OSIM International

or "make friends" with the cute sales girl and find out from her insider info. Come on, I know you want to.

Osim will be releasing its financial statement on the results of the Company and of the Group for Second Quarter Ended 30 June 2013 on 30 July 2013, Tuesday.

Egg in Osim's face especially when Osim thrives on brand building...

Storm brews over TWG Tea logo in HK court

Published on Jul 28, 2013

TWG used the date 1837 in its sign but the company was started in 2008. -- ST FILE PHOTO

By K.C. Vijayan Senior Law Correspondent

A Hong Kong tea company founded in 1932 saw red when a Singapore competitor opened an outlet in the territory using the same abbreviation, TWG.

Tsit Wing (Hong Kong), which is listed in Singapore, and its subsidiary Tsit Wing International took TWG Tea Company to court, arguing a breach of its trademark.

Last week, a Hong Kong judge agreed with Tsit Wing, holding the Singapore-based firm liable for the breach and the additional claim of "passing off" its business as Tsit Wing's by using a sign containing the abbreviation in its restaurant.

Both parties will return to court tomorrow to hear TWG Tea's submissions regarding Tsit Wing's demands and Deputy High Court judge John Saunders' decision on the damages and other remedies Tsit Wing is seeking.

TWG Tea, which is 45 per cent owned by Osim International, opened a restaurant in Hong Kong's IFC Mall in December 2011, triggering the stand-off between the tea giants.

The Tsit Wing Group, which was founded as a family business, has used the TWG logo since 2006. In 2011, its gross sales were HK$393 million (S$64 million), of which HK$111 million was from tea, noted the judge in his grounds last Wednesday.

In the meantime, The Wellness Group, incorporated in Singapore in 2001, has used its TWG Tea logo since 2008.

TWG Tea has tea shops in Singapore, as well as a presence in about 10 countries, including a retail counter in the Harrods department store in London and outlets in Tokyo.

The judge noted the company's argument that it made luxury tea products and supplied the food services industry, upmarket hotels and airlines such as Singapore Airlines, indicating it was a well-known and reputable brand in itself.

Its Hong Kong lawyers denied the trademarks were "substantially identical or confusingly similar".

They said there was ample evidence to differentiate between the two and Hong Kong law allowed the use of one's own name in accordance with "honest practices in commercial matters".

But Judge Saunders was not convinced, noting Tsit Wing had held the registered trademark in Hong Kong since 2006 and in the US since 2008.

He noted that a similar move by TWG Tea to register its trademark in the US in 2009 was refused by the authorities there.



Background story

'MISLEADING SIGN'

Judge John Saunders had harsh words for TWG Tea for using the date 1837 in its sign, when in fact the company started in 2008.

Company officials explained that 1837 referred to the year when the Chamber of Commerce was founded in Singapore, which was then an important tea trading hub. Its inclusion was meant to celebrate that year, they said.

But Judge Saunders found this was not the "real intention". He said: "There is no doubt that the existence of the date 1837 in TWG Tea's sign has led people to believe that the company was established at that time."

He noted, among other things, that Bloomberg Businessweek had published an online report in October 2011 saying the Singapore-based company was founded in 1837.

Osim's story continue... With price of $2.06, PE around 17, versus retail sector's PE of 21, how should we value Osim?

(not vested)

Osim posts higher Q2 net profit of $26.1 mil

Osim International, the manufacturer and seller of high-end massagers, posted a net profit of $26.1 million for its second quarter ended June 30. This was 16% from the same period a year ago. Earnings per share was higher at 3.61 cents compared to 3.09 cents.

Revenue for the quarter was $165.5 million, up 7%. The group declared an interim dividend of two cents a share, unchanged from a year ago.

http://www.theedgesingapore.com/the-dail...1-mil.html

From UOBKH Research Report (11th Oct 13)

Quote:

Valuation
Maintain BUY and target price of S$2.35, derived from our dividend discounted cash flow model and pegged at its 3-year historical PE of 15.7x to our 2014F earnings.

Investment Highlights
Sales of higher-end massage chairs gaining traction OSIM’s uInifinity chair was launched in Jul 13 and management remains positive on its sales outlook. While the S$6,988 massage chair has the capability to add/upgrade new massage programmes through the internet, the first programme is only available for download in 1Q14. Management has also seen several trade-ins of the uDivine chairs, a product launched three years ago. This is a testament that OSIM is on the right track in creating long-term demand and brand loyalty to the OSIM chairs.

Establishing several TWG’s tea boutique within the region. OSIM has plans to set up more tea boutiques in Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and China after its 45%-owned associate company saw healthy sales from tea products and accessories. OSIM reiterated that each location continues to be profitable on its own with an annual 3-5% yoy same-store sales growth. In China, the TWG tea has penetrated into 60 luxury hotels and OSIM currently has plans to open six tea boutiques in the country next year.

Building a cash war chest with EBITDA margin of more than 20%.
OSIM continues to generate very strong cash flow due to its cashbased business and low working capital needs. As at 30 Jun 13, OSIM had cash and cash equivalents of S$270m. With such a strong cash position, we expect the company to pay out healthy dividends, undertake share buybacks and be on the lookout for potential brand acquisitions. In fact, OSIM has restarted its share buyback programme recently, accumulating 482,000 shares at an average weighted price of S$1.9055 this month.

We expect revenue and net profit growth of 13.5% and 20.1% respectively. Although management still maintains its profit guidance of a 15% growth in bottom line, we believe the company can exceed expectations and record a net profit of S$104.4m in 2013. This is driven by robust sales of uInfinity and uAngel chairs, coupled with improving EBITDA margins.

Not vested.

(11-10-2013, 10:41 AM)mkmk Wrote: From UOBKH Research Report (11th Oct 13)

Quote:

Valuation
Maintain BUY and target price of S$2.35, derived from our dividend discounted cash flow model and pegged at its 3-year historical PE of 15.7x to our 2014F earnings.

Investment Highlights
Sales of higher-end massage chairs gaining traction OSIM’s uInifinity chair was launched in Jul 13 and management remains positive on its sales outlook. While the S$6,988 massage chair has the capability to add/upgrade new massage programmes through the internet, the first programme is only available for download in 1Q14. Management has also seen several trade-ins of the uDivine chairs, a product launched three years ago. This is a testament that OSIM is on the right track in creating long-term demand and brand loyalty to the OSIM chairs.

Establishing several TWG’s tea boutique within the region. OSIM has plans to set up more tea boutiques in Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and China after its 45%-owned associate company saw healthy sales from tea products and accessories. OSIM reiterated that each location continues to be profitable on its own with an annual 3-5% yoy same-store sales growth. In China, the TWG tea has penetrated into 60 luxury hotels and OSIM currently has plans to open six tea boutiques in the country next year.

Building a cash war chest with EBITDA margin of more than 20%.
OSIM continues to generate very strong cash flow due to its cashbased business and low working capital needs. As at 30 Jun 13, OSIM had cash and cash equivalents of S$270m. With such a strong cash position, we expect the company to pay out healthy dividends, undertake share buybacks and be on the lookout for potential brand acquisitions. In fact, OSIM has restarted its share buyback programme recently, accumulating 482,000 shares at an average weighted price of S$1.9055 this month.

We expect revenue and net profit growth of 13.5% and 20.1% respectively. Although management still maintains its profit guidance of a 15% growth in bottom line, we believe the company can exceed expectations and record a net profit of S$104.4m in 2013. This is driven by robust sales of uInfinity and uAngel chairs, coupled with improving EBITDA margins.

Not vested.

Does anyone here think osim has the characteristics of a Buffett stock? They seem to have carved out a nice niche for themselves and there seems to be an economic moat in that their brand is gaining acceptance. Roe is high, assets are being used efficiently and growth is robust. Any thoughts?

I can never really understand OSIM's business. It sells massage chairs and wellness products, that much I know.
But whenever I passed by an OSIM store, most of the time, there is no one in there except the sales person.
I really wonder how many chairs/products they sell a month. (1 per day?? Even that is too much, I think)
Even if their products are super high margin, it will be eaten up by the rentals.

Some enlightenment please.

(11-10-2013, 10:09 PM)kagemusha Wrote: I can never really understand OSIM's business. It sells massage chairs and wellness products, that much I know.
But whenever I passed by an OSIM store, most of the time, there is no one in there except the sales person.
I really wonder how many chairs/products they sell a month. (1 per day?? Even that is too much, I think)
Even if their products are super high margin, it will be eaten up by the rentals.

Some enlightenment please.

Have you visited their TWG outlets?

[Image: TWG-Tea-Salon-Boutique-at-Emporium-Mall-...ailand.jpg]

I went past, but never visit... not my cup of tea lol (pun intended).
Even then, this is not the core biz is it?

To me it seems that their wellness (massage chairs/products) biz growth seems limited.
Diversifying to food or some other biz, maybe more of a necessity.

Well, according to the 2012 annual report, Osim have 590 stores worldwide not including the web store. Each chair sells for an average of $3000+ or so depending on product mix. Revenue of approximately $556 million. All these adds up to slightly less than one chair per day per store doesn't it (~314 chairs per year). This is in line with what our eyes are telling us. That gives us approximately 90,000 per month in revenue per store, should easily cover rental expenses. The thing is, what should we make of a company making a good profit margin with seemingly empty stores if the numbers do indeed add up and do not look fishy?