English Research Essay

!
1"

Soo Xiao Wen (0314140) ! Chan Boon Haw (0313667) ! Thai Chee Yoong (0313718)
FNBE JULY 2013 - ENGL 0205
English 2
Edward Cheng Mun Kit (0313466) ! Kevin Cheong Cheng Lee (0310354)

Introduction of research project
For this research assignment, we are required to form a group that consists of 5
members and we have chosen Thai Chee Yoong as our group member. In this
assignment, we are required to prepare a research paper based on a site that we have
visited and we will focus on comparative research and we will apply the skills we have
learned last semester in comparing similarities and contrasting differences of a specific
business that we have chosen.
Since we need to choose a business as our research study, we finally decided to do
research about bicycle shop. We have chosen 3 different places in Malacca, Klang
Valley and Penang which are, Sin Bee Hin (SBH) Bicycle in Malacca, Proride Cycle
Centre in Klang Valley and Chin Seng Leong in Penang for our research study. In this
research,

KEY SUMMARY

!2"

English 2

(1) Group Discussion
Once the lecturer has assigned to this assignment, we soon had series of group
discussion to allocate separate tasks to everyone in our group .In the first 2 discussions,
we came up with few basic outcomes. Firstly, we have decided on the locations of our
research that are Petaling Jaya, Penang and Malacca. After that, we searched the
internet and enquired from friends about respective locations of our research. Lastly, we
have decided to categorize the questions into group and then develop relevant
questions. During the following discussions, we discuss specifically about the different
locations.
(2) Process of interviewing bicycle shop
We have chosen SBH Bicycle from Malacca, SYKT. Kwong Van San and Lee Wah
Trading Co to interview. In all the interviews, we informed and got permission from the
business owner before we start our interviews through phone-calls to make
appointments with them. Once the owner approved the interview, we chose a spot to
start our interview so that we wont affect their daily business. Then, we start to ask
basic questions about their business. In the process of interviewing the owner or the
workers, we asked questions depend on the situations during the interviews and get
back to suggested question we set if we can. After the interview ended, we asked
METHODOLOGY

!3"

English 2
whether we could take pictures of their shops. The next step of what we do was, we
rearranged and documented all the information we got. Then interview is done.
(3) Conclusion
By a series of group meeting, we found out that working in a team to complete tasks are
effective if the allocation of works are done nicely. Everyone is able to do our work
evenly. Other than that, by applying the methods of research, interview and
documenting, we understand how the business is being run and the history of the 3
respective bicycle shops. We greatly appreciate this opportunity as we got to learn the
techniques of interviewing and documenting, at the same time, we also got to learn
about the history of bicycle industry and how this business regulate.

!4"

English 2

Vehicles for human transport that have two wheels and need complementary by
the rider date back to the early 19th century. The first means of transport making use of
two wheels arranged consecutively, and thus the original of the bicycle, was the
Germandraisine dating back to 1817. The term bicycle was coined in France in the
1860s.

The late 1890s were a golden age for bicycles. They were seen as technological
marvels and were ridden by Royals and rich young blades. Fancier bicycles sold for
$150 or more. To put this into perspective, a worker in one of the many factories
producing bicycles in 1891 would have to work for six months to be able to offer one of
the items he was assembling. Prior to the boom of 1895-7, bicycles were the red
Ferraris of the day: fast playthings of the rich.
THE HISTORY OF THE BUSINESS

!3"

English 2
When bicycles were luxury items, there were few bicycle retailers. When the
middle classes started purchasing bicycles in big numbers, the number of specialist
bicycle retailers increased to cope with demand. There were 100,000 visitors to a cycle
show in New York in 1896, of which 2000 were cycle agents, such as bike shops, and
hardware stores which sold bikes. In 1897 America manufactured 1 million bicycles;
England made 600,000. American and English bicycles were exported around the world
but, until the bubble bursting required dumping product overseas, the biggest markets
were domestic markets.

Bicycle shop owners made a tidy living. The Wright Brothers they who, in 1903,
perfected powered flight (one of the brothers is seen in the shops workshop, above)
paid for their experiments from the profits generated in their bicycle shop, founded in
1892. The Wright Cycle Co. of Dayton, Ohio, was profitable for many years. In 1897,

!6"

English 2
their best year, they made $3000 between them at a time when a very respectable
white-collar wage was $500 per year.
One of the reasons bike shops made so much money apart from the crazed
cravings of customers, who had to have the buzz product of the day was because of
manufacturers sales tactics that would later be taken up with gusto by automobile
manufacturers. Bikes were bought on credit, with installment payments a novelty at the
time. Bicycle manufacturers also innovated with planned obsolescence, creating
models with short lifespans before another, improved model came out .1897 was to be
the peak year for the upper and middle class bicycle boom, in both America and
England, with America witnessing the bursting of the bubble first. After 1897 trade in the
US started going downhill, prices plummeted.
In England, the boom was also over by 1897 but it took at least another year
before it was obvious the craze was at an end. Travel writing husband and wife team
Joseph and Elizabeth Pennell said 1899 was as bad a year as the (bicycle) trade has
ever seen.

!7"

English 2
As bicycle retailing became less profitable, the numbers of bicycle retailers fell
through the floor. Bad for bicycle manufacturers, good for aviation. After 1897, sales
and profits at the Wright Cycle Co. were much reduced. On May 30th 1899, Wilbur
Wright wrote to the Smithsonian Institution, asking for papers on mans attempt to fly.
He paid for the papers from his and his brothers bicycle business. The accounts for the
Wright Cycle Co. include an 1899 entry of $5.50 for books on flying.
In America, the oldest still-trading bike shop is Bishops Bicycles of Milford, Ohio,
founded in 1890.Kopps Cycle of Princeton, New Jersey, was founded by E.C. Kopp in
1891 at the tail-end of the high-wheeler era. Safety bicycles, with two equal sized
wheels and later shod with new-fangled pneumatic tyres, were disparagingly known as
jiggers by the gentlemen on their elevated steeds but soon dominated the scene,
leading to increased business for specialist retailers such as Bishops and Kopps.

!8"

English 2
The father of Charles Kuhn, the current owner of Kopps, bought the business
from the founders wife in the 1940. Kuhn Snr and Englishman Dick Swann - who I
knew, and who Ive mentioned previously pioneered the US import of Italian racing
bicycles and parts in the 1960s. The oldest retail bike shop in the United States still
owned by the same family is the wonderfully named Greenlees Bicycle Hospital of
Knoxville, TN. The second oldest still owned by the same family is Bumsteads
Bicycles of Ontario, California, founded in 1909.

!9"

English 2

We prepared 25 questions which are divided into six main categories which are general
question, advertising, technology, human resource +resources, competition and
business productivity. The question that we prepared are listed below:-
A) General Question
1. Where and when did the shop first opened? Is it opened locally or migrated from
oversea at the beginning?
2. What is the name of the founder? Where was he from? Locally or migrated from
other country?
3. Who and what reasons made the founder to open this business?
4. What stages of customers usually come here the most (e.g. adults, teenagers)?
Are they mostly males or females?
5. Is this the only shop the company opened currently or are there any other
braches out there?
6. Would the owner pass on the business to the next kin? Who would he/she pass
on to most probably?
7. What are some of the problems and obstacles the founder faced at the primary
stage of the business?
8. How is the business right now? Are they facing any problems recently?
9. What are the strategies that the shop has implemented/ is implementing to
counter these problems in order for them to continue their business smoothly?
B) Advertising
1. Are there any advertisements related to the products or services of the shop? If not,
why?
2. What are some of the ways they advertise their product or services and how
successful are they in order to aid their business?

C) Technology
1. In 2013, are there any specific technologies that affects/ aid the business of the
company?
2. Is everything easier since the technology was introduced?
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

!10"

English 2
3. Which is more useful? Using the old ways or the modern technologies for your
business in order to solve problems?
D) Human Resource + Resources
1. Are the employees here hired through interviews or through the experiences they
gained previously? Or both?
2. Where are all your resources come from and how do you consider choosing it the
wise way? Are the resources limited to a certain extend or a large variety to
choose from?
E) Competition
1. Do you think there are any competitors around this area that is challenging your
business? If yes, name some of them.
2. What are some ways to ensure the competitors do not affect the business?
3. Do you feel any pressure given by the competitors around once in a while? How
do you counter it?

F) Business Productivity
1. What is the range of the price of your product?
2. Are there any extra charges and taxes included in the price of the product? What
kind of charges or taxes it is?
3. How does the recession in 1998 and 2001 affected the business?
4. Is the business going well currently? If not, what are the reasons that affect the
business?
5. Have you ever thought of expanding the business in the near future? If so, what
do you think are some of the good methods to expand it?
6. Does the profit earned remains at a certain level or does it increase or decrease
at some point of the year? Why does the increase or decrease occurs?

!11"

English 2

Sin Bee Hin Chop (SBH)

Name : Sin Bee Hin Chop SBH
Address : 47, Jalan Ong Kim Wee, 75300 Melaka, Malaysia.

Telephone /Fax number : 606- 283 1477
Email address : -
Office hour : Mon Thu - 9.45 am 7.00 pm
Fri Sat - 9.00 am 6.30 pm
Sun - Close
Business Owner : Jabba
Interviewer : Thai Chee Yoong
RESEARCH ESSAY

!12"

English 2
Location Map

SBH bicycle shop is a shop that is located in Malacca. This business started in
the year 1971, and now there is already a history of 42 years. Basically the shop was
named after the founder, Mr. Sin Bee Hin, Malaysian Chinese who was born in
Malacca. The reason he started this business is because he has the knowledge and
interest of bicycles. The current shop owner is already the third generation that was
passed on to. This business sells bicycle and at the same time, it provides the service of
repairing bicycles.
In order to increase the amount of customers for the business, SBH bicycle shop
used a few types of technique to advertise and promote its product and services. One of
the way they used is through social networks. Social Networks such as Facebook is
used to promote their products to the customers through the online world since the
technology nowadays is so advanced. Not only that, they also use leaflets to advertise

!13"

English 2
their products and services. By using these few easy techniques, they manage to attract
more and more customers from around.
The technology used to assemble the bicycles are getting more and more
advance compared to four decades ago when the workers can only use their bare
hands and some mechanical tools to assemble the bicycles in order to sell it. Not only
that, technology also improved the ways to repair the bicycles. The effort to repair bikes
and getting lesser and thus the number of customers will increase due to the
effectiveness of the service.
SBH bicycle shop employ their workers through their previous experience
because they focus not only on the skills and ability of a person in repairing the bicycle,
but also how they treat their customers. In order to get the best quality of products, SBH
bicycle shop will get each and every different branded bicycles from many different
outlets and the most used brand is Merida. There are also many other different brands
but Merida is one of the best quality they provide.
Although SBH bicycle shop does not have any specific competitors due to their
long term business before any other bicycle business was formed, but in this 40 years, it
is getting more and more competitors and some of the stated shops were Rodalink and
Soon Huat. In order to ensure the competitors do not affect the business, SBH bicycle
shop will try their best and provide the most satisfying service to the customers and give
the most reasonable price. In this 40 years, SBH bicycle shop actually made a lot of

!14"

English 2
fixed customers and because of this reason, they do not need to worry about the
pressure that was given by the competitors.
SBH bicycle provides a range of bicycles for their customers. Bikes such as
leisure bike, mountain bike and bike for small kids are some of the bicycles that was
sold at the shop. The pricing range of the bike is around RM200 to RM30,000. It can
also be increased if the customer wants a better parts. Government taxes was included
in the price of the bikes that were sold. On the year 1998 and 2001, due to the
recession, many people lost their job and do not have the money to afford other interest.
Many customers stop coming by and because of this, a lot of workers were fired and are
forced to go back to their own places and find a better job. But now, more and more
customers are willing to come by to purchase their products.
Although the business is going very well, they did not plan to expand their
business. It is because SBH bicycle shop is a family business so they hope that
everything will continue like this. There is not much increase or decrease in the profit
earned in this business throughout the year. Usually customers will increase in peak
seasons like during the end of the year because many people return from larger cities
and will be living in Malacca for a while. In order to spend their free time, they will buy a
bike to ride during the free time and thus the profit of the business increases.

!13"

English 2

THE VIDEO CLIP OF THE INTERVIEW

!16"

English 2
PRORIDE Cycles Centre

Name :
Address : 70G, Jalan Puteri 2/4, Bandar Puteri, Puchong, 47100,
Puchong, Selangor, 47100, Malaysia

Telephone /Fax number : 603-8063 7611

Email address : -
Office hour : Mon Sat - 10:30 am 8:30 pm
Sun - Close
Business Owner : Mr. Chan Leslie
Interviewer : Chan Boon Haw

!17"

English 2
Location Map

PRORIDE cycle centre is a shop located in Puchong, Selangor. This business
started in the year 2002. The founder of PRORIDE, Mr Chan Leslie, is a Malaysian
Chinese. He is currently living in Puchong. The reason he started this business is
because he has the knowledge in bicycles and at the same time, he wanted to earn
more money. PRORIDE cycle centre sells bicycle and also provides the service to
repair bicycles.
PRORIDE cycle centre has used social networks to promote their products and
services. Social Networks such as Facebook and blogs are used to promote their
products to the customers through the online world since the technologies are getting
more advances now. They think this is the best way to attract more and more customers
from around. The customers that come by are usually around the age of 4 to 60.
PRORIDE has quite a wide range of customers, but most of the customers are
teenagers or adults that have a job. Male customers are more common to visit the shop

!18"

English 2
compared to female. The company currently owns a shop but is planning to open a new
branch soon although its still in thinking process. From what we got from the interview,
the owner stated that the business will be passed on. Although he did not stated who is
going to be the kin, he has a son that follows him to the shop everyday to help out. So,
there is a great chance that his son will be the kin.
During the primary stage of the business, there are a lot of problems faced by the
owner. One of it was hard to get the parts and the resources. Not only that, it is also
hard to find customers and sometimes, they cant even sell an item in a week or two.
The business is currently going smoothly and everything is fine and not many problems
are faced compared to the beginning. They think that it is important to give the best
service, and try to make more regular customers. Let the customers feel free and relax
when they come in to the shop and at the same time learn the techniques of bike riding
together are some of the strategies to solve the problems faced last time.
PRORIDE stated that if it was to compared to 10 years ago and the present,
definitely there will be more improvements in technologies. Last time, the employees
used their bare hand in order to repair the bicycles. But nowadays, there are specific
machines that are used to repair the bikes The modern technology is preferable in
order to upgrade their business and services. Everything can be done nicely on time
and eventually, there will be more customers that comes by compared to the past. In
order to make the business better, hiring more people is the key. Interviews and
experiences are not the main reasons PRORIDE will hire workers. PRORIDE aims to

!19"

English 2
employ employees that are willing to work and are able to learn. There are three
important things that the employees must have according to the owner, Hardworking,
Willing to Learn and Willing to Listen and they must always possess positive attitudes.
There are no specific companies that PRORIDE gets their products from because the
resources come from many different suppliers. If a customer wants a specific type of
bike, PRORIDE will help to order the right type of bike for them.
The two main competitors to PRORIDEs business is SHUN CHI cycle service
and Max Bikes. To defeat their competitors, PRORIDE has used some strategies. Every
week, the workers will spend few nights to teach the technique sof riding bicycle to
those who are interested. They eventually make friends and form a group with the
customers. By using this technique, the amount of regular customers will increase and
thus, PRORIDEs business will not be affected. They will also try their best to make sure
that the customers will return.
The prices of the bikes that were sold have a range from around RM 200 to RM
40,000. Import taxes and government taxes were included in the price of the product.
Because the shop was not open when both the recession happened in the year of 1998
and 2001, the business was not affected at all. Currently everything is fine and the
business is going smoothly due to the increase interest of new bike riders. If there is
chance, the owner hopes that they can open a new branch somewhere in Puchong. But
before they do so, they have to improve their current business. The profit earned usually

!20"

English 2
increases during the year end and the beginning of the year. Everyone has different
reasons and time to buy a bike, so the reason of the profit increase is unclear.


!21"

English 2
CHIN SENG LEONG Bicycle Shop

Name :
CHIN SENG LEONG
Address : No 55, Armenian Street, 10200 Penang.

Telephone /Fax number : 012-55533553/016-4771759/04 2610106

Email address : tanteikleong@gmail.com
Office hour : Mon Sun - 10:30 am 8:30 pm
Business Owner : Tan Teik Leong
Interviewer : Edward Cheng Mun Kit

!22"

English 2
Location Map

!23"

English 2

Chin Seng Leong bicycle shop is a shop that is located in Penang. This business
started in the year of 1950, and now there is already a history of 63 years. Basically the
shop was named after the founder, Mr. Chin Seng Leong, a Malaysian Chinese who
was born in Penang. The reason he started this business is because he has the
knowledge and interest of bicycles and he wanted to earn more money. The current
shop owner is the second generation of the founder of the business. This business
provides the service of repairing bicycles and rent bicycles.
In fact, many businesses fail during their first year of operation. The same goes
to the Chin Seng Leong bicycle shop, the business was almost close down because
the street was quiet and still before the street art was emerge. The reason why the
business started there was because the founder did not have enough capital to rent a
shop lots at the busy street . However, because of the determination of the founder, he
never give up to manage the business, now it become a profitable business.
One of the objectives of the business is to maximize the sales revenue.
Promotion through social network is the way that the current owner did to achieve the
objective of the business. Chin Seng Leong bicycle shop advertised its service in
Facebook and a lot of bicycles were posted to attract the people to rent it. On top of
that, Chin Seng Leong bicycle shop was located in a very strategic place which is
Armenian Street that has a lot of street art nearby it. The excellent services provided by
the owner and workers of the shop has caused the current customers to recommend

!24"

English 2
the shop to their friends and family .Words of mouth have made the business save a lot
of money to promote its services and increase their sales revenue as well.
The current owner of the business stated that even the technologies in 2013
were more advance than before but they still using the traditional way to repair the
bicycle. He said that sometimes the bicycle will broke in the half way when the
customers was using it. The workers or himself will go to them and help them to repair
the bicycle by bare hand. Even though it takes time but this is also the way to let the
customers feel like they are back to 80s life. In order to maintain the business and
make it able to run everyday, hiring the right people is the key. Interviews and
experiences are not the main reasons for Chin Seng Leong Bicycle shop to hire
workers. The current owner hopes to employ the employees that are willing to work and
learn. Normally, the workers here were owners friend. They are working and at the
same time spending their time together. When there is no customers, all of them will
starting chit-chating. There are no specific companies that provide or supplies bicycles
to Chin Seng Leong Bicycle shop. However, all the bicycles here were the second hand
bicycles imported from Japan.
When the owner was asked about whether there is any competitors that threated
his business, his answer was optimistic. He stated that having competitors cannot be
avoided by every business.There are a lot of competitors nearby Chin Seng Leong
Bicycle shop. However, the owner said that they are having healthy and fair

!23"

English 2
competition. He never use any strategics to fight with the competitors as his main
objective is to provide good service for the customers.
Chin Seng Leong Bicycle shop is not selling any of his bicycles but renting it to
the customers who would like to have a ride around the Georgetown area. The prices of
the rental fees of the bicycles were within the range of RM10-RM30 each. Although the
bicycles were imported from Japan but government taxes are not charged by the
government. Currently the business is going smooth due to the increase of tourists that
travel in Pulau Pinang. The owner does not hope to open a new branch even if there is
a good chance for him. He mentioned that expansion was not the objective of the
business. However, he does not deny that the business will not be expand if he passes
the business to his next generation. The profit earned usually increase during the peak
season which is school holidays. However, the trend has changed when the street
became popular with street art.

!26"

English 2


!27"

English 2

After doing the research for all three shops, we realized that there are many
differences between them. The most obvious one was the location of the bicycle shop
business. SBH bicycle shop is located in Malacca, PRORIDE cycle centre is in Klang
Valley, and Penang for Chin Seng Leong bicycle shop. Both of the bicycle shops in
Penang and Malacca have the history for more than 40 years whereas for PRORIDE
cycle centre only have the history of 11 years. All of the founders are Malaysian
Chinese that have the knowledge in bicycles. All three businesses do not have any
branches out there and are all family business. Unlike PRORIDE, Sin Bee Hin and Chin
Seng Leong have both pass down their business for a few generations. Three of the
bicycle shop faced problems when they first open the shop, problems like not having
enough products and no customers coming in. But they manage to counter the
problems in the end and have a smooth business afterwards.
In this modern era, all of them use technologies to advertise their products. They
used social network like Facebook and Blogs in order to promote their products and
services to everyone. On the other hand, they also try to do their best in selling,
repairing and renting their bicycles. They used specific technologies to repair and
assemble the bicycles unlike the olden days. PRORIDE and Sin Bee Hin prefers the
modern ways but Chin Seng Leong doesnt because they wanted to have a more
tradition feelings to their business.
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE BUSINESS

!28"

English 2
The way the businesses hire their employees are different. Chin Seng Leong and
PRORIDE cycle centre prefer to hire people that are willing to work and have good
attitude. Unlike the both, SBH bicycle shop prefers to hire workers who have experience
and skills. The three businesses took their resources from different places and all of
them have different types of brands for their bicycle that they favor and choose to sell or
rent.
All the businesses have their own competitors at their own places, but all of them
have a history that is more than 10 years so they already have fixed customers and
competitors are not a big deal to them. To the three businesses, they think that it is
most important that they have to do their best and provide the best services so that the
customer will stay.
It is quite different in pricing their products for these three shops. Sin Bee Hin has
a price range of RM200 to RM30000 and PRORIDE has a range of RM200 to RM40000
which is close to each other. Whereas for Chin Seng Leong, they rent their bikes with
the price range of RM10-30 which has a large difference compared to the other two.
Although the bike price for PRORIDE and Sin Bee Hin is high, taxes are actually
included unlike Chin Seng Leong. Sin Bee Hins bike price contains government tax and
PRORIDEs contain both government and import tax. During the recession in year 1998
and 2001, both Chin Seng Leong and SBH cycle centre suffered a lot. Many people lost
their job that time and do not have the money to afford other interest. Many customers

!29"

English 2
stop coming by. Many of the workers that worked at both the shops were fired and are
forced to go back to their own places and find a better job.

!"#$%&%'()* ,-%./0(0 "1 '2* 340(-*00*0 !"#$*'('()* 5&%('0
S8P Cycle CenLre 8C8luL Chln Seng Leong
number of
compeLlLors 1here are Lwo 1wo compeLlLors, no speclflc
ln Lhelr respecLlve compeLlLors, SPun CPl cycle compeLlLors
geographlcal 8odallnk and and MAx blkes

markeL Soon PuaL.

SLraLegles used by 1ry Lo do Lhelr besL CaLher Lhe people Clvlng Lhe cusLomer
Lhe buslnesses and glve who are lnLeresLed a good servlce,
reasonable prlce and Leach Lhem, maklng Lhem saLlsfy

glvlng Lhem a wlLh lL.
place Lo cycle.
rlclng of Lhe lrom 8M200 Lo lrom 8M200 Lo 8enLal 8M10 Lo
producL

8M30,000

8M40,000

8M30

AdverLlslng way lacebook and leafleL lacebook and 8log
lacebook and
word of mouLh
used

varleLy of producL noL much, mosLly 8lg varleLy, cusLomer noL much, mosLly

from Merlda

can order from Lhem second hand blke

lf Lhey wanL speclflc from !apan
brand
CbsLacles faced by Pas Lhe hlsLory of Was hard aL flrsL, buL Was hard aL flrsL,
new buslnesses 40 years, was hard Lo afLer 10 years of buL afLer few

enLer Lhe markeL aL experlence, lLs okay years, everyLhlng

flrsL. 8uL now every- now

goes well.

Lhlng goes well

naLure of Lhelr Cllgopoly, Lhere are CompeLaLlve, MonopollsLlc
markeLs

only Lwo compeLlLors ln klang valley, noL cannoL speclflcally

ln Lhe markeL much cusLomer and name any
Lhere are a loL blke compeLlLors

!30"

English 2

Based on the comperative analysis, to improve the business, Chin Seng Leong
bicycle shop should enter to a new market to sell bicycle. As stated above, Chin Seng
Leong bicycle shop was the business to rent the bicycle to the tourists who want to
cycle around in Georgetown especially the street that popular with street art. Since the
current business was only renting the bicycle, the current owner should try to import or
get the supply of bicycles to sell it to increase the sales revenue. Actually Sin Bee Hin is
a business which has the potential to follow the step of Chin Seng Leong. Malacca was
a historical state, Sin Bee Hin should also provide the renting bicycle service to the
tourists to increase the sales revenue. However PRORIDE which is the business
located in Klang Valley does not has the opportunity to follow Chin Seng Leong's step
as Sin Bee Hin.
With the aim to increase the sales revenue, three of the business should
determine the price based on the price elasticity of demand and other elasticity. If the
price of bicycle was inelastic, the owner can consider to increase the price of bicycle to
increase the sales revenue. On top of that, Chin Seng Leong could also mark-up the
price for renting bicycle during the peak season which is school holidays. The demand
may be decrease but the sales revenue is still increasing due to the higher price was
charge per bicycle.
RECOMMENDATION

!31"

English 2
As stated by the owner of Chin Seng Leong bicycle shop, there is no business
without competitors. One of the ways to improve the competitiveness of the business
was study the internal and external factors that may influence the performance of the
business by using SWOT analysis. SWOT stand for strength, weaknesses, opportunity
and thread. For a business to improve its competitiveness, it must know what is the
strength and weaknesses of itself. The business should using its strength to improve the
business and overcome the weaknesses. In addition, the business also must
understand what is the strength of the competitors, so that the business would only be
able to compete with the competitors. The business also must determine the opportunity
for the business to expend and what is the thread for it. However, SWOT analysis was
only a guideline for the owner. If the owner wish to improve the business very well,
further analysis should be done.

!32"

English 2

Admin (2001). Bicycle shops in Kuala Lumpur. Retrieved from
http://www.togoparts.com/bikeshops/list_shops.php?country=MY

Admin (2010, Oct 25). SBH Bicycles Racing N Mountain Bikes. Retrieved from
http://sbhbicycles.com/blog/.

Bicycle. Retrieved from http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/64721/bicycle

SBH Bicycles Sdn Bhd. Retrieved 25
th
October 2013, Malacca.

PRORIDE Cycles Centre. Retrieved 19
th
November 2013, Penang.

Chin Seng Leong Bicycle Shop. Retrieved 16
th
November 2013

Jabba. Personal Interview. Interview of SBH Bicycles. On the 25
th
October 2013.
Interviewed by Thai Chee Yoong and Kelvin Cheong Cheng Lee.

Chan,L. Personal Interview. Interview of ProRide Cycles Centre. On the 19
th
Nobember
2013. Interviewed by Chan Boon Haw and Celene Soo Xiao Wen.

Teik,L.C. Personal Interview. Interview of Chin Seng Leong Bicycle shop . On the 16
th

November 2013. Interviewed by Edward Teh Mun Kit and friend (Teh Wei Sheng).
BIBLIOGRAPHY

!33"

English 2


APPENDICES
PHOTOS

!34"

English 2

!33"

English 2

!36"

English 2

!37"

English 2

!38"

English 2

!39"

English 2

A) General
1. Where and when did the shop first opened? Is it opened locally or
migrated from ovesea at the beginning?
This bicycle shop had been there for 40 years, it is opened locally.

2. What is the name of the founder? Where was he from? Locally or
migrated from other country?
Sin Bee Hin, the shop is named after the founders name. He is Malaysian
Chinese.

The founder has the interest and the knowledge about bicycle, so he decided
to start the business.

4. What a stage of customers usually comes here the most (eg. adults,
teenagers)? Are they mostly males or females?
Customer comes from any age, but most of them are teenagers that are
currently studying in secondary school and above. Most of the customers are
male.

5. Is this the only shop the company opened currently or are there any
other braches out there?
This is the only shop, there are no branches out there.

6. Would the owner pass on the business to the next kin? Who would
he/she pass on to most probably?
Yes, this is a family business. Until now the founder has already passed on to
three generations. This business will be continued passing down.

7. What are some of the problems and obstacles the founder faced at
the primary stage of the business?
At the beginning stage, some examples of the problems that the founder
faced are, not sufficient stocks, unable to get customers because during that
SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE AND RESULTS

!40"

English 2
time people used to repair their bicycle themselves instead of sending it to
this shop to repair.

8. How is the business right now? Are they facing any problems
recently?
The business now is very good, there are many fixed customers.

9. What are the strategies that the shop has implemented/ is
implementing to counter these problems in order for them to continue
their business smoothly?
Every two weeks, there will be a bike competition (Jamuri) in the jungle, this is
a competition among the people that are living nearby and have the interest
to cycle. Through this competition, many people are having more passion in
cycling, and will start to buy good bikes with better specs so eventually the
business become better and better.
B) Advertising
1. Are there any advertisements related to the products or services of the
shop? If not, why?
Yes there are.
2. What are some of the ways they advertise their product or services and
how successful are they in order to aid their business?
They advertise their products through social networks and leaflets. But the main
advertising way SBH use is Facebook because it seems to be the best way to
advertise the product. Many people who are interested in bike will look through
the page and will order the bicycle parts from Facebook.
C) Technology
1. In 2013, are there any technologies that affects/ aid the business of the
company?
Yes. Compared to 40 years ago, there are a lot of good and new technologies.

!41"

English 2
Yes, it is much easier. The machines, unlike the olden days where you have to
do it by your own hands, do many technical works.
3. Which is more useful? Using the old ways or the modern technologies for
your business in order to solve problems?
Technologies work better, everything is completed in a shorter time and better
quality bikes are produced. The number of customers also increases.
1. Are the employees here hired through interviews or through the
experiences they gained previously? Or both?
Both, normally SBH prefer to hire an employee that has experience so that it will
be easier to catch up the jobs that are given.
2. Where are all your resources come from and how do you consider
choosing it the wise way? Are the resources limited to a certain extend
or a large variety to choose from?
We get each and every different branded bicycles from different factory outlets
and for our shop the most used brand is Merida. We also have other different
brands but the most preferred is this one.
E) Competition
1. Do you think there are any competitors around this area that is challenging
your business? If yes, name some of them.
Not really. But if really need to name them. Rodalink and Soon Huat.
Try to do our best, give the best service to others and give the most reasonable
price.
3. Do you feel any pressure given by the competitors around once in a while?
How do you counter it?
No. We actually dont really feel pressured by our competitors. SBH is a business
that has a history for more than 40 years; there are a lot of fixed customers. That
is why SBH dont really worry about the competitors and just try to do their best.

!42"

English 2

There are a few kinds of bike such as leisure bike, mountain bike and bike for
small kids. The pricing range of the bike is from RM200 to RM30, 000. It can
increase more if the customers want a better spec.
2. Are there any extra charges and taxes included in the price of the product?
What kind of charges or taxes it is?
We include government taxes in every bike that we sell.
Because of the recession, many people lost their job and do not have the money
to afford other interest. Many customers stop coming by. During that time, a lot of
workers were fired and are forced to go back to their own places and find a better
job.
4. Is the business going well currently? If not, what are the reasons that affect
the business?
Yes, of course. More and more customers are coming by to purchase our
products.
5. Have you ever thought of expanding the business in the near future? If so,
what do you think are some of the good methods to expand it?
Nope, everything is fine now. It is a family business so we hope that everything
will continue like this.
6. Does the profit earned remains at a certain level or does it increase or
decrease at some point of the year? Why does the increase or decrease
occurs?
There is not much increase or decrease in the profit earned in this business
throughout the year. But, usually customers will increase in peak seasons like
end of the year because many people return from the city and will live at Malacca
for a while, and in order to spend their free time wisely, they will buy a bike to fill
in the free time and so, the profit of the business increases.

!43"

English 2
A) General Question
1. Where and when did the shop first opened? Is it opened locally or migrated
from oversea at the beginning?
This shop is opened locally, started 11 years ago in Puchong.
2. What is the name of the founder? Where was he from? Locally or migrated
from other country?
The founder of PRORIDE is Chan Leslie, Malaysian Chinese who lives in
Puchong for many years.
He has the knowledge about bicycles and have the intention to earn more
money.
The customers are from around age 4 to 60. PRORIDE has quite a wide range of
customers, but most of the customers are teenagers or people who are working.
Most of them are male customers.
5. Is this the only shop the company opened currently or is there any other
braches out there?
This is the only shop the company owns, and they planned to open a new branch
soon but its still in thinking process.
6. Would the owner pass on the business to the next kin? Who would he/she
pass on to most probably?
Yes. Most probably the business will be passed on. The owner has a son and his
son will follow him to the shop everyday to help out. So, there is a great chance
that his son will continue the business.

!44"

English 2
7. What are some of the problems and obstacles the founder faced at the
primary stage of the business?
During the primary stage of the business, there are a lot of problems faced by the
owner. For example, it is hard to get the parts and the resources. Not only that, it
is also hard to find customers and sometimes, they cant even sell an item in a
week.
The business runs smoothly now, everything is fine and not much problems are
faced.
counter these problems in order for them to continue their business
smoothly?
Give the best service, and try to make more regular customers. Let the
customers feel free and relax when they come in to the shop and at the same
time learn the techniques of bike riding together.
B) Advertising
shop? If not, why?
Yes, PRORIDE does some advertisement on their product.
The most common way that PRORIDE uses to advertise their product is through
social networks. The most common used social network is Facebook and Blogs.
Many people who are interested in bikes will look through the pages and try to
order the product through online.
C) Technology
1. In 2013, are there any specific technologies that affects/ aid the business of
the company?

!43"

English 2
If it was to compared 10 years ago and now, definitely there will be
improvements in technologies. Last time, the employees use their bare hand to
repair the bicycles. But nowadays, there are specific machines that are used to
repair the bikes.
Yes. Everything is easier and things are done faster.
The modern technology will be more preferred. Everything can be done nicely on
time and there will be more customers compared to the olden days.
Interviews and experiences are not the main reasons they hire workers.
PRORIDE hope to employ employees that are willing to work and are able to
learn. There are three important things that the employees must have according
to the owner, Hardworking, Willing to Learn and Willing to Listen and they must
always possess positive attitude.
choosing it the wise way? Are the resources limited to a certain extend
or a large variety to choose from?
There are no specific companies; the resources come from many different
places. If a customer wants a specific type of bike, PRORIDE will help him or her
to order the right type of bike..
E) Competition
Yes, of course there are. SHUN CHI cycle service and Max Bikes.

!46"

English 2
Every week, the workers will spend few nights teaching the technique of riding
bicycle to those who are interested. They eventually make friends and form a
group with the customers and by using this technique, the amount of fix
customers increase and thus, PRORIDEs business will not be affected.
Not really. We tried to do our best and make sure that the customers will return.
G) Business Productivity
The prices of the bikes have a range from RM 200 to RM 40,000.
Yes, there are import taxes and government taxes included in the price of the
product.
The shop is not open yet when both the recession happens.
4. Is the business going well currently? If not, what are the reasons that
affect the business?
Yes, everything is fine and the business is going really well.
If there is chance, the owner hopes that they can open a new branch. But before
that, they have to improve their current business.
occurs?

!47"

English 2
The profit earned usually increase during the year end and the beginning of the
year. Everyone have different reasons to buy a bike, so the reasons of the profit
increase is unclear.

A) General Question
1. Where and when did the shop first opened? Is it opened locally or migrated
from oversea at the beginning?
This bicycle shop had been there for 63 year, it opened locally.
2. What is the name of the founder? Where was he from? Locally or migrated
from other country?
Chin Seng Leong, the shop is named after the founders name. He is Malaysian
Chinese.
The founder has the interest and the knowledge about bicycle and he want to
earn money.
Customer come from any age, most of them are not local.
5. Is this the only shop the company opened currently or are there any other
braches out there?
This is the only shop, there are no branches out there.
6. Would the owner pass on the business to the next kin? Who would he/she
pass on to most probably?
Yes, this is a family business. Until now the founder has already passed on
the three generations. This business will be continuing passing down.
7. What are some of the problems and obstacles the founder faced at the
primary stage of the business?
The business was almost close down because there is no one will pass by the
street before the street art was emerge

!48"

English 2
The business now is very good, there are many fixed customers.
counter these problems in order for them to continue their business
smoothly?
No strategies apply.
B) Advertising
shop? If not, why?
Yes there are.
They advertise their product through social network, which is Facebook and word
of mouth.
C) Technology
1. In 2013, are there any specific technologies that affects/ aid the business of
the company?
Yes, there are a lot of new technologies.
Yes, it is must easier.
Technologies work better, repair service can completed in a shorter time.
Experience, but most of them are his friends.

!49"

English 2
choosing it the wise way? Are the resources limited to a certain extend or a
large variety to choose from?
Our bicycle mostly second hand product and for our shop mostly used is
imported from Japan.
E) Competition
Yes, all businesses have competitors, but it is healthy and fair competition.
Try to do our best, and treat customer in a good way.
No, because our shop is nearby the street art, and the popularity increases
day by day.
RM 10 RM 30
No

Sales decreases.
4. Is the business going well currently? If not, what are the reasons that affect
the business?
Yes, of course.

!30"

English 2
No
occur?
The profit was increase especially during the peak season which is school
holidays. However the trend had changed after the street was popular with street
art.

!31"

English 2
Meeting Title
MINUTES
24 OCTOBER 2013 LIBRARY
MEETING CALLED BY
!"#$ &"'' ())*+
TYPE OF MEETING
,*-)./#0$)* 1"#.$*+ #*2 -''23#45
FACILITATOR
!"#$ &"'' ())*+
NOTE TAKER
&'6'*' 7)) 7$#) 8'*
TIMEKEEPER
92:#.2 &"'*+ ;<* =$0
ATTENDEES
!"#$ &"'' ())*+ > 92:#.2 &"'*+ ;<* =$0> &'6'*' 7)) 7$#) 8'*> &"#* ?))* @#:>
='6A$* &"')*+ &"'*+ B''

Agenda topics
25
TH
OCTOBER 2013 9:00AM MELAKA CELENE SOO
DISCUSSION
C$14<11 0"' .)<0' 0) ?$4D46' 7")E> ,*0'.A$': F<'10$)*> G)6'

CONCLUSIONS
8' 2'4$2' $*0'.A$': SBH Bicycles Sdn Bhd HI.)/ 0"' 4<..'*0 6)4#0$)* 0) 3$4D46' 1")E $1
#.)<*2 JK
/$*<0'1 )*6D> :' 2'4$2' :#65 0) 0"' 1")E #*2 4.'#0' /).' L<'10$)* -). $0
ACTION ITEMS PERSON RESPONSIBLE DEADLINE
,*0'.A$': F<'10$)* &'6'*' 7)) MN O40)3'. MKJP
Q*4").
&'6'*' 7)) >&"#* ?))* @#: > !"#$
&"'' ())*+
R

16
TH
NOVEMBER 2013 10:00AM PENANG EDWARD CHENG
MINUTES OF GROUP MEETINGS

!32"

English 2
DISCUSSION
I$*2 0"' ?$4D46' 7")E> ,*0'.A$': F<'10$)*> G)6'

CONCLUSIONS
Chin Seng Leong Bicycle Shop

ACTION ITEM PERSON RESPONSIBLE DEADLINE
,*0'.A$':'. 92:#.2 &"'*+
I$6/$*+ Teh Wei Sheng [Edwards friend]

19
TH
NOBEMBER 2013 7:00PM PJS 8 CHAN BOON HAW
DISCUSSION
I$*2 0"' ?$4D46' 7")E> ,*0'.A$': F<'10$)*> G)6'

CONCLUSIONS
We decide interview ProRide Cycles Centre at PJS 8

I$6/$*+ ='6A$* &"')*+
Q*4").
&'6'*' 7)) >&"#* ?))* @#: > !"#$
&"'' ())*+

26
TH
NOBEMBER 2013 5:00PM CAMPUS THAI CHEE YOONG

!33"

English 2
DISCUSSION
SeparaLe duLy for Lhe reporL

CONCLUSIONS
I$*#6$S' .'E).0 #0 MT U)A MKJP

&)/E$6#0$)* 92:#.2 &"'*+ MT U)A'/3'. MKJP
G'-'.'*4$*+ ='6A$* &"')*+ MT U)A'/3'. MKJP
G'4"'45 V.#//#. ;$10#5' &"#* ?))* @#: MT U)A'/3'. MKJP

MW0" U)3'/3'. MKJP JKXKKQ; &#/E<1 9C8QGC &@9UV
DISCUSSION
rlnLlng Lhe flnal reporL

CONCLUSIONS
92:#.2 :$66 Y.$*0 0"' .'E).0H


OBSERVERS
Ldward Cheng Mun klL
RESOURCE PERSONS
1hal Chee ?oonh
SPECIAL NOTES
uone Lhe reporL before 28
Lh
november 2013

!34"

English 2

Admin (2001). Bicycle shops in Kuala Lumpur. Retrieved from
http://www.togoparts.com/bikeshops/list_shops.php?country=MY

Admin (2010, Oct 25). SBH Bicycles Racing N Mountain Bikes. Retrieved from
http://sbhbicycles.com/blog/.

Road Were Not Built For Cars.(2013) Retrived from
http://www.roadswerenotbuiltforcars.com/bike-shops-versus-sears-roebuck-1897/

Bicycle. Retrieved from http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/64721/bicycle

SBH Bicycles Sdn Bhd. Retrieved 25
th
October 2013, Malacca.

PRORIDE Cycles Centre. Retrieved 19
th
November 2013, Penang.

Chin Seng Leong Bicycle Shop. Retrieved 16
th
November 2013

Jabba. Personal Interview. Interview of SBH Bicycles. On the 25
th
October 2013.
Interviewed by Thai Chee Yoong and Kelvin Cheong Cheng Lee.

Chan,L. Personal Interview. Interview of ProRide Cycles Centre. On the 19
th
Nobember
2013. Interviewed by Chan Boon Haw and Celene Soo Xiao Wen.
REFERENCE

!33"

English 2

Teik,L.C. Personal Interview. Interview of Chin Seng Leong Bicycle shop . On the 16
th

November 2013. Interviewed by Edward Teh Mun Kit and friend (Teh Wei Sheng).
Jabba. (2013, October 25) .Video Clip of Interview of SBH Cycle Centre, Retrieved
October 25
th
.
Chan,L. (2013, November 19) .Video Clip of Interview of PRORIDE Cycle Centre,
Retrieved November 19
th
.
Tan,T.L. (2013, Novmeber 16) .Video Clip of Interview of SBH Cycle Centre, Retrieved
November 16
th
.

English Research Essay

Hochgeladen von

Dokumentinformationen

Copyright

Verfügbare Formate

Dieses Dokument teilen

Dokument teilen oder einbetten

Freigabeoptionen

Stufen Sie dieses Dokument als nützlich ein?

Sind diese Inhalte unangemessen?

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

English Research Essay

Hochgeladen von

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

!

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen