Singer, Retail & Credit Platform under Berjaya
Long before Senheng New Retail Berhad emerged as a dominant name in Malaysia’s electrical retail sector, another player had already built a nationwide presence through a very different strategy. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐣𝐚𝐲𝐚 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩, 𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐓𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐫𝐢 𝐕𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐓𝐚𝐧, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭.
At the centre of this move was Singer Malaysia, a legacy brand that evolved from a sewing machine distributor into a mass market electrical retailer. More importantly, it provided Berjaya with something deeper than retail scale, which was access to grassroots consumers through a structured instalment payment system.
𝐈𝐧 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟓, 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐣𝐚𝐲𝐚 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐜𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝟒𝟖% 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭. This transaction positioned the group as a major shareholder and marked its entry into consumer retail.
In 1989, the group increased its ownership by another 36.5%, securing effective control of Singer. This was not a passive investment but a strategic acquisition designed to anchor Berjaya’s expansion into mass consumer markets.
𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟎𝐬, 𝐕𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐓𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐯𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞, 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐣𝐚𝐲𝐚 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐚𝐝, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐜𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. Rather than building businesses from scratch, Tan’s approach centred on acquiring existing platforms and scaling them through restructuring and integration.
Singer offered two critical advantages. First, it had a nationwide retail network that reached smaller towns and semi urban areas. Second, it operated a well established instalment payment system that enabled customers to purchase goods over time. Together, these features created a distribution and financing channel that few competitors could match.
𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟎𝐬, 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐣𝐚𝐲𝐚’𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥, 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐱. The company gradually moved away from its traditional focus on sewing machines and expanded into televisions, refrigerators, and washing machines. This repositioning aligned the business with rising household demand for electrical appliances.
In the same period, Singer retained and strengthened its instalment based sales model. This approach allowed middle and lower income households to access products that would otherwise require significant upfront cash. The model effectively embedded financing into retail, long before consumer credit became widely institutionalised.
𝐈𝐧 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬, 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝟑𝟎𝟎 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐚. The business was supported by over 1,000 sales personnel and complemented by more than 600 dealers and over 100 service providers. This network created a fully integrated ecosystem covering sales, distribution, and after sales support.
In 2009, Berjaya Group established Berjaya Retail Berhad as a dedicated holding company for its retail assets. This move reflected a broader effort to streamline operations and unlock value through corporate structuring.
In 2010, a key reorganisation took place. Singer and 7-Eleven Malaysia were consolidated under Berjaya Retail, creating a unified retail platform that combined durable goods and convenience retail. The entity was subsequently listed on Bursa Malaysia, although it was later taken private.
𝐈𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐, 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐣𝐚𝐲𝐚 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭. The subsidiary began offering licensed moneylending services, formalising what had previously been an internal instalment system tied to retail transactions.
In effect, this transition repositioned Singer from a traditional retailer into a hybrid platform combining retail and consumer financing. The instalment model evolved into a structured credit business, aligning more closely with capital market narratives around consumer finance and financial services.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐚 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐣𝐚𝐲𝐚 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐭 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞. 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲, 𝐕𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐓𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐚𝐜𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧.
Singer was not just a retail acquisition. It served as an entry point into mass market consumption and later as a bridge into consumer credit. This layered strategy allowed Berjaya to evolve alongside changing economic conditions while maintaining relevance across different segments of the economy.
The broader implication is that capital market driven expansion, when executed with operational integration, can create enduring business platforms. 𝐈𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐣𝐚𝐲𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.
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The Capital Journal, Ezyong
Sebagai seseorang yang mengikuti perkembangan industri runcit di Malaysia, saya dapati pendekatan Berjaya Group melalui Singer Malaysia sangat menarik dan berbeza berbanding syarikat lain yang lebih bergantung kepada pertumbuhan organik. Dengan mengambil alih saham pengurusan di Singer sejak tahun 1985 dan seterusnya meningkatkan pegangan mereka, Berjaya berjaya membina rangkaian outlet elektrik yang meliputi kawasan luar bandar dan semi bandar yang sukar dicapai oleh pesaing lain. Apa yang saya perhatikan ialah sistem pembayaran ansuran yang digunakan oleh Singer di bawah Berjaya bukan sahaja memudahkan pembelian barangan elektrik bagi golongan berpendapatan sederhana dan rendah, malah telah menyediakan asas untuk pengembangan perkhidmatan kewangan berasaskan kredit. Transformasi ini sangat relevan dengan kehendak pasaran tempatan, di mana akses tunai mungkin terhad tetapi keperluan domestik untuk perkakas elektrik semakin meningkat. Penglibatan Berjaya Credit dalam memformalkan sistem pinjaman berlesen pada tahun 2022 turut memberi impak besar kerana ia mengukuhkan lagi hubungan antara runcit dan kredit, membolehkan pelanggan mendapatkan perkhidmatan kewangan yang sah dan terurus. Dari pengalaman saya sendiri, mempunyai pilihan pembayaran ansuran yang sah ini memberikan ketenangan fikiran dan memudahkan kelangsungan hidup harian. Tambahan pula, ia menunjukkan bagaimana penggabungan model perniagaan runcit dengan kewangan boleh menjadi satu strategi yang bernas dan mampan dalam konteks ekonomi Malaysia. Berjaya, melalui strategi akuisisi dan integrasi operasi, telah mencontohi cara syarikat multinasional mengembangkan perniagaan mereka dengan lebih sistematik tanpa memulakan dari kosong. Saya percaya kisah kejayaan Berjaya dan Singer Malaysia memberikan pengajaran penting kepada usahawan tempatan dan penggiat industri bahawa adaptasi model perniagaan mengikut perubahan ekonomi dan keperluan pengguna adalah kunci utama kejayaan jangka panjang. Ini bukan sekadar mengenai menjual produk, tetapi bagaimana memudahkan akses dan menyediakan penyelesaian kewangan, menjadikan produk lebih mampu milik dan pasaran lebih meluas.