The Star Online: Metro: Central
The Star Online: Metro: Central |
| Watch brand gaining popularity in Asian market Posted: 07 Sep 2011 04:37 AM PDT MIDO is making its comeback into the Asian market with the same promise of high-quality automatic watches, timeless design and value for money. The brand was founded in 1918 by Swiss watchmaker Georges Schaeren, who aptly gave a name that meant "I Measure" in Spanish. Fifty years later, Schaeren's watches could be found in 111 countries. They were in demand in Columbia and soon expanded to the rest of the Latin American region and then entered the Asian market. It had pulled out of Asia in the 1970s to restructure itself but things have been looking up since 2000 when Mido was relaunched in China, followed Malaysia about five years ago. Mido president Franz Hugo Linder, who was in the country for a visit recently, shared his thoughts on the brand. "Mido is a brand for someone who wants good watches but does not want to show off. The technology in our watches are at par with the top-notch brands but much more affordable. "Every brand holds certain value and creates an image for itself. Mido stands for high quality, value-for-money Swiss watches," he said. Linder said Mido was well known for COSC-certified chronometer mechanical watches. "Going back into its history, one of the milestones was certainly in 1934 when Mido invented a special system for water-resistant watches. This was timely as one the main problems those days was water-resistance and Mido invented the concept where the crown opening is protected by a special piece of cork absolutely tight similar to the concept of a cork in a bottle of wine. "This was a breakthrough and thus the slogan for Mido those days was "The King of Water-proof Watches," which really helped the brand to expand into many countries, especially countries with high humidity. "Consecutively, its first collection, Multifort was launched which carved its reputation for having masculine water-resistant watches. From then on, every timepiece was built based on the concept of robustness, water-resistance and reliability," he said. "In the following decades, a few other collections were added, such as Ocean Star Captain, Baroncelli and Commander -- all carrying the same concept which is robust and solid masculine water-resistant watches until today," he added. Mido also caters to the ladies and each collection comes with a selection of ladies' models. "We do have a lot of elegant ladies' models but the market is now leaning more towards quartz watches in the contemporary fashion," said Linder. "Our designs are classic. If you buy one now, you can still wear it 20 years down the road and not feel or look outdated because the design is such. You can even pass it down to your children one day. Good quality watches last a long time while with some fancy design, you will not want to wear it after two years because it does not fit your style anymore even if it has high technology. "Good quality watches should have a timeless design and it complements the wearer's personality; this is where we stand. "The watch business is about long-term credibility and instilling confidence in customers," he said. "For Malaysia, our target market are those 25 years old and above, and doing well in life, but it can be anyone really. "In Germany, we have many doctors and engineers who are fans of Mido watches. It is of matter of personality, some choose certain brand based on status and some don't," he said. "It will be a perfect gift for parents to buy for their children after graduation, and the Mido watch can still be worn three decades later," he added. Mido is a brand under Swatch Group Malaysia. Its watches are priced from RM2,000 to RM8,300. For more information, visit www.mido.ch |
| Step up efforts to save the mangroves Posted: 07 Sep 2011 04:33 AM PDT I NOTE with concern the continued destruction of mangrove forests in Sepang, as highlighted by StarMetro on Aug 4. The fact that these forests are outside the administrative boundaries of the Forestry Department does not detract from the ecological and environmental importance of mangroves as a coastal buffer zone. We further note that the Sepang District Local Plan 2015 zones the coastal mangrove area as a foreshore reserve (Rezab Pantai) and as an environmentally sensitive delta (KSAS Delta). The local plan states that mangroves in the area should be protected to guard against coastal erosion. Clearing of mangroves in these areas should at the very least have required an preliminary environmental impact assessment (PEIA) but no PEIA study appears to have been carried out. As a Malaysian and a member of the oldest environmental NGO in the country, I trust that the authorities will ensure that future development does not encroach on these valuable coastal forests. HENRY GOH Chairman, Malaysian Nature Society, Selangor Branch |
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