The Straits Times / The Business Times News on OSIM

'There are predators everywhere'

IN the global economy where inventions and innovations can spread from one end of the globe to the other at Internet speed, how do you ensure your company's products are not copied and offered to potential customers at a fraction of your cost?

'You have to protect your IP (intellectual property) first and keep innovating and improving your product continuously,' says Ron Sim, founder and chief executive of Osim International. 'There are predators everywhere. And unless you're a few steps ahead of the copycats, you're dead in the market. You've got to keep running all the time.'

Mr Sim should know. He's turned his flagship company, Osim, from a tiny start-up in Singapore to a global brand that is neck to neck with Singapore's other super brand, Creative Technology.

'Creative is the Big Brother, we're the little brother,' Mr Sim says.

Osim employs 2,200 people worldwide - 5,000 including Brookstone. Most sales staff lug along a notebook PC or PDA from vendors like Hewlett-Packard. Osim's high-end chairs are made in Japan, and the middle- and low-end chairs in China.

'Panasonic is our closest competitor but it is an electronics company, not a healthy lifestyle products' company,' he says. 'In that sense we have no direct competitor worldwide. But there are thousands of niche players who sell some kind of massage equipment in their local markets. Then there are the copycats. Some put the 'O' either in front or behind their company names to show some affinity to Osim.'

The trick is to stay a few steps ahead of them. 'We have an R&D team and we upgrade our products every year,' Mr Sim says. 'We take security issues very seriously. We take IP very seriously. R&D costs a lot of money, so we have to protect what we have built.'

What would he say to a customer who points out that a competitor's massage chair has almost all the features of an Osim at half the price?

'We see ourselves as the Mercedes Benz of the massage chair industry,' he says. 'Why do people buy a Mont Blanc pen when they can get another pen at a fraction of the cost? Why do people buy Nike's shoes when there are dozens of other brands of running shoes? Because they perceive a level of security, of worth, of elegance, of quality in that product. We've painstakingly built a brand that offers the highest quality worldwide.'

Which massage chair does he personally use? 'The iSymphony,' he says. 'That comes with a sensor and a detector and a music system. A microprocessor detects pressure points and changes frequency and pressure based on the amplitude of music. You can use any music CD. The chair translates the music to a massage motion. For example, if you play a bhangra or rock CD, you will get a very strong massage. If you play a classical music CD, you will get a very soothing motion. The chair changes its motion to suit your mood and desire. It is your perfect de-stress companion. Sometimes I fall asleep on it at home.'