Kara Marketing (M) SDN BHD has imported four containers of Azarine cosmetic products from East Java, worth more than Rp23 billion to be marketed throughout Malaysia.
Director of Kara Marketing (M) SDN BHD Susanto Lee in Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia, Wednesday, said Azarine cosmetics have been produced by PT Wahana Kosmetika Indonesia since more than 20 years ago, and this is a proud product of Indonesian children produced in Sidoarjo.
The import of Azarine cosmetic products, according to him, is an ambitious project considering that for the simultaneous launch in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak his company has opened an initial “purchase order” of RM7 million or more than Rp23 billion.
“So this year I am targeting 20 to 30 million Malaysian ringgit for products alone. It’s an ambitious project in terms of infrastructure, finance, marketing and so on. We have been studying for quite a while,” Susanto said, expressing optimism for the Malaysian market.
According to him, since two to three years ago the company team that produces the cosmetics has started planning for overseas expansion, and the first destination country that really has a match is Malaysia. Because in terms of social and culture it is very close.
After they checked, he said his company became one of the strongest choices to become a partner to expand into the Malaysian market because it has a large enough team with a good information technology system and large enough warehouse facilities that can load up to 600 containers in Shah Alam, Selangor.
In addition, he said the company, which has been operating since 1999, also has another warehouse in Johor with the capacity to accommodate around 300 containers for distribution in the southern region of Peninsular Malaysia.
Meanwhile, General Manager of PT Wahana Kosmetika Indonesia Abraham Daniel said the market expansion to Malaysia for the cosmetic product named after the Greek goddess of elegance was part of the company’s “Azarine to Global” campaign.
“This is part of the ‘Azarine to Global’ campaign. So we will start entering Asia and the country we chose first is Malaysia,” he said.
Apart from Malaysia being the closest neighboring country, another reason is because the company already has a good partner from Kara Marketing (M) SDN BHD, so it is more confident in entering the country, he said.
He said he would see the quarterly sales development of his cosmetic products in Malaysia. For the beginning of marketing in Malaysia, about 35 stock-keeping units (SKUs) will enter, and will be continued up to about 70 SKUs.
The ribbon cutting of the first import of Azarine cosmetic products was carried out together with the Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia Hermono and the Indonesian Trade Attaché in Kuala Lumpur Deden Muhammad Fajar Shiddiq at the Kara Marketing Supply Chain Center Warehouse & Logistics Center facility, Shah Alam, Selangor.
Indonesian Ambassador Hermono said he welcomed the first import of cosmetic products from Sidoarjo.
“And if you look at the character of the market in Malaysia, I am optimistic that these cosmetics can be well received by consumers in Malaysia, both by women and men because this product is ‘unisex’,” he said.
