Gain City Best-Electric

GAIN CITY started out as a modest retail sales operation in 1981. Then, its core business was in the sales, installation, maintenance and repair of commercial and home refrigerators, and air-conditioners. It was privatised in 1993, resulting in its present name, Gain City Best-Electric.

Its managing director, Mr Danny Teo, says the company's success can be attributed to constant innovation, value-add and product diversification.

"The company expanded its business to cater to the audio, visual and electrical home appliances market in 1983, to be a one-stop electrical store," says Mr Teo. "As we grew, we also set up different departments to cater to the different segments of customers we serve, ranging from individuals to corporate, residential and special projects."

At the core of the business was the complete installation concept for air-conditioners that the company offered, a first in the industry. Building on its expertise in air-conditioners, Gain City Best-Electric launched the installation warranty for air-conditioning systems in 1986, which protects customers against installation inadequacies that can lead to rusting, malfunctioning or water logging. In 1990, the company introduced the Service Connection Programme, a value-added service for its customers comprising different warranties such as 8 Days Lowest Price Guarantee, Protection Plus Extended Warranty & Replacement Plan, and 1-Year Installation and Repair Warranty.

"By adding value to the products, we provide complete assurance through a comprehensive product coverage and service to our customers. Our company philosophy is to always be ready to improve and to pursue excellence in what we do," says Mr Teo. For its efforts, the company is being recognised with its first Enterprise 50 award this year.

"We place ourselves in the shoes of our customers, and along the way, we have come up with other initiatives that add to their convenience," says Mr Teo.

The company has also made improvements to its service delivery and retail showrooms. Synonymous with the company is a fleet of over 100 service vehicles that fan out across the island to service air-conditioners day and night. This is in addition to its installation teams, which are certified by the Building and Construction Authority.

"We also hire our own staff such as service technicians for quality control," explains Mr Teo. "We use our own in-house staff because the company believes in investing in staff through training and management."

Gain City Best-Electric has nine walk-in showrooms and a Lifestyle Home Concept, which was introduced in 2005.

The first-of-its-kind Lifestyle Home Concept at the Marina Square showroom features a fully furnished apartment, comprising a bedroom, kitchen and service balcony, that is equipped with air conditioners, audio and visual products and home appliances. As early as in the 1980s, the company had introduced product demonstrations for air-conditioners at all showrooms. The air-conditioners are individually wall-mounted and categorised by brands for easy comparison. An ampere meter is connected to each air-conditioner unit to measure the electricity consumption, and customers can also compare the cooling capacities, wattages, noise levels, features and prices of the different systems.

Mr Teo says that Singapore will continue to be the headquarters from which they will expand the business regionally. Unfazed by the challenges ahead, he adds: "The more difficult something is, the better we will want to do it."

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