In a world where content is king, consumers need reputable screens and displays they could enjoy their multimedia on. But not just any display, mind you; rather, those that are at the forefront of color reproduction, form factor trends, panel technology, and durability, all the while being backed by reliable aftersales support. Worldwide display market leader Multimedia Displays (MMD) promises all of the above with their products and as our interview with regional sales director Kan Yeung proves, they’re just getting started.
Though his name might sound new to most people, Kan has actually worked in the technology scene for most of his career. His very impressive résumé includes an IT stint wherein he built special customized PCs for clients such as NASA. He also tackled distribution of products like hard drives, CPUs, and other server-grade wares in Hong Kong.
He joined TPV—MMD’s parent company—in 2009. Though TPV also makes OEM and ODM products for other brands, Kan is responsible for handling the Malaysia, Philippine, and Taiwan markets for their in-house AOC and Philips monitors. With these three countries combining for 30 percent of all APAC sales, you’d need a great strategist to not only capture more of the customers, but to also maintain your regional and global dominance.
Kan allows the brand to remain steadfast through a hands-on management approach. He takes to the skies every week to a different country, saying “Most of the time I’m in a meeting with the sales and marketing teams, and sometimes with the distributors as well.” Besides meetings, he also said they strive to frequently hold events and conventions in partnership with other technology brands to further make AOC and Philips top of mind names for customers.
Of course, a fragmented effort wouldn’t make a significant uptick in the company’s sales figures. To put everyone on the same page, Kan organizes intercontinental workshops every now and then, bringing his teams together in order to share their management insights as well as to facilitate skills training.
But are all these efforts worth it though? I mean, a monitor is just a monitor, right? Kan commented, “You look at displays on a daily basis. There are users who buy cheap, no-name monitors with sketchy build qualities and warranties. These unknown brands just come and go so if your monitor fails, you’d have no one to assist you.”
“Besides looking at those two things, you should also consider your specific application. The monitor should fit what you’re doing, whether that be working on a document, content creation, playing games, or watching a movie,” he added.
Kan’s high standards for monitors reflects his brand’s legacy and strict quality control anchored on significant investments from product conceptualization all the way to aftersales service.
“TPV owns about 35 percent of the world market share for monitor manufacturing. We have research and development. We have factories all over the world. We also boast over 3,500 service centers worldwide. You see, we are different than some other brands in the market,” he explained.
That firepower allows TPV to continually innovate much more frequently than competitors. Kan said, “Every year we have new models with new technologies coming out. For others, it usually takes three or four years before you see new lineups. Why? Because every time you create a new model, the factory line has to be started from scratch which means the need for a huge initial cashout.”
“Because we have everything we need, we’re able to lower production costs even with the new technologies,” he added. Some of the updates TPV has been working on includes quantum dot, IPS, and OLED screens, and we should see these proliferate in the market within the year.
Even though AOC and Philips are already big brands all over the globe, Kan keeps his feet firmly planted on the ground (that is, if he’s not flying to another country). There’s always work to be done and he has this to say for his current and future customers: “We promise to give you the highest quality products, the latest technologies, and the best value for your money that no other name can match.”
Also published in GADGETS MAGAZINE June 2016 issue.
Interviewed by Chris Noel Hidalgo