Al Ikhsan Sports: Disrupting the sports retailing industry

Selected as WCRCINT World’s Best Emerging Brands, AL Ikhsan Sports from Malaysia is driving values to it consumers by providing world class yet affordable sports products

In conversation with Vach Pillutla, CEO, Al Ikhsan Sports

Brand: AL-IKHSAN SPORTS

Country: MALAYSIA

COMPANY NAME:

AL-IKHSAN SPORTS SDN BHD

PRODUCT/SERVICE OFFERING:

SPORTS RETAILER

COMPANY VISION & MISSION:

Mission:AL-IKHSAN SPORTS TO BE THE #1 OMNI-CHANNEL DESTINATION FOR 20 MILLION SPORTS LOVERS OF MALAYSIA BY ENGAGING DEEPER AND CLOSER WITH THEM THROUGH A CLEARLY SEGMENTED RETAIL STRATEGY

Vision: KEEPING MALAYSIA FIT & ACTIVE BY MAKING SPORTS AFFORDABLE FOR ALL

COMPANY VALUES

INTEGRITY, HONESTY, SERVICE, ACCOUNTABILITY, NURTURING

YEAR OF ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BRAND:

1993

MARKETSHARE:

OVER 40% WITHIN THE MULTI-BRAND SPORTS RETAIL MARKET

CORE COLOUR COMBINATION OF THE BRAND:

ORANGE AND BLACK

MEANING OF LOGO OF THE BRAND:

THE LOGO STANDS FOR DYNAMISM AND THE BRIGHT FUTURE

APPROXIMATE MARKETING BUDGETS OF THE BRAND:

APPROXIMATELY 3% OF SALES

POSITIONING STRATEGY OF THE BRAND:

ENTRY TO MID VALUE SPORTS MARKET (EVERYDAY SPORTS)

PUNCHLINE OF THE BRAND:

MAKING SPORTS AFFORDABLE FOR ALL

MEDIUM OF PROMOTIONS USED TO PROMOTE THE BRAND IN THE LAST 2 YEARS:

SOCIAL MEDIA, RADIO, KOLS, OUTDOOR, IN-MALL, TIK TOK

ETHOS OF THE BRAND:

AFFORDABILITY AND VALUE

EXPLAIN THE 5 MOST CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS OF THE BRAND:

OVER THE LAST 6 YEARS, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ACHIEVE A SPECTACULAR INCREASE IN OUR MARKET SHARE BY EMBARKING ON A CLEAR POSITIONING OF AL IKHSAN BRAND WITHIN THE CONSUMERS MIND AND BY ENSURING A STRONG FOCUS ON THE FOLLOWING PILLARS:

BRINGING AL IKHSAN EXCLUSIVE PRODUCTS FOR GLOBAL SPORTBRANDS, LIKE NIKE, ADIDAS, PUMA, ASICS AND SKECHERS AT THE MOST AFFORDABLE PRICES
DATA HAS NOW BECOME THE CORE OF ALL DECISION MAKING WITHIN THE COMPANY AND WE LOOK AT SALES BY BRAND, CATEGORY, SUBCATEGORY DOWN TO THE SKU LEVEL TO REFINE OUR INVENTORY MANAGEMENT – MOVING FROM GUTFEEL TO SCIENCE
WE USE OWN PRIVATE LABEL AND LICENSED BRANDS TO OFFER RELEVANT AND EVENT RELATED MERCHANDISE AT VERY AFFORDABLE PRICE POINTS
AL IKHSAN SPORTS SOCIAL MEDIA IS NOW RANKED AMONGST THE MOST ENGAGING SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS IN MALAYSIA
A STRONG MARKETING STRATEGY TO COMMUNICATE AND ENGAGE WITH OUR CORE CONSUMERS, WHICH INCLUDES A 52-WEEK CALENDAR FOR DIGITAL AND 12-MONTH CALENDAR FOR OFFLINE ACTIVATION AND PROMOTIONS

FUTURE PLANS OF THE BRAND

TO DRIVE FUTURE GROWTH OF THE AL IKHSAN BRAND, THE TEAM HAS NOW EMBARKED ON THE FOLLOWING:

STRUCTURED EXPANSION STRATEGY TO ADD AT LEAST ANOTHER 100 STORES OVER THE NEXT 3 YEAR PERIOD, WITHIN PENINSULAR MALAYSIA AND ENTRY TO EAST MALAYSIA
INCREASING E-COMMERCE FROM THE CURRENT 5% TO 10% OF OVERALL REVENUE BY END 2023
EXPANSION INTO MORE CATEGORIES OF DAILY USE SPORTS PRODUCTS LIKE FITNESS ACCESSORIES TO BRING GREATER VALUE TO THE LOCAL CATCHMENT
RATHER THAN JUST FOCUSING ON GLOBAL EVENTS, WE ARE NOW CONNECTING TO MORE LOCAL EVENTS AND SPONSORSHIP AT GRASSROOT LEVEL.

CORE BRAND VALUES

INTEGRITY: DOING THE RIGHT THING IN THE RIGHT WAY AND KEEPING TO THE VALUE HELD

HONESTY: BEING TRUTHFUL AND STRAIGHTFORWARD IN CONDUCT NO MATTER WHAT THE SITUATION

SERVICE: BEING SERVICE TO EACH OTHER, THE CONSUMERS AND THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE

ACCOUNTABILITY: ACCEPTING THE RESPONSIBILTY OF THE ACTION AND OWNING THE OUTCOMES OF THESE ACTIONS

NURTURING: BEING GENUINELY VESTED AND AT AN ENTERPRISE LEVEL TO DEVELOP TALENTS

HOW DO YOU CONNECT WITH YOUR TARGET MARKET:

USING A STRATEGIC MARKETING CALENDAR COMPRISING OF GLOBAL REGIONAL AND LOCAL EVENTS, WE COMMUNICATE AND DRIVE ACTIVATIONS WITH OUR TARGET MARKET. THIS IS DONE THROUGH OUR DIGITAL, EDMS, SOCIAL MEDIA, IN-STORE, KOL AND OUTDOOR CHANNELS

KEY PEOPLE POLICY IN THE COMPANY THAT DRIVES INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS OF THE BRAND:

WE TREAT OUR EMPLOYEES AS HUMAN CAPITAL, WHEREBY WE NEED TO INVEST IN THEIR CAPABILITIES AND CONSTANTLY WORK TOWARDS COACHING AND UPLIFTING THEIR SKILL SET. TO THIS END WE SPEND AT LEAST 2% OF OUR ANNUAL REVENUE

WHAT ARE THE CORE COMPETENCIES OF THE BRAND:

THE BIGGEST CORE COMPETENCIES OF AL IKHSAN BRAND IS THAT WE HAVE AN IN-DEPTH UNDERSTANDING OF OUR CORE CONSUMER BASE AND THEIR HABITS WHICH HAS ENDEARED US TO OUR TARGET

IMPACT ON CONSUMERS:

OUR CONSUMERS CONNECT US VERY STRONGLY TO EVERYDAY SPORTS, ESPECIALLY FOOTBALL. WHEN CONSUMERS THINK SPORT, ESPECIALLY FOOTBALL, THEY THINK AL IKHSAN SPORTS. THIS IS THE IMPACT THAT THE BRAND HAS BROUGHT TO THE CONSUMERS.