Ta Ya the Cable Manufacturer Ventures into Industrial Design Coverage by Lu Huanwen, Economic Daily News

2013/02/23

Ta Ya Electric Wire and Cable (1609) has ventured into industrial design, as subsidiary Ta Er Innovation held a product launch conference yesterday (the 21st) to announce its first batch of products. According to Ta Er, the company has successfully established distributorship in more than a dozen countries worldwide just less than 3 months after product launch. The subsidiary aims to break even this year and double its revenues to NT$100 million in the following year.

Ta Ya is a veteran cable manufacturer in Taiwan. In the beginning of the previous year, Ta Ya founded two design companies, namely Esoterism and Ta Er, that specialize in consumer mobile and industrial design, respectively. Ta Ya holds approximately 80% shareholding position in each of the two subsidiaries. Ta Er has a share capital of NT$38 million. It launched a new iPhone 5 protective cover last November that achieved strong sales in Japan, and expects to generate NT$30 million ~ NT$50 million in revenues this year. Price of Ta Ya shares fell NT$0.01 yesterday (the 21st) and closed at NT$7.24.

Ta Ya Chairman Shen Shanghong said that the cable industry has not performed well in recent years. The company's venture into the design business has the potential to generate additional income and help inspire innovation and accumulate brand experience that may add value and contribute to the transformation of the company's existing products, thereby enabling future growth.

According to Shen Shanghong, the cable industry is a B2B industry. With the addition of Ta Er, Ta Ya Group may engage consumers directly and gain experience in the B2C model.