Phoebe & George Enterprise Co. - Metal & glass furniture

2008/11/07 | By Judy Li | PHOEBE & GEORGE ENTERPRISE CO., LTD.

Whoever said that romance and business do not mix have not met George Kao and Phoebe Lee, the founders of the eponymous Phoebe & George Enterprise Co.

While dating, George and Phoebe, the like-minded couple somehow also found ambition and perseverance within each other to jointly set up their fledgling enterprise in 1990 in the central Taiwan city Changhua, and about half a year later they formalized their partnership in marriage too. Over the years, the young couple has worked hand-in-hand to build their business, weathering all the usual difficulties along the way to solidify corporate foundations. The company has successfully cultivated a fair reputation in the furniture industry as a trustworthy manufacturer of high-end items.

Having started by turning out mainly small DIY metal household items, Phoebe & George later diversified into producing metal furniture. "Taiwan's metal and peripheral sectors have concentrated around central Taiwan-forming a sound, integrated supply chain that has attracted many metal product manufacturers to the area," says Lee, the general manager of the company. "Without being an exception due likely to practical reasons, we are also engaged in metal furniture production."

Metal-furniture Suitable

Taiwan is a suitable manufacturing base for metal furniture since the island has the capacity to provide high-end metals. And with metallic furniture usually being mated with glass, Taiwan also boasts of a glassmaking sector with considerable history, hence able to fabricate quality glass in different grades. Today, furniture manufacturers who have not relocated offshore are mostly turning out metal and glass items. P&G is a typical metal and glass furniture manufacturer with the know-how, experience to make the most of these two materials.

"My husband George is the chairman and in charge of manufacturing and plant management, while I take care of marketing and finance," Lee adds. "Our mutual trust and dependence have enabled us to effectively take on and solve problems as a team. And luck has played a part in our relatively smooth sailing so far."

Earlier Phoebe & George mainly produced items for OEM (original equipment manufacturer) buyers in the world, but now half of its production is on ODM (original design manufacturer) basis by its strong R&D team and skilled workers. "Our clients used to sell our products through chain stores and mail order. Now they have expanded such marketing channels to include, department, and furniture stores," Lee explains. "In addition to OEM and ODM orders, we also accept special or custom orders as well."

Cost-driven Relocation

Growing competition and market demand forced the company to move production lines to China. "To reduce manufacturing cost, we started in 1998 to move some of our production lines to China-establishing a furniture plant in Huizou of Guangdong Province. The plant takes up 30,000 square meters and is equipped with advanced machinery for a variety of processing, including cutting, punching, welding, powder coating and packing," Kao states. "We now operate on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to turn out a wider range of furniture, including dining room sets, beds, coffee and end tables, TV and stereo stands, kitchen racks, computer tables and chairs, bathroom racks, bar stools and tables etc."

"Our plants on both sides of the Taiwan Strait strategically adopt division-of-labor to tap inherent merits in the two manufacturing settings.We produce in Taiwan or China depending on customer's need and meanwhile taking manufacturing cost into consideration as well. We prioritize customers' aim to optimally arrange production accordingly and always prioritize quality in manufacturing whatever the size of the volume will be," Kao continues.

Although mainly producing metal furniture initially, Phoebe & George has in recent years diversified its product line to include such materials as MDF board, plastics, leather, cloth, glass etc. "A stable supply of quality raw materials is critical and we tap some very reliable sources. For instance, we procure high-grade iron and steel from Taiwan's leading providers," Lee indicates.

Enhancing Added-value

To enhance added-value in its products, the company is starting to develop more products of composites or mixed materials, as well as focusing more on design and innovation. "Building items with creative designs can enhance added-value, so we aim to dress up the plain surfaces of our furniture with designs," Lee discloses. "Despite being proud of our advanced manufacturing techniques, we are also good at designing."

One way to be more competitive in the world market is for Taiwanese manufacturers to develop products with high-quality, unique pieces to satisfy end users, Lee emphasizes. "We have to use high-quality materials to create original, creative products with reasonable prices to build long-term loyalty in our customers," she says.

The company believes that to maintain global strength, it has to regularly introduce new products, which may be achieved by partnering with international manufacturers.

Strict QC

Strict quality control is another tool Phoebe & George uses to succeed in the markets worldwide. "We have managed to grow with our customers because we meet the high quality standards demanded of our products. Besides keeping up with the stylistic trends, we also update our manufacturing technologies via purchasing new machinery."