Shine Jean Sparkles In Luxury Upgrade Accessories Market

Eugene Hsiao, the young and energetic president of Shine Jean Industrial Inc., says he has played the key role in gaining his company an international reputation for quality in the specialized market for high-end car-upgrade accessories.

Shine Jean is known all over the world as a developer, manufacturer, and trader of upgrade/decoration accessories for the top two Germany luxury auto brands, Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

Hard work has led to this success; however, Hsiao concedes, luck has paid a part as well. He became involved in the auto parts and accessories industry in 1984 when he went to work for a major accessories company as an international sales specialist. There, he accumulated an abundant store of experience and established close relations with domestic suppliers of high-quality products.

Hsiao set up Shine Jean in 1995 to concentrate on the design and production of fender trim for Mercedes-Benz and BMW autos. Since then, he has diversified his product line and established cooperative ties with local suppliers of exterior and interior accessories for the two brands.

"From the very beginning," he recalls, "I realized that the only way to create a global reputation in the competitive auto-upgrade accessories market was to focus on a specific top-end sector which offered the higher unit prices and profit margins needed to support a relatively low volume of sales." This gave rise to an effort to keep one step ahead of the competition through hard work, concentration, and intensive investment.



Withdrawing to Avoid Competition



The company has now withdrawn from the fender-trim line to avoid fierce competition from rivals in Taiwan and, especially, mainland China. Today, Shine Jean offers a comprehensive range of products that include almost all interior and exterior accessories for Mercedes-Benz and BMW automobiles.

Shine Jean products come in four categories: plastic grills for over 30 models, with the number growing by several models per year; wood/leather steering wheels and wood interior decoration kits (over 25 steering wheel and dozens of interior decoration kit models); chrome head and tail lamp rims in dozens of models; and, beginning last year, aerodynamic carbon/FRP body parts including spoilers, engine hoods, and side skirts. All are made in wholly owned, joint venture, and satellite plants in Taiwan and mainland China.

Hsiao says that his company collects market information from various sources, including data on new parts and accessories made by original equipment (OE) suppliers and big international performance-tuning brands (AMG, Brabus, Lorinser, Carlsson, AC, Hartge, Hamann, etc.) and on the latest fashion trends in the line. This information enables the company to cater to market demand and to pinpoint new items for development. These items feature state-of-the-art design and advanced functions, but are sold at prices much lower than those of the OE equivalent.

To assure quality, the president notes, the company designs and develops all of its own molds and dies for grills and lamp rims. For its steering wheels, it uses top-end materials such as bird's eye, burl walnut, zebrano, and burl chestnut wood imported from different countries. Genuine leather from Italy is also used.

Intensive market research gives the firm's R&D team a good idea of the requirements of different customer groups. For example, Hsiao explains, most younger drivers prefer carbon-feel accessories with a cold, high-tech look, while middle-aged drivers buy more wood and leather steering wheels and wood decorative panels. Young people have totally different consumption habits from their parents, especially when buying expensive cars and special accessories.

In addition, Hsiao continues, chrome-plated accessories are popular in Southeast Asia, but sales of such items in Japan are weak.



The Taiwan Advantage



Being located in Taiwan has helped the company succeed, Hsiao believes. The island has become a vital production base for the international auto accessories industry, and domestic manufacturers have built up a global reputation for strong development capability, high quality, and reasonable prices. They also enjoy a solid mold and die development infrastructure, as well as a high degree of manufacturing flexibility thanks to their cross-Taiwan Strait division of labor. The small-batch, large-variety mode of production espoused by Taiwan's suppliers is perfect for the high-end auto accessories business.

The growing number of international auto parts and accessories buyers who have been attracted by these advantages have generated a marketplace effect that benefits all suppliers in the line.

Shine Jean continues to cultivate this marketplace. "Our goal," states its president, "is to become the most comprehensive supplier of Mercedes-Benz and BMW accessories on the island, and to let our customers all over the world know that they can come to us to fill all of their needs in the line, however big the volume."

Thanks to his vigorous advertising and promotion, Hsiao reports, at least two American customers now buy Taiwan-made accessories only through Shine Jean-a strategy, he says, that is paying off in those buyers' booming business performance.

Shine Jean exports its products under the "Eugene" brand, mainly to Japan (which takes 40% of total shipments), the United States (30%), and the Middle East (20%).