Malaysian firm turns tin into gold

Royal Selangor, a top Malaysian pewter artifact maker, opened a new retail outlet in China late last week, which has increasingly become a hot destination for luxury products.
The new outlet, located at Beijing's China World Shopping Mall, was the second retail store Royal Selangor set up in China after the first opened in Shanghai in October.
"We are very optimistic about the market," Chen Tien Yue, general manager of Royal Selangor Marketing, said in an interview Friday.
The firm's sales in the mainland grew 50 percent over its past financial year ended June last year, according to Chen, without revealing exact sales figures.
Pewter is made up of a minimum of roughly 90 percent tin.
The luxury pewter maker, mainly focused on the market for home items and giftware, also retails items of British silver brand Comyns, acquired by Royal Selangor in 1993, in the stores.
"There is strong demand at the high end of the market. And we believe this (the market) will grow very fast," Chen said.
China's market for luxury goods as a whole is estimated to grow by at least 15 percent per year in terms of sales in the foreseeable future, said Yan Jun, president for Ecole Fashion and Luxury Consulting (Beijing).
China is expected to become the world's biggest luxury goods market by 2020, spurred on by its rapid economic growth and an emerging middle class that have growing buyer power and are willing to spend on premium items, according to a report released by private equity group CLSA earlier this month.
Consumers, including a rising number of wealthy individuals, will account for 44 percent of global expenditures on luxury goods such as bags, watches and apparel over the next decade, CLSA said in the report.
"Chinese consumers enjoy displaying their wealth and success and are not just spending on themselves but also purchasing gifts for friends and family," the report said.
But Royal Selangor's Chen does worry over expansion risks, given the luxury sector for home and gift items remains a niche market.
"We will be quite cautious about how quickly we open new retail stores," he noted, "it's always a much smaller market compared to luxury bags, watches and apparel."
The brand's growth has been more dependent on department store sales, however.
"Retail is a big decision for us. The Chinese market is so hot, and a lot of brands are competing for the same retail locations," said Royal Selangor's Chen. "I think there are some brands out there who are willing to pay whatever it takes to get a good location, but we are not in that same position."