Four Lessons for Long Term Success
Four lessons for long-term success
When considering a new market or brand, it pays to take the longer view. A fast-growing Asian fashion retailer shares his strategy. Why does it pay to take the long-term view in developing new markets? Douglas Benjamin, CEO of FJ Benjamin (Singapore) and executive director of FJ Benjamin Holdings, discuss some of the company’s long-term investment views when considering a new market or brand. The fashion retail company has more than 170 stores and hundreds more distribution points throughout Asia. Their franchise portfolio includes major fashion and timepiece brands, including Gap, Givenchy, Guess and Rado.
Make it sustainable
When entering a new market, be it to establish a store or launch a new brand, you need to be clear on the criteria that will allow you to decide whether to make that investment. For Douglas and his team, those criteria are fairly clear-cut. Be clear on the criteria that will allow you to decide whether to make that investment
“Two words come to mind whenever we sit down as a group to talk about what we’re going to do – sustainability and scalability. They go hand in hand.”
Take the long view
Markets change and the region that you move into one year could present a very different picture further down the line. The key is to look beyond the current situation and see how circumstance s could change both in your favor and against you. For FJ Benjamin, it is about looking beyond early stages.
“Sometimes we take a retail store or brand for strategic reasons. It may not pay from day one – perhaps the store isn’t served by train links yet, or the brand is in its infancy,” says Douglas. “In the mid-term, though, we know the store will be busy and the brand will be hot.”
Be prepared for early losses
Losses are hard to take however long you have been in the market, but an ability to absorb them in the short-term can open up opportunities in the longer-term.
“We have to be able to sustain the losses in this
When considering a new market or brand, it pays to take the longer view. A fast-growing Asian fashion retailer shares his strategy. Why does it pay to take the long-term view in developing new markets? Douglas Benjamin, CEO of FJ Benjamin (Singapore) and executive director of FJ Benjamin Holdings, discuss some of the company’s long-term investment views when considering a new market or brand. The fashion retail company has more than 170 stores and hundreds more distribution points throughout Asia. Their franchise portfolio includes major fashion and timepiece brands, including Gap, Givenchy, Guess and Rado.
Make it sustainable
When entering a new market, be it to establish a store or launch a new brand, you need to be clear on the criteria that will allow you to decide whether to make that investment. For Douglas and his team, those criteria are fairly clear-cut. Be clear on the criteria that will allow you to decide whether to make that investment
“Two words come to mind whenever we sit down as a group to talk about what we’re going to do – sustainability and scalability. They go hand in hand.”
Take the long view
Markets change and the region that you move into one year could present a very different picture further down the line. The key is to look beyond the current situation and see how circumstance s could change both in your favor and against you. For FJ Benjamin, it is about looking beyond early stages.
“Sometimes we take a retail store or brand for strategic reasons. It may not pay from day one – perhaps the store isn’t served by train links yet, or the brand is in its infancy,” says Douglas. “In the mid-term, though, we know the store will be busy and the brand will be hot.”
Be prepared for early losses
Losses are hard to take however long you have been in the market, but an ability to absorb them in the short-term can open up opportunities in the longer-term.
“We have to be able to sustain the losses in this