEMS

[Time allotted]

PERSON RESPONSIBLE

[Agenda topic]

DEADLINE

[Presenter]

DISCUSSION

CONCLUSIONS

ACTION ITEMS

PERSON RESPONSIBLE

DEADLINE

_________________________________________________________________________________________

[Time allotted]

[Agenda topic]

[Presenter]

DISCUSSION

CONCLUSIONS

ACTION ITEMS

PERSON RESPONSIBLE

DEADLINE

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Discuss on Progress and Compilation of the Report
[Meeting Date]
25/11/2013

Minutes

[Meeting Time]
5pm

MEETING CALLED BY

Ooi Zhi-Qian

TYPE OF MEETING

[Meeting Location]
Library Level 3

Discussion on progress of the report

FACILITATOR
NOTE TAKER

Augustine Chen

TIMEKEEPER

Choong Qi Xie

ATTENDEES

Vicky Lee Wei Kee, Ooi Zhi-Qian, Choong Qi Xie, and Augustine Chen

Agenda topics
[Time allotted]
5.15pm
DISCUSSION

[Agenda topic]
[Presenter]
Discuss on the progress of the report

Vicky Lee

Discuss on the progress of each members on the report. Any problems related to
the report is discussed

among group members.

CONCLUSIONS

Each members is doing their part and almost done with it.

ACTION ITEMS

PERSON RESPONSIBLE

To complete the meeting minutes templates and
artistic cover page.

Vicky Lee

Type the transcripts and interviews.

Choong Qi Xie

Complete and improve the research essay.

Augustine Chen

Other parts of the reports.

Ooi Zhi-Qian

[Time allotted]
5.30pm
DISCUSSION

[Agenda topic]
Continue with our work and dividing
tasks

DEADLINE

[Presenter]

Each member is allowed to carry on with their work. The leader Jane divided the

_________________________________________________________________________________________

tasks in detail.

CONCLUSIONS

Work is divided and everyone start working.

ACTION ITEMS

PERSON RESPONSIBLE

DEADLINE

Choose and edit photos for the appendix.

Vicky Lee Wei Kee and
Ooi Zhi-Qian

Artistic cover to be scanned and printed

Vicky Lee Wei Kee

2 hours
from now
2 hours
from now
2 hours
from now
2 hours
from now
2 hours
from now

Compare and Contrast of the 3 businesses and
research essay

Choong Qi Xie and
Augustine Chen
Ooi Zhi-Qian and
Augustine Chen

Introduction and Conclusion of the report

Ooi Zhi-Qian

Re-arrange of the whole report

Ooi Zhi-Qian

Transcripts of interviews

[Time allotted]
7.30pm

[Agenda topic]
Compilation of the whole report

2 hours
from now

[Presenter]

DISCUSSION

The report is arranged and double-checked once.

CONCLUSIONS

Everything was get done and be printed out to be compiled.

ACTION ITEMS

PERSON RESPONSIBLE

The report is printed out to be bind.

Choong Qi Xie

Compilation of the whole report.

Vicky Lee Wei Kee

[Time allotted]

[Agenda topic]

DEADLINE

[Presenter]

DISCUSSION

_________________________________________________________________________________________

4.2
Shop details
4.2.1 Owner profiles

Gulati’s

Madras

Kamdar

Name: Deevar Sachdev

Name: Latchumi Veeran

Name: Raj

Age: 47

Age: 51

Age: 54

Position: Supervisor

Position: Manager

Position: Manager

_________________________________________________________________________________________

The transcript of the interviews
Gulati’s Silk House
May I know your age?
47
What’s is your race?
Sikh
How many owners are they?
One owner
Is this a family business?
Yes, Gulati’s is the family name
Total number of employees?
We have 15 branches; one is just beside this shop. Total around 400+ employees
What is the race of your employees?
Malays, Bangladeshi, Sikh, Indian
Age of employees?
From 20 to 60+
When did this business started?
28 years. since 1985.
Which one is the headquarter?
This store is the current hq. The previous one closed down.
Do you have a specific name for the HQ?
No
How did your business started?
Gulati’s is the family name. It started as a small business. The founder sold simple textile in her
house.
Why did she start this business?
To earn extra income to support the family
_________________________________________________________________________________________

How many floors are they in this branch?
Five floors.
Are your branches only in local? Any international branches?
No, only in Malaysia.
Who are you suppliers and where are the factories?
The entire textile is imported from Korea, China, India, Italy.
What time does your shop open?
10am to 10pm everyday.
Are you products mainly just for Sikh? Does any other race customer come here too?
Yes, Other races come here too, like Malay Chinese Indian.
What are the types of products?
Most of the types. Like cotton, polyester, chiffons pure silk, and others.
When the owner started, what are the types?
There were cheap materials at first with common designs and other cheaper quality products.
How many customers do you guys get normally?
There are usually around 50 or so on normal days. That depends, on weekends we got more
customers. Around more than 75-150 on the weekend. During holidays, we get around 150+
customers. It even goes up to 250 on the day before seasonal holidays.
What are the most popular textile that your customer buy?
Common ones like chiffons and polyester. But for special occasions or weddings, they choose
pure silk and other expensive products otherwise. They just get the washable sari like cotton or
chiffons.
How many tailors do you guys have? How old are they?
Yes we do…but just a handful only. They are around 30 -50 years old.
Are there any competitors that you have?
Ye we do, however, we do our best to meet the customer’s needs so as to not lose our regulars.

Are there any hard time so far in this business?
Don’t think so.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Has she ever wanted to give up on this business?
Not at all.
Which is the main shop that started this business?
This store is the first Gulati’s.
How do you overcome your competitors?
We provide what the other does not. Also, we got our own long term customer that come every
week. We got a pretty stable business here.
Strategies. When it just started, how do you guys promote and advertise your shop?
We just do our best to let the customer know about our store. Getting unique textile that other
don’t have. New customer are coming in everyday, there are even Americans and Chinese came
here before to get my textile.
Pricing for your products?
Start from rm30-rm5000. Rm5000 are pure silk from Italy. Not every shop bring in these high
quality silk. These one-of-a-kind textiles are usually personal order for our VIP customers. The
expensive part is the imported pure silk from italy. A lot of YB came here and buy our textile,
even YB from other countries

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Kamdar
54
Malay.
How many owners are they? are you the only one?
One owner, I’m not the owner.
Yeah.
We have 29 shops/branches, total around 1200 staff in total.
What are the races of your employees?
All include Chinese.
Age of employees?
From 18 to 60.
Since 1972, 41 years in business we are one of the oldest textile store in Malaysia.
This.
Not really.
My boss took over this business from his sister. His sister started from a small textile industry
store.
Why did she started this business?
She’s interested is the textile line and motivation by her mother.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

This branch has got 3 floors.
Only in Malaysia and also Brunei.
All of them are suppliers from other countries.
10am to 10pm, everyday. Open on every public holiday.
Are you products mainly just for Malays? Does any other race customer come here too?
Yes, Chinese and Indians come here too. Other foreigners come here too to buy our textile too.
All types. Like cotton, polyester, chiffons pure silk, mixed.
What are the type you sell when you guys just started?
We sell those cheap ones like polyester, and washable ones.
Depends, on weekends we got more customers. Around 40 on weekday, 80 on weekends.
Casual ones and plain ones.
We got 2 tailors. 34 and 45 years old.
Is there any competitors that you have?
They are not a lot of competition here.
What types of customers do you normally get?
Most of customers are mothers, and long-term customers.
Since your boss sister came up with this business, is there any hard time so far?
Not really.
Never, she has been strong all this time to maintain this business.
Which is the main shop your mother started?
_________________________________________________________________________________________

The shop at Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman.
We just do our best to overcome this problem, give our best service. Also, providing what the
customer wants.
Start from rm15-rm5000. Rm500 are imported pure silk

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Madras Sdn. Bhd.
51.
Indian.
How many owners are they? are you the only one?
My mother and brother.
Yeah.
We have two shops/branches; one is just opposite this shop. total around 35.
What is the race of your employees?
Malays, Bangladeshi, Vietnamese.
Age of employees?
From 20 to 50.
37 years to be exact., since 1976. We are the oldest Indian textile store in Malaysia.
The opposite shop.
Masjid India.
It started from my mother. She started when she is very young. Then my brother continues now.
The entire siblings are taking care of this shop.

Why did she started this business?
She started with just some tidbits, then sell only few types of textile. Later by later, she focus
more on the textile. She used to sell casket cassette, if you know what is it and also food. Then
_________________________________________________________________________________________

later we have more types of textile. Then now we have a lot of varieties of textile, just in this one
store.
This branch have got 3 floors, first floor is silk sari, second floor is for men, third floor is for
children. The other branch has other stuff like stainless steel, luggage.
Nope, only in Malaysia. But all the textile are direct imported from India.
All of them are suppliers from India.
10am to 9pm, everyday, only close on Deepavali day, 1 day in a whole year. Open on every
public holiday.
Are you products mainly just for Indian? Does any other race customer come here too?
Yes, Chinese also come here too. Malay too. They buy for their costumes and stuff. Other
foreigners come here too, like Moroccan, Saudi, Pakistani, lots of multi races. Last week, they
are a lot of Chinese came here to buy textile for their program.
Like different types of quality. Like cotton, polyester, chiffons, pure silk, mixed. A lot of types
of sari.
When you mom started, what are the types?
She sell those cheap ones like polyester, normal printed design. Very limited. Now we have all
types of textile.
That depends, on weekends we got more customers. Around more than 100-150 on the weekend.
On holiday, we got around 200 customers. It even goes up to 300 on the day before Deepavali.

Casual ones like chiffons. But for Deepavali or weddings, they choose pure silk sari. Normally,
they just get the washable sari like cotton or chiffons.
Do you guys do customize sari or others?
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Yeah, we got our own tailors in our shop. we can do it within an hour also. But it depends on the
season. Normal day we can finish within one or two hours. Season period we cant do that, like
Deepavali or Thaipusam. Like those customer are rushing, we will finish them in an hour or two
for those sari and blouse.
We got 4 tailors. 25-45 years old.
Are there any competitors that you have?
They are a lot of competition here. But we have our own choice. I don’t feel pressured at all. We
have our own unique textile that other shop don’t have. Plus, we have our customers; a lot of
long-term customers, some even buy our textile non stop for the past 30 years.
What types of customers do you normally get?
Even the third generation still buying our textile. Mother grandmother and youngster.
Since your mother came up with this business, is there any hard time so far?
My mother is a very young widow, she started off not that easy.
No no no, she is a very strong and brave lady. Iron lady. She still come here quite often to check
out. Everyday she come by in the evening and look around, she’s 73 years old. She lives in
masjid India, she just walk here by herself. I also live near here. Near the mosque.
Which is the main shop your mother started?
The opposite shop has 37 years of history. This shop is just 3 years.
We don’t have any problem, we do our part/business, we have our own customers. Even the
competitor can’t be like us. I know what the customers like and don’t like, I hand pick all the
textile myself. Other shop, most of them order by the staff, the owner not around, they just order
what the salesman asks them to. My sister and me order all of them from India, we order what
the customers want and like. We know what our regular customer wants.
Strategies. When you mom started it, how do you guys promote and advertise your shop?
Normally radio advertisement, paper advertisement. But some other shop put ads on radio, but
we don’t need to do that, we got regular customers. We put radio ads once or twice per year.
Newspaper ads normally on Deepavali, Tamil newspaper. But we also got new customer every
day, there are even Australians came here before to get my textile, they are also my regular
customers.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Start from rm15-rm10000. Rm10000 are pure silk that you can get from here easily, only from
India. I can show it to you guys if you want. Not all shop bring in these silk, only us. We don’t
put it out for sale, people will look it up from us. These sari, if you trade in in India, you get get
the exact amount back. Its silver plate with gold. This is also one-of-a-kind. The beads are not
that expensive; the expensive part is the pure silk. Mostly are those minister will buy these
textile. A lot of YB came here and buy our textile. Even Rosmah came here. Mahathir’s wife
came here last week; she’s also my regular customer for the past 30 years.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

4.2.2 Company cards

_________________________________________________________________________________________

4.2.3 Interior and exterior view of the shops
Gulati’s Silk House

This is the exterior view of the Gulati’s Silk House
located in Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kuala Lumpur.

There are the posters and advertising boards placed on top of the
shop entrance to promote their new products and discount sales.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Right side of the entrance

Left side of the entrance
The pictures above shows the interior views of both sides of the shop as there is a wall that acts
like a divider in the shop. Inside the shop, it is occupied with mainly textiles of different designs
and patterns. They displayed their textile products by covering them over a long stick that stands
and placing them nicely on the shelves that are placed against the wall of the store.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Madras Store Sdn. Bhd.

The exterior view of the headquarter

The exterior view of the opposite branch
The pictures above shows the entrances of the Madras Store. The stores are both located in Jalan
Masjid India, Kuala Lumpur. They only have these two branches. The first picture shows the
signature store or headquarter store, and as for the second picture it is the other branch of the
store that is located opposite of the first store.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

The views of the storeroom
The picture above shows how the textile products are being stored in the shop. These areas are
known as the storeroom. The storeroom is actually opened and the customers are able to see the
newly packed stocks unlike any other textile shops that has another huge room to store their new
products.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

As you can see the pictures of their interior views of the shop above, the store is not so spacious
and is occupied with their textile products everywhere. Some of them were hung on the ceilings
while some of them are folded and stacked on the tables. This pictures were taken in the third
floor which is the toppest floor of the building.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Kamdar

The exterior view of the huge Kamdar textile store
that is located in Kuala Lumpur. This is the biggest
store in Kamdar.They have many other branches
everywhere in the Kuala Lumpur.

The interior view of the store. As you can see from the picture,
the store is not so packed and occupied with the products
compared to interior space in Madras store.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

This is the view of the small office in the store. In the picture, the textile products that are
customised and pre-ordered by the customers are specially placed in these shelves.

These are the information posters of their business hours and the products
located in each floors that are placed on the walls of the store.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

The pictures above shows how the textile products are being displayed to the customers in the
store. There are different ways how the products are being displayed compared to Gulati’s and
Madras.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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