Lifestyle Choice Not Just Furniture

As a furnishing concept store, Hup Lee goes beyond simply offering a selection of standard furnishing products for purchase. Instead it appeals to a sense of lifestyle by offering products aligned with the desires of customers in their pursuit of quality, taste and style. With the right furniture it makes a house feel like a home, a sanctuary where ‘the pace of life slows down, a place that allows us to appreciate things that are truly important in our lives’, as stated in the company mission.

The purchasing of home furnishings is a lifestyle decision and Hup Lee helps make that informed choice. It provides customers with ideas and designs that help create the home which fulfills their specific needs and requirements. Thus, Hup Lee act as an adviser to its clients, providing tailor-made solutions that help transform a home into a fitting expression of a personal lifestyle.

Concept Furnishing Showrooms

Unlike a standard retail store, Hup Lee intends to present showrooms that are distinct and stands out. Emily Wong, its Marketing Director shared that the management team envisions the company outlets to be set up with specific themes, in settings that showcase the whole furniture sets for spaces such as the living, dining, bedroom, home office, the outdoor and so on. This way, customers can envision the furniture in their mind’s eye as they make the purchase decision. Presenting the customers with the whole concept also saves them the hassle of thinking about the mix and match, deciding and pairing things up.

At present, the company’s three-storey showroom in BMS Mall which has 20,000 sq ft of display floor area offers a comprehensive and diverse home furnishing product selection. The company is also in the process of upgrading the other outlets besides setting up its online E-retail shopping site to enhance its brand name and connect to shoppers online.

Custom Made Quality Products

In line with the company vision, Hup Lee is collaborating with prestigious brands to expand its profile of high quality products including mattresses, sofas as well as its own design line of custom made furniture. Its aim is to appeal to clients with established brands adding new product ranges to its portfolio. Working together with the designers, the company also provides consultancy and furniture supply services to meet the need of corporate organisations.

Relationships in the Workplace

Marketing Director Emily Wong shared that at Hup Lee, on-going training is provided to upgrade staff quality and help develop skills throughout their job. Trained and informed staff can offer helpful advice to customers and enhance their buying experience. Therefore, staff training is important for staff development and for the effective running of the company.

Maintaining a good relationship with the team of staff is essential as the relationship the staff have with the company is the telling factor when it comes to determining whether or not they will stay with the company. Emily shares that Hup Lee has been fortunate to have many loyal staff who contribute their services to the company for more than 10 years and above. As staff spend at least 8 hours per day working in the office, the employer should treat them well. Hup Lee values the contribution of its staff treating them as family members and friends.

If Clothes Make The Man, Furniture Makes The Home

Customer Service and Loyalty

During its 30 years in business, Hup Lee has established a strong relationship with its customers and developed a loyal customer base. The company takes pride in the quality of services it provides in ensuring customer satisfaction and loyalty especially with regard to the after-sale service provided. Hup Lee strives to provide effective responses to customer queries and endeavour to offer constructive solutions to the customers through improved quality of service measures. According to Emily, it is through the word of mouth of its loyal customers that the company has repeated business and referral contacts.

Recognition of Achievements

Hup Lee is also a unique award-winning home furnishing store serving as an inspiration to others in the industry. In 2014, the company was winner of the SME (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) Rising Star in the SME Recognition Award (SMERA) series, an annual award programme organised by the SME Association of Malaysia to recognise outstanding achievements of SMEs in the country. It was also presented with the Excellent Eagle Award in the Nanyang Golden Eagle Award 2014 organized by Nanyang Siang Pau, one of Malaysia’s oldest established Chinese newspapers, with the aim to honor the best of Malaysian businesses.

In 2015, Hup Lee took home the SME Service Excellence Award granted by the SME Association of Malaysia . In the same year, the company was once again proud recipient of the Excellent Eagle award at the Golden Eagle Award 2015 by Nanyang Siang Pau. This was followed by another award from Asia Success Inc. Branding Magazine for The Most Impactful Awards (MIA) under the Malaysia Most Impactful Awards (MMIA) category.

The company added another accolade to its collection when it was honoured with the Retail Excellence Award by Sin Chew Business Excellence Awards (SCBEA) 2015. SCBEA is organised by Sin Chew Daily, the largest Chinese press in Malaysia and is regarded as one of the most prestigious business Awards in the country.

Challenges and Aspirations

Emily reveals that clients from Singapore make up a large proportion of the business while local demand has to be met. Thus maintaining high quality is the main concern of Hup Lee and after sale service is also taken seriously in the company. Hup Lee is the main sponsor of Johor Furniture Fair for the year 2016 and has been actively taking part in major furniture fairs for many years. The furniture fair is deemed important because it serves as a platform to showcase new designs and build a future customer base.

Hup Lee’s future plan includes serving as a one-stop shop catering to apartment or condominium lifestyle and living. There are plans to have more showrooms with diverse product lines. The company also hopes to bring in more European products including genuine Italian brands which excel in quality and have great appeal to local customers. Ultimately, Hup Lee is envisaged to have its own building with several floors functioning as a one-stop shop  complete with in-house interior designers and selling products of its own brand name. The company’s most recent undertaking is setting up its online e-retail shopping site (www.hupleehome.com.my) to enhance its product and branding.

Challenges and Aspirations

Emily reveals that clients from Singapore make up a large proportion of the business while local demand has to be met. Thus maintaining high quality is the main concern of Hup Lee and after sale service is also taken seriously in the company. Hup Lee is the main sponsor of Johor Furniture Fair for the year 2016 and has been actively taking part in major furniture fairs for many years. The furniture fair is deemed important because it serves as a platform to showcase new designs and build a future customer base.

Hup Lee’s future plan includes serving as a one-stop shop catering to apartment or condominium lifestyle and living. There are plans to have more showrooms with diverse product lines. The company also hopes to bring in more European products including genuine Italian brands which excel in quality and have great appeal to local customers. Ultimately, Hup Lee is envisaged to have its own building with several floors functioning as a one-stop shop  complete with in-house interior designers and selling products of its own brand name. The company’s most recent undertaking is setting up its online e-retail shopping site (www.hupleehome.com.my) to enhance its product and branding.