E Lighting Group Holdings Ltd
- HKGCC Membership No. :
- HKE0503
Lighting Up Hong Kong Homes
When you step into e Lighting’s boutique in Wan Chai, it is almost impossible not to keep gazing at all the exquisite lamps, exotic chairs, and fancy clocks and displays covering the walls.
With 17 outlets and a large share of the local market, e Lighting is one of Hong Kong’smost successful and prominent lighting chains in Hong Kong.
e Lighting officially started in 2003 but its roots originated from when e Lighting CEO Raymond Hui, one of the founders of the group, established a shop in Wan Chai in 1992 buying and selling wholesaler lighting products.
The company has since come a long way, having undergone multiple expansions though the years and getting listed on the Hong Kong stock market. The company has also established what Hui calls “the lighting street,” a clustering retail zone in Morrison Hill District where six of the company’s 17 stores are located.
“When people need computer accessories, they think Sham Shui Po. When people need lighting and furniture, I want them to think Morrison Hill Road,” Hui said.
One of the keys to success, Hui says, is that the company never became complacent. In 2004, when his competitors were still buying from wholesalers, Hui started to bypass middlemen and source lighting products directly from manufacturers in Mainland China.
“The problem with wholesalers was that product choice was limited,” Hui recalled. “We wanted to handpick a greater variety of products for our customers.”
The company then began to import European products and about 10 years ago, expanded into the designer furniture market, which contributes 30% of the company’s revenue today.
e Lighting was one of the first in the local industry to focus on LED lighting in Hong Kong. Today, all of their products are LED as they have stopped selling tungsten lights. “We help customers save energy and cut their electricity bills,” Hui said proudly.
“Taking us as an example, each of our shops used to have a $20,000 monthly electricity bill. Today, we pay $6,000.”
The group now distributes products from more than 30 international brands and operates shops in Wan Chai, Mong Kok, Whampoa and Shatin.
25 years of excellence
Selling eye-catching Mediterranean lamps and oddly-shaped Nordic bulbs in Hong Kong is harder than it seems. “Hong Kong people have a particular taste and preference in lighting and furniture as flats here tend to be small,” Hui explained. “We buy compact, we buy smart – we look for products that serve more than one function. We expect a lamp to have adjustable colors and brightness. We want a sofa to double as a bookshelf.”
“We have to be very careful and sensitive when picking products suitable for the local market. After all, who needs a bulky crystal lamp made with European houses in mind?” said Hui.
Looking at the modern lamps and traditional furniture, it is easy to be impressed by the diversity of products offered by the shop.
“By constantly adjusting our product mix to provide choices according to the latest trends, our customers never run out of reasons to be excited,” Hui explained. He said that because the market changes quickly, adaptation is the only way to survive.
Apart from first-rate products, Hui believes that superior service and reliability are at the core of long-lasting customer relationships and repeat customers. “Hong Kong consumers tend to be smart and well-informed, and even more so now that they can compare prices online,” Hui said. “However, lamps are lamps and with so many different items to choose from, how are customers supposed to know the difference? It is our job to explain and smoothen their purchasing experience.”
Do customers always look for the cheapest place to buy? “No. Sometimes, purchasing experience trumps price. What keeps our customers returning for more is the feeling that we can be trusted, and that is the most important thing in any business. Some of our customers have placed their trust in us for 25 years,” Hui added.
Plant for the future
Sales and profit have kept flowing in as the online shop has recently come to life so the company’s future looks quite good. Yet despite its success, Hui considers e Lighting an ever-evolving business, an ongoing project still in its development stage.
“In business, there is no such thing as a ‘harvesting stage’,” Hui said, “the more you think about harvesting, the more you risk losing everything.”
Looking ahead, the group will concentrate on the consolidation of their retail network and optimization of product mix while introducing exciting new products and ideas to the market. “What we understand about the industry today might not be relevant anymore tomorrow. I always believe in change, adaptation and survival.”
“I do my best to spread new seeds, new ideas. Not every idea shall flourish – as the saying goes, only 5% of the seeds that one plants will grow to fill the whole garden – and my mission is to plant yet a few more.”
Company: E Lighting Group Holdings Ltd
HKGCC Membership No.: HKE0503
Established: 2003
Website: www.elighting.asia
