The Expansion of THL in China

“We expect the sales of the THL China Operations Department to grow beyond those our Taiwan parent company in every aspect within five years.” ～ Peter Wang

The parent company of THL is a veteran FMCG distributor in Taiwan and the trusted partner of major international brands. The company boasts an integrated knowledge of both warehousing planning and the maintenance of high quality logistics as well as a highly specialized expertise in operating business channels of various nature.

THL expects to duplicate the success of its Taiwan parent company in the enormous China market and register even higher revenues there in three to five years based on the business experience of the parent company. According to Peter Wang, the National Sales Director of THL China Operations Department, there will be two goals for the China Operations Department, the first will be to promote the products of all the brands THL represents, to rank amongst the top three categories, and the second goal will be to grow profits beyond that of its Taiwan parent company in every aspect within five years.

The four subsidiaries of THL China Operations Department: Maximo Trade (Shanghai) Co Ltd, Wong Zong (Shanghai) International Trading Co Ltd, Wong Zong (Shanghai) Trading Co Ltd and LA Passion Enterprise Co Ltd, each have an assigned mission. However, they are also mutually supportive allies who cooperate in logistics, cash flow and even talent integration while operating within their respective strategies.

Maximo Trade is a provider of brick and mortar locations, whose major client is currently RT Mart, which owns nearly 380 chain stores around the globe. For its 2018 business operations, Maximo Trade prioritizes the East China area, from which more than 50% of RT Mart’s revenue is derived, followed by driving revenues in other areas.

Tong Zong takes care of territory expansion in the virtual channels, the main target being JD and Tmall, the top two e-commerce companies in China.

The Lamborghini Flagship Tmall Mall and Dr Morita JD are two examples of the all out effort by Tong Zong to continue developing each and every brand it works on using strategically tailored business plans with a complete and independent e-commerce team designated for each brand.

Wong Zong mainly operates business in the mother and baby, and gift and give-away markets, while LA Passion focuses on cross boarder imports from Taiwan to China. Both companies will continue to promote popular products through various distribution channels.

“The management expertise needed for business operation in the China market is totally different from that for Taiwan.” ～ Frank Chen

According to Frank Chen, General Manager of the THL China Operations Department, growing a business in the China market requires a talent management mindset that is totally different from that used by THL in Taiwan. There are many differences between the business practices of Taiwan and those of China with respect to the business operations and legal aspects. Speaking from his own work experience in China over the past five years, Chen could not place enough emphasis on the teamwork and synergy needed to ensure good management within the business groups.

The planning for the China Operations Department began in 2016, which was somewhat later than that of other distributors. However, THL has an unrivaled advantage both in terms of connections and cooperation with key distribution channels in China and business experience in brand management in Taiwan. This will ensure that development is many times faster than that of the competitors. Under the leadership of Wang and Chen, with their unique and localized management concepts, THL China Operations Department will doubtlessly become the top elite team in the China FMCG market.