Hong Kong Industrialist Aug Oct 2021

“In the competitive market environment in the 21st century, businesses who are unable to innovate will soon be naturally eliminated by the market.” Tommy believes that traditional enterprises must break through the business mindset of earlier generations of industrialists, who built competitiveness on production efficiency and quality. Nowadays, manufacturers must stay agile to develop new products to meet market demands in a bid to gain a firm foothold and retain customers. Making Prompt Adjustment in the Rapidly Changing Markets The US-China trade dispute has triggered many Chinese manufacturers to relocate part of their supply chains to Southeast Asian countries to get rid of extra tariff. As an OEM producer, Ming Fai Group inevitably feels the squeeze. Considering the rising operating costs and difficulty in recruitment in the Mainland, Tommy believes that it is natural for manufacturers to transfer part of the production lines to Southeast Asia. Considering the geographical convenience, operating cost, labour supply, capital flow, tax concessions and the consumption power of various Southeast Asian countries, Ming Fai Group has successively established factories in India and Cambodia to provide production services for local and overseas customers. Today, the group is operating a 20-block factory in Cambodia, which is even larger than its operation in the Mainland, to produce cosmetic bags and travel kits for European clients where import tax is waived. Nevertheless, Tommy is still optimistic to the mainland China market. “Compared to other countries, China has resumed normal businesses and picked up its economy from the impact of COVID-19 pandemic quickly. During the May 1st Golden Week, our orders are only 10% less compared with the same period in 2019, showing the strong resilience and enormous vitality of China’s economy. The domestic consumption power is the major driving force for China's economy to buck the trend. Riding on the national dual circulation strategy, we will further expand our domestic sales and expand our markets 「在 21 世紀的競爭舞台上，繼續守業只會慢 慢被市場淘汰。」 Tommy 認為傳統企業要 突破固有經營模式，上一代工業家以生產效 率及品質建立競爭力的方式已不足夠，現今 的廠商必須要緊貼市場需求持續研發新產 品，方可站穩陣腳及留住客戶。 調整生產佈局　應對市場變化 近年，隨著中美貿易戰不斷升級，不少中國 廠家為避開加徵關稅而遷移至東南亞國家設 廠。從事加工生產的明輝集團亦少不免會受 影響，加上內地經營成本上漲及招聘越見困 難， Tommy 認為廠商轉移生產線到東南亞 是勢在必行。考慮到東南亞國家的地理、成 本、勞動力供應、資金流動性、免稅優惠及 當地客戶消費力等因素，明輝集團已陸續在 印度及柬埔寨設廠，為當地及海外客戶提供 生產服務。集團現時於柬埔寨的廠房數量已 經接近二十幢，生產基地面積較內地的更具 規模，主要製造化妝袋及旅行用品包，可免 進口稅供予歐洲客戶。 儘管如此， Tommy 依舊看好國內市場潛力。 「中國在應對疫情、恢復經濟方面的表現比 起許多國家更領先。在剛過去的五一黃金 週，我們的訂單與 2019 年同期比較僅相差 百份之十左右，可見中國經濟的巨大韌性與 強勁活力。國內的消費能力是中國經濟能逆 勢而上的最大動力，加上『雙循環』的國策， 我們將會更進一步擴張內銷業務，並開拓新 加坡、澳洲、日本、印度及柬埔寨市場。」 實踐環境優先概念　革新集團產品線 Tommy 加盟集團後，積極到公司不同部門 參與產品開發及營銷等工作。他意識到集團 生產的一次性塑膠包裝製品，在環保的大趨 勢下將會日漸被摒棄。然而，當時環保產品 並不普及，加上成本昂貴，令企業客戶卻 步。但有見消費者對環保的追求， Tommy 8-10/2021 | 97