KUALA LUMPUR: Jewellery e-commerce platform MS Jewels Sdn Bhd aims to achieve RM10 million in sales revenue this year and plans to open a retail showroom by 2030, according to founder and managing director Eric Leong.
MS Jewels, a wholly owned subsidiary of MS Gold Crafts Industries Sdn Bhd, started operating in 2019 and sells a range of gold and diamond jewellery online. Currently, it offers free workmanship for its ready-stock gold products and by-request diamond jewellery customisation respectively.
A brainchild of Leong, 25, MS Jewels started operating before the Covid-19 pandemic. Business initially proved to be an uphill battle in terms of sales revenue as the brand was unknown, being new to the market, and it lacked customer trust. Its web traffic was gradually increasing over time but not converting into sales.
Leong pointed out that when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, gold was the main focus during the period as prices were at a historical high. During the movement control order (MCO), e-commerce was one of the essential sectors that could operate. MS Jewels’ web traffic spiked during that period and started to translate into sales.
“This year, as we transition into the endemic phase, we have many returning customers who purchased from us during the MCO. Our web traffic is still growing and we started to expand, such as tapping into GIA-certified (Gemological Institute of America) diamonds market, offering customisation and allowing walk-ins to our office. That helped to boost our sales revenue too,” he told SunBiz.
“For 2022, our year-to-date sales revenue is around RM8.8 million and our monthly web traffic is averaging at 70,000-110,000 visitors. Our target for this year in terms of sales revenue is RM10 million. So far things seem to be going as planned, let’s hope we can keep it up for the rest of the year,” said Leong.
On expansion, he said MS Jewels plans to open a retail showroom in Kuala Lumpur by 2030, driven by the aim to showcase higher priced point products, namely finer jewellery.
“Our HQ will showcase finer jewellery collection, including Chinese wedding jewellery and fine diamond jewellery targeting the higher income group of consumers. We hope to diversify and expand to cater to more consumer markets. We will expand parallel in both channels, towards the mass market online channel, and also the niche market fine jewellery channel to maximise our sales revenue and profit,” he shared.
Currently, the company is mainly focused on the domestic market, but Leong revealed that it does have overseas orders from time to time.
Its target consumers are mainly women, ranging from ages 25 to 45, who are in the T20 and M40 income groups. Leong observed that most of its customers are from other states, which he said is likely due to higher retail prices there, especially in Sabah and Sarawak.
Leong said MS Jewels were among the first few which ventured into the online retail jewellery market, even earlier than well-known brands in the market, which he noted have started their own online stores now.
On how it competes with other brands in the market, he said the company is not burdened by high overheads of showrooms, unlike the more established brands. Its lower overheads allow it to offer products at competitive prices and its ability to source its products at competitive costs, which he attributes to upstream supply chains activities carried out by its parent company.
“At the end of the day, most industries will be saturated with players. But I believe that is why you have to get your competitive advantage, making you stand out from the rest. I can confidently say, for MS Jewels – we are competitively priced compared to many online retailers and physical store businesses. This is why we have many repeat customers who have been around since day one.
“Customer satisfaction is very important for us too, hence why we opened up MS Jewels for walk-ins and we realised that even with the huge shift to online purchasing, there are still customers who prefer to purchase in-store. Not only being price competitive, but keeping our customers happy is also another way we aim to differ from the rest,” he opined.
Leong said MS Jewels also aims to bridge the gap between transparency and online convenience in the gold market, as not many online retailers are selling at competitive prices.
“Additionally, as most gold shops at that time were only physical ones, we understood customers’ changing demands and increasingly busy schedules, and wanted to cater to that and offer the service of shopping online due to the convenience. Thus, our objective when we started MS Jewels, was to create a platform whereby individuals could shop for their gold jewellery without leaving their house and still get the best possible price out there,” he said.
Leong understands that buying jewellery in-store is the traditional way. However, with the changing societal demands, online purchasing is now becoming more and more favoured. The company is confident in its designs and quality workmanship. Its end goal is to ensure customers feel confident and satisfied when purchasing jewellery with MS Jewels.
For more information, visit https://msjewels.com.my/ or WhatsApp +6019 213 8656.
