The Pensonic Brand Story
All greatness starts from humble beginnings. The story begins in Balik Pulau, a small agricultural village in Penang. A determined young man, just 15 years old, ventured far away from home for the first time and arrived in Penang, carrying in his heart, his dreams of building a better life for himself and his family back home. Who would have thought this young man would one day become an entrepreneur and build a leading local brand?
As the years flew by, and this young man continued to learn and discovered he was fascinated by electrical products and electronics. He eventually managed to secure an opportunity to work as an apprentice at an electrical appliance shop, where his knowledge and practical experience grew.
In 1965, the young man established Keat Radio and Electrical Co. in Balik Pulau to sell accessories, repair appliances and provide wiring services. This young man is none other than the founder of Pensonic Holdings Berhad (Pensonic), Y.Bhg Dato' Seri Chew Weng Khak (Dato’ Seri Chew).
A Reputable Local Brand
Pensonic began as a tiny retail outlet and workshop, fuelled by the burning desire of one man to build an affordable local brand trusted for its quality. He fought against all odds at a time when exported brands were considered superior compared to local brands, and succeeded in changing the perspective of the locals through patience, perseverance and believing in his dream.
Dato’ Seri Chew was committed to his dream of establishing a respected local brand no matter how tough his challenges were, even in situations when there were no solutions in sight. He was never intimidated by powerful opponents and it was his tenacity, resilience and innovative thinking that made Pensonic into the strong local brand it is today.
The name ‘Pensonic’ was the brainchild of Dato’ Seri Chew, who coined the word by joining the first three letters of his beloved home state Penang while ‘sonic’ is an audible reminder of the company’s roots in selling radios. Being a Penang born and grown company, Pensonic is the pride of Penang, and it is of no surprise its headquarters has always remained in the beautiful Pearl of the Orient.
The year 1974 was a momentous year for Dato’ Seri Chew as the first branch of Keat Radio Co. was established. Two years later, Keat Radio Co. was importing, exporting and distributing electrical home appliances locally and had several branches throughout Malaysia. Keat Radio Co. Sdn. Bhd. was incorporated into a private limited company in 1977.
In 1982, Pensonic Sales and Service Sdn. Bhd. produced the first batch of audio and visual products under the brand ‘Pensonic’ and made its debut in the local electrical home appliances market. This was followed by Pensonic’s registration as a trademark in Malaysia in 1984. Pensonic is now registered in more than 30 countries, thus laying the foundation for global expansion.
In 1988, the Pensonic Group manufactured and marketed electrical home appliances under the Pensonic brand and this born in Malaysia brand entered history as the nation’s first “Made in Malaysia” electrical home appliances brand. Pensonic created history as the first, locally conceived electrical home appliance brand that stood tall among established brands from Japan, Europe and the United States!
Evolving and Expanding
Pensonic continued to build a strong presence in the local home appliances segment and became a popular, trusted brand in the local market. Dato’ Seri Chew knew it was the right time for company expansion as the demand for Pensonic products were growing steadily. When he went to speak to a bank to raise capital, the banker, looking at Pensonic’s strong financial performance, instead suggested that Dato’ Seri Chew make Pensonic into a public listed company.
In 1994, Pensonic Holdings Berhad was incorporated as an investment holding company to consolidate its various companies under the Pensonic Group and as the vehicle for its public listing.
On 18 December 1995, Pensonic Holdings Berhad was listed on the Second Board of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad (formerly known as Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange).
The Pensonic Group’s core business activities were manufacturing, importing, exporting, distribution and marketing of electrical home appliances for the domestic and international markets. Presently, the Pensonic Group’s (Pensonic) emphasis is on Own Design Manufacturing (ODM) for several international brands in the electrical home appliances industry.
Celebrating Milestones Of Excellence
The year 2007 marked a major milestone as Pensonic celebrated three significant events in that year. It was Pensonic’s 25th Anniversary, Malaysia’s 50th year of Independence (Merdeka) and Visit Malaysia 2007 campaign, hence a triple celebration!
A grand celebration lasting 25 weeks turned Pensonic 25th Anniversary into one of the biggest events in the company’s history. 25 successful and influential Malaysians joined the powerful line-up of ‘25 Pensonic Friends’ to commemorate Pensonic 25th Anniversary Celebration. The ‘25 Pensonic Friends’ received awards from Pensonic for their contributions to the country. Pensonic also launched a Limited Edition Pensonic Maroon Series to mark this significant event featuring a special collection of 25 striking, maroon colour electrical home appliances for consumers. The ‘25 Pensonic Friends’ were featured in local and regional newspapers, magazines, advertisements and Pensonic’s billboards spread throughout Malaysia.
Pensonic also has many contests, giveaways, activities and campaigns regularly to thank consumers for their support such as Chef's Like Cooking Classes, meet and greet sessions with celebrities, lucky draws and even hotel stay prizes!
Year 2022 was also celebrated in a big way as it marked our 50th Anniversary, and this is a tribute to our consumers who have supported us all these years. We celebrate with our consumers by providing massive online cash saving deals, huge discounts, giveaways and many exciting rewards to show our appreciation to them.
Innovation and Global Operations Centre
Pensonic's new Head Office, known as Innovation and Global Operations Centre, was officiated on the 30 October 2015 by the Chief Minister Of Penang.
This Head Office is a proud symbol of Pensonic's accomplishments and the realisation of our dreams. Our corporate values of Caring, Enjoyment, Trustworthy, Innovation and Leadership are the cornerstones on which our corporate foundation is built on to support our mission of being in the forefront of electrical appliances market.
Our New Head Office features multi-use spaces with facilities and infrastructure that incorporate ample open spaces to encourage learning and collaboration both within the Group and external bodies.
It is also the centre where business strategies and innovations are planned and executed. This Head Office is equipped with an auditorium that has excellent acoustics, a showroom and demonstration room where visitors can experience our appliances in a casual ambience, as well as employee dedicated areas such as a gymnasium, cafeteria and a recreation room for employees to relax and unwind.
The grand opening of this new Head Office commemorated the triple milestones of 50th Golden Anniversary of Pensonic Mother Company KEAT RADIO, 33rd Anniversary of the Pensonic Brand and 10th Anniversary of Pensonic Friends.
This celebration also serves as a reminder of how far Pensonic has come and as an inspiration to keep evolving and moving forward. Just before this anniversary celebration, Y.Bhg Dato' Seri Chew Weng Khak received the honour of becoming the first recipient of the '2015 Putra Brand Personality of the Year Award' in recognition of building a local, innovative and affordably priced brand that has penetrated the international market.
Navigating Turbulent Skies
The 2020 coronavirus pandemic brought significant changes across all countries and communities. Supply chains were interrupted resulting in constraints and shortages, products and services demand declined while most businesses struggled to stay afloat due to government-mandated closures.
Although Pensonic also felt the weight of the pandemic’s effects on our businesses, we had anticipated some of these disruptions and managed to realign our business strategies to work with the challenges that came our way. Pensonic also took this opportunity to streamline our business efficiency, manage a leaner inventory and maximise profitability. Pensonic brands that were previously operating individually were consolidated under the Pensonic Group with Pensonic as its core brand, followed by Cornell, Toush, Lebensstil Kollektion and Morphy Richards.
Today, Pensonic has a domestic distribution network of five branches and more than 1,000 dealers nationwide. Pensonic products are exported to 30 countries in ASEAN, East and West Asia, and the Middle-East, supported by a complete host of manufacturing facilities, warehouses, showrooms and customer care centres.
Brighter, Progressive Future
Since Pensonic was founded, we have always been committed to producing better appliances and services to enhance our consumers’ lifestyles. Pensonic prides itself on having achieved many firsts in the local industry as the leading domestic Electrical Home Appliances Manufacturer and our pursuit for excellence has won us many accolades and awards.
We have been focusing on building our internal capabilities for the past few years by aligning our goals to be more customer-centric. By delivering solutions that are easy to use, consumer driven and with the support of our consumers, we are confident we will emerge stronger with every challenge. We are also committed to operate sustainably, adhere to required Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) standards and strive to embed sustainability in our day to day business operations as well as beyond with the help of our partners and other stakeholders.
Pensonic will also continually improve and expand our product offerings to enrich our consumers’ lifestyles and our future generations by leveraging on our existing strengths while seeking new opportunities to map the next chapter of our company’s growth.
