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Gan Wee Sean
Gan Wee Sean
Chairman & CEO, Pak Fah Yeow International Limited
Sex: Male Birthyear: 1946 Age at Interview: 64 Education: University Occupation: Industralist Theme: Community The formula of Pak Fah Yeow was initially intended for uses among family and friends only, but as it grew popular among the people, Gan’s grandfather turned it into business. The sales expanded in Malaysia and later to Singapore. In the 1950s, as Gan’s grandfather saw the potential of the Chinese market, he moved the operations to Hong Kong because of her proximity to China.
Title The Pak Fah Yeow success Story – Pak Fah Yeow has evolved from being a family’s private medicine to become one of the famous export brands to China Date 01/12/2010 Subject Industry Duration 1m13s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. AY-GWS-HLT-001 Gan recalled his grandfather as a simple and thrifty man. When Gan’s grandfather travelled he always carried a Pak Fah Yeow paper bag with him.
Title Always innovative publicity – Hoe Hin’s founder often brought along a Pak Fah Yeow-branded paper bag for publicity when traveling overseas Date 01/12/2010 Subject Industry Duration 38s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. AY-GWS-HLT-002 Gan started from the bottom and learnt almost every aspect of the business. Gan went to the factory to formulate the oil. From around 1978 onwards, Gan’s grandfather fell ill and Gan gradually took over the business.
Title Building a career from the bottom up – Gan Wee Sean started his career with Hoe Hin at the very bottom in order to be able to better understand every aspect of the company’s operation before he took over its running Date 01/12/2010 Subject Industry Duration 56s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. AY-GWS-HLT-003 Gan thought he treated his staff in a nice way. The staff was stable, most with long employment. He believed there was no dissatisfaction among the staff. For example, Gan’s personal manager had worked as his personal assistant since 1974 when she was 18. The Company’s Chief Operating Officer had been working here for nearly 20 years. One of the company’s directors, now retired, had worked for the company since he was 18 until he reached the retirement age of 70. Now he had become one of Gan’s best friends. Most of the staff has been working for the company for over 3-4 years, and many of the factory workers have been serving for more than 10-15 years.
Title A consistently fair employer – Treating staff well and showing how highly valued retiring employees are remain hallmarks of Gan Wee Sean’s management style Date 01/12/2010 Subject Industry Duration 1m56s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. AY-GWS-HLT-004 Over the past decades, Gan thought the business had no significant ups and downs. The production and sales kept increasing steadily. The company was largely unaffected by the major setbacks in Hong Kong such as the outbreak of SARS (in 2003). Gan explained that as the company had no investments in the property markets and it owned its own factories and office building, it suffered little from the speculation and crash-down of the property market. Besides, Gan credited the loyalty of the customers of Pak Fah Yeow for keeping the sales of the product at a very stable level. Nevertheless, the company had properties in the UK and therefore the value of company assets was once affected by sterling devaluation. The economic crash in 2007 had affected the company as the stock value had gone down.
Title Pak Fah Yeow surviving and thriving despite tough times – Hoe Hin and Pak Fah Yeow have continued to ride out economic downturns and grow steadily Date 01/12/2010 Subject Industry Duration 2m10s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. AY-GWS-HLT-005 Gan’s grandfather worked much on building up the brand image in Hong Kong. He joined the Chinese Manufacturers’ Association and actively participated in the past product exhibitions. He engaged movie actresses to promote the product. Gan believed that for a product to be successful, marketing strategies, adequate pricing and the effectiveness of the medicine were equally important factors.
Title The secret of Pak Fah Yeow’s success – Effectively co-ordinated marketing efforts have long made Pak Fah Yeow very popular with users all over Asia Date 01/12/2010 Subject Industry Duration 1m39s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. AY-GWS-HLT-006 Gan thought he always tried to expand the market and build up a friendly image of Pak Fah Yeow as a daily necessity. For example, he made use of the government’s reminder of “never leave home without your ID card” and designed a TV advertisement saying “never leave home without Pak Fah Yeow”. He also designed slogans like Pak Fah Yeow is always with you””
Title Creating unforgettable ads in-house – The many advertising concepts Hoe Hin has created include the slogan “Pak Fah Yeow is always with you” Date 01/12/2010 Subject Industry Duration 1m12s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. AY-GWS-HLT-008 Gan’s grandfather mainly used the trade fair (products exhibitions) to build up the image of Pak Fah Yeow. He was eager to win the first prizes in the fair to increase the brand’s popularity. He tried to build the biggest and the most eye-catching booth in a traditional Chinese style with good lighting. He also knew a lot of movie actors and actresses so he engaged the actresses as charity queens at the booth for promotion. He always managed to win most of the titles: the best booth design and the best charity queen representative of Pak Fah Yeow.
Title A striking presence at product expos – Hoe Hin often participated in product exhibitions using attention-grabbing booth designs and beautiful Charity Queens to entice passers by Date 01/12/2010 Subject Industry Duration 2m13s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. AY-GWS-HLT-007 When asked about the key to be a successful entrepreneur, Gan valued honesty. He thought the product itself must be effective so that the product could make a good share in the market.
Title Pak Fah Yeow – an always trustworthy brand – Hoe Hin and Pak Fah Yeow have always emphasised quality and honesty Date 01/12/2010 Subject Industry Duration 55s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. AY-GWS-HLT-009