When asked about the current challenges
faced by the company, Richard says it’s all
about costs. “The biggest challenge is the
labour costs,” he says. “They just keep going
up, whereas our buyers are asking for
a cost reduction. It’s extremely hard to keep
both sides happy. We can’t put our prices
up, because we need to remain competitive.
We have a lot of competitors in other
countries. Not so much China anymore;
most factories have moved into countries
with cheaper labour such as Vietnam, India,
Cambodia and Bangladesh.”
In the short term, the company is looking
at building up its Gino Mariani brand in the
domestic market, by focusing on media
campaigns as well as expanding its footprint.
“We have already opened two stores,”
Richard says. “In the next 18 months, we
will be opening another 10.” He adds that
the bricks and mortar retail stores will be
augmented by a strong online presence,
recognising the growing market for digital
retail options.
As far as other innovations go, Semasi
will be expanding and modernising the
manufacturing plant to improve efficiencies
and try to reduce the cost–price ratio across
its OEM business. Richard says that like its
competitors, Semasi too may need to relocate
to a place with cheaper labour costs in order
to remain a key player in the market. Its
Bogor-based factory is currently more than
12,600 square metres in size, running five
production lines including cutting, stitching
and assembly, as well as an 800-square-metre
development workshop. All up, the company
employs more than 3,000 people.
The workshop forms a crucial part of
Semasi’s key strength: agility. Richard says that“ Once they decide they want
to disrupt their product, we
have our team work directly
with them.”
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