Chong Hao Foong Researchers: Law Zhi Chang Harris Aziz Teoh Zhe Khai Yew Wing Kee Tey Cheng Fern Alison Tang Special Thanks: Owners of Vision Art and Saujana Stationeries

1. Summary.
OurresearchrevolvesaroundStationeryBusinessesorbusinessesthatcaterstothe supplying,buying
and selling of stationaries. In our research we have chosen a stationery shop located within Klang
ValleyandanotherinPahangto compare betweenthe businesses.The shopinKlangValleyisknown
as ‘Vision Art & Stationery Supplies’ and the one in Pahang is known as ‘Saujana Stationaries’ (Sky
Prosperities Stationaries), and we have comparedthe two businessesand analysedtheir similarities
and differences.Thisallowedusto understandmore of what the businessesare about such as what
it takes to run this kind of business and what are the challenges faced whilst running them.
Introduction.
Firstof all,stationeryiswritingmaterialsthatare commerciallymanufacturedformassproductionto
cater fordomesticuse,officeworks,educationandevenmiscellaneous purposes.Originallythe word
‘Stationery’ was derived from the word ‘Stationer’, a person who sells stationaries. Their shops are
oftenlocatednearbyuniversities.Thisisbecause stationersknew thatstudentsfromsaiduniversities
will be needingthe materials for their academic use and are willing to spend the money.The oldest
knownstationeryshopislocatedinEnglandknownas‘The Stationer’sCompany’andwasestablished
in 1403, ever since the medieval times.
Going further back into time, before the idea of establishing businessesselling stationery materials.
The concept of writing came by as a method of communication, and this first started when the
Egyptiansdevelopedthe formof parchmentfromverythinanimal skins.Theseactedasplatformsfor
handwritings,waybeforethe use of paperandevenwhentherewerepaper,theywere onlyavailable
to the wealthy. Though the parchments were generally viable, however there were drawbacks such
as not beingable tohandle well withhumidityandmoistinwetconditions,andif toodry the leather
gets split easily.
However,overtime the Egyptiansdevelopedanew formwritingplatformthatresembledpaper.They
were made of stem strips being laid together in single lines one layer after the other that partially
overlapsone anotheraccordingly.Andafterlayersupon layerswere laid,these were moistenedand
beatenflatintosinglesolidsheetswhichthen were lefttodryforseveral days.The plantthatthe stem
stripswere obtainedfromiscalled‘Papyrus’ andis believedthatthe word‘Paper’was derivedfrom.
The material was chosen due to its capability to handle wet and dry conditions well, and has been
proven to last for about 200 years.
Three thousand years later, in China,a man named Ts’ai Lun was known for the inventionof paper,
withthe utilisationof the innerbarksof treescombinedwithbamboofibresalongwiththe processto
make aqualitywritingsurfacethatspreadtocountriesandmadestandardforcenturies.Though,soon
after,the woodandbamboowerereplacedbylinenfibresthatproducedhigherqualityof paperwhich
thenbecame astaple aroundthe globe andinturnledtothe inventionof aprintingpressinventedby
a Germanman. Thisreducedthe practice of traditional hand-writtendocumentsandincrease theuse
of pressprintingwhichinturn,increasedthe demandforpaperasitbecame easierfordocumentsto
be made and reproduced. Hence began the golden age of Stationery Trading.

2. Business Case Studies – Descriptive Backgrounds
We have interviewed two different stationery shops for our project where one is located at Klang
Valley and another one at Pahang.
The stationery shop in Klang Valley is called ‘Vision Art’ which is located at 3, Jalan PJS
11/28, 46150 Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia.
There is only one ‘Vision Art’ in Bandar Sunway and were no other branches. In vision art they have a
total of 10 to 15 employees to help the business to run smoothly. Vision art mainly sells art materials
such as art pens, paint brushes, a variety of papers and so on and their target customers are mainly
students, considering it is located nearby educational institutes such as ‘The One Academy and Taylors
University. Vision art attracts a lot of customers because they are the only shop in Bandar Sunway that
primarily sells art materials.
The owners started their business in year 1991 and has already been running for 25 years till now. To
start up the business, the owner had a starting capital of RM15, 000 to purchase stock.
Initially, the business was formed by the husband of our interviewee (as upon request, their names will
not be disclosed). For the reason as to why the business was formed was quiet vague, as mentioned
by the interviewee (co-owner) that her husband started the business because there were not much that
he can do in terms of his career, but due to the nature of his family being in the stationery business he
acquired some knowledge and decided to form his own business. Naturally, the wife joined the venture
and became co-owner of the business till present day.
In addition the owner mentioned that, to form a business, it is important for starters to work hard and
learn along the way because it is not possible to simply learn from mere books and it is more about the
experiences and processes that the individuals will have to undergo. Vision art is a family business and
they provide stationery goods and as well as services such as printing, binding and laminating. And that
goes by saying that they business will only restock their products if the demand increases hence the
business will not offer any discounts or hold any seasonal sales to clear their product stocks.
Annually, on average, they can earn up to RM100, 000. And their main competitor that also primarily
caters for art materials is ‘Art Friend’.
This is mainly because ‘Art Friend’ has more branches and provide more choices for the customer.
However, the owner mentioned that they will not take any direct action towards the competitors because
they are satisfied with their current state of business. In the end, they gave advice to people who are
trying to start their own business to think twice before committing, because it is very different between
the businesses that individuals may think it seem than that of what the business truly is in reality.

3. The second stationery shop we interviewed is located in Pahang, called ‘Saujana Stationaries’. They
started up their business in 1997and similar to Vision Art, they too are a family business. With roughly
2 to 3 employees in total, they are relatively a small scaled business compared to their competitors ,
even so, as mentioned by the owner that the advantage of being a family run business is that they are
already established and in stable condition at the moment, hence they would not have to deal with
matters such as finding suppliers and making sure that the suppliers maintain consistency in providing
goods for the business, this goes hand in hand with maintaining the business’s relationship with their
suppliers. Which is not usually the case with new businesses, because they would have to convince
that their business is worth for the suppliers to invest on.
As of right now, the business’s target customers are students and office workers. On average the
business earns up to RM100, 000 annually, which is mainly due to the fact that the business has no
other branches. Even so, their earnings are considered to be stable, because despite of other stationery
businesses around, each and every business have their own loyal customers and hence thee
businesses do not compete or at the very least, do not affect each other’s business too significantly.

4. Comparative Analysis.
Basedonour interviews,SaujanaStationeriesare accompaniedwithabout7-8otherstationeryshops
in Jerantut, Pahang. And Vision Art are accompanied with many other stationery shops in Bandar
Sunway.
Shops like Art friend and Weststar The Art Shop are other stationery shops near the Sunway area
whichare competingwithVisionArt.They sellalmostsimilartypessameproductslikeVisionArtwhich
are art and stationery supplies, binding and photocopying services.
 Artfriend, unlike Vision Art is a more corporate oriented business as oppose to a family run
business,whichmeansthattheyare a companyand do have multiple branchesthatspreads
acrossthe countryandothercountriesabroad.ArtfriendisaSingaporeanbasedcompanythat
sellsa varietyof qualityart materialsto cater for fine arts,graphic artists,hobbiesandother
companies within the design sector ever since 1981.
 Weststar – The Art Shop, on the other hand is a Malaysian found company, quite similar to
Artfriend,thatitis a more corporate orientedbusinessandhave multiplebranchesthrouout
the country, with the exception that Weststar is also focusing on expanding their range of
providing goods and services through the internet, making it accessible to the whole
Peninsular Malaysia.
For Saujana Stationeries, their most notable competitors are Mr D.I.Y and Er Lian Tu Stationeries.
 Mr D.I.Y sells a multitude variety of things, mainlyhardwares and including some variety of
art materials.Theyare consideredtobe a competitordue to the varietyof goods beingsold
and as well beingsoldata verylow prices.Theyare a Malaysian foundcompanythat started
in 2005 and at present day has over 100 outlets across Malaysia, employing over 2500
employees and serving more than 45 million customers nationwide.
 Er Lian Tu Stationeriesonthe other hand isa familyrun businessandonlyhas 1 outlet.Sells
products that are similar to that of Saujana Stationeries and aims for the same target
customers. The origins of the shop is unknown due to the nature of business being small
scaled.
Both businesses, Vision Art and Saujana Stationeries do not employ any serious business strategies
such as sales or promotions to compete with their competitors. Instead they gain their customer's
trustby conductingtheirbusinesshonorablyandrelyontheircustomerloyaltytocompetewithother
businesses.They have become respectedestablishmentsforlocalsandhave successfully established
their business.
It is difficulttostart a businessnowbecause of the lack of experience andrelationships.Itisdifficult
to form a new business because it is hard to form new businessrelationswith other people, as they
have yetto prove themselvestobe trustworthy.Suppliersandotherbusinessmenwill onlyworkwith
the people they trust. It is a challenge to find new suppliers who are willing to take a chance.
Both businesses are family-owned businesses without any branches or attempts to expand. Both
businessesconducttheirbusinessinthe traditional wayinsteadof relyingonextravagant promotions
and sales gimmicks to win their customers.

5. Vision Art's customers are composed of mainly college students, while the customers of Saujana
stationeryshopare mainlylocal studentsor governmentoffices.VisionArtalsoreceivessome of it's
suppliesfromoverseas,whereasSaujanastationeryshopgetsall of itsproductsfromlocal suppliers.
Frommy opinion,VisionArtismore commerciallysuccessfulascomparedtoSaujanastationeryshop.
Thisis because ithas more customersand ismore well-knowncomparedtoSaujanastationeryshop.
Almost all art students in the Sunway area know about Vision Art and most people choose to shop
there.
In conclusion, both businesses earn the same amount of income annually and both are family run
businesses which do not have any other outlets. Due to the business’ nature being family run
businesses, the number of employees are limited, when compared to their large scaled business
competitors such as Art Friend, Weststar etc. And because of their limited number of outlets, both
businesses heavilydepend of their customer’s frequent and loyalty. Despite the average amount of
annual income, both business do not apply any business tactics to boost their profitability because
they proclaimed that both businesses are in a good and condition.
Below is a table to summarize our findings -
Factors Vision Art Saujana Stationeries
Types of Business Family Run Family Run
Products Primarily Art Materials Basic Writing Stationery and
Sports Gears
Services Printing, Photocopying and
Laminating
N/A
No. Employees 10 - 15 2 - 3
Scale/No. Outlets Small Scaled – 1 outlet Small Scaled – 1 outlet
Target Customers Students
 University Students
Students
 Primary
 Secondary
Workers
 Office Workers
 Teachers
Average Annual Income RM 100,000 RM 100,000
Competitors ArtFriend
Weststar Art Shop
MR D.I.Y
Sri Jerantut Stationeries

6. MINUTES OF THE MEETING
NAMES OF GROUP
MEMBERS
TUTORIAL GROUP ROLE
Law Zhi Chang WED
18:30 – 20:30
-Shooting Interview
-Managing the team
-Edit the interview
Md Harris Aziz FRI
14:00 – 16:00
-Shooting Interview
-Overall Grammatical
Structure
-Introduction
Chong Hao Foong THURS
18:00 – 20:00
-Interview
-Minute
-Artistic cover
Teoh Zhe Khai WED
18:30 – 20:30
-Overall Grammatical
Structure
-Comparative
Yew Wing Kee WED
18:00 – 20:00
-Description of business
-Key summary
Tey Cheng Fern FRI
14:00 – 16:00
-Shooting the interview
-Edit the interview
Alison Tang THURS
18:00 – 20:00
-Interview
-Brief description of shops
MEETING 1
DATE: 2/1/2016 Attendance: ALL
TIME: 7p.m. – 2a.m.
VENUE: DK SENZA
NO. ACTIVITY ACTION TAKEN BY
1. Introduction Harris Aziz
2. Deciding the business Law Zhi Chang
3. Deciding the places of interview Chong Hao Foong, Harris
Aziz
4. Deciding the member who go other state Chong Hao Foong, Harris
Aziz, Law Zhi Chang

7. MEETING 2
DATE: 3/1/2016 Attendance: Law Zhi Chang, Harris Aziz, Chong Hao
Foong, Teoh Zhe Khai
TIME: 11a.m.-5p.m.
VENUE: Pahang,Jerantut
NO. ACTIVITY ACTION TAKEN BY
1. Travel toPahang Law Zhi Chang, Harris
Aziz, Chong Hao Foong,
Teoh Zhe Khai
2. Meet the Owner of chosen shops Law Zhi Chang, Harris
Aziz, Chong Hao Foong,
Teoh Zhe Khai
3. Interview and interview shooting Chong Hao Foong, Harris
Aziz
MEETING 3
DATE: 6/1/2016 Attendance: Alison Tang, Tey Cheng Fern, Harris Aziz
TIME: 3p.m.-6p.m.
VENUE: near Sunway Pyramid
NO. ACTIVITY ACTION TAKEN BY
1. Go to the chosen Klang valley shop Alison Tang, Tey Cheng
Fern, Harris Aziz
2. Meet the Owner of chosen shops Alison Tang, Tey Cheng
Fern, Harris Aziz
3. Interview and interview shooting Interview and interview
shooting

8. MEETING 4
DATE: 7/1/2016 Attendance: ALL
TIME: 9p.m.-3a.m.
VENUE: DK SENZA
NO. ACTIVITY ACTION TAKEN BY
1. Edit the interview video for subtitle Law Zhi Chang, Tey
Cheng Fern
2. Listen to the interview for information Alison Tang, Teoh Zhe
Khai
3. Drawing the artistic cover Chong Hao Foong
4. Comparative of the two shops Teoh Zhe Khai
5. Information of the twoshops Alison Tang
6. Description of business Yew Wing Kee
7. Overall compilation Harris Aziz
MEETING 5
DATE: 14/1/2016 Attendance: Harris Aziz, Tey Cheng Fern, Chong Hao
Foong, Teoh Zhe Khai, Yew Wing Kee
TIME: 4p.m.-9p.m.
VENUE: Taylor’s University
NO. ACTIVITY ACTION TAKEN BY
1. Compilation of the report Harris Aziz
2. Presentation Slide making Teoh Zhe Khai
3. Minute meeting Chong Hao Foong
4. Prepare info for presentation slide Tey Cheng Fern
5. Add more words to the report Yew Wing Kee

9. Credits:
Chong Lai Peng – Lead Guide