Quote: UNIDUS is also stepping up efforts to develop new products. Following the ``Long Love,’’ a best-selling brand, the firm is also set to release a new series of products with images of animals on boxes, designed by famous pop artist Kunstler Andora, next January.
I am not sure putting animals on condoms sends the right message.
Plus, if only 20 percent of Koreans use condoms, why is AIDS so low in Korea with all of its prostitution?
Article begins here:
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/special/2007/12/139_15059.htmlBy Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
In a country where sex is still a taboo word, it would not be easy to sell condoms. But, here is a CEO who struggles not only to promote his company’s sales but also raise public awareness of so-called safe sex.
UNIDUS President Kim Sung-hoon, who took office as the chief of his company in June last year at the age of 39, stressed in an interview with The Korea Times that condoms are the best way to protect oneself from disease as well as unwanted pregnancy.
Listed on the tech-heavy KOSDAQ, UNIDUS has recently emerged as the world’s No. 1 condom maker in terms of sales and production, accounting for more than 65 percent of the domestic market and over 30 percent of the global market.
Global Market Leader
UNIDUS, which was launched under the name Seohung Industrial Co. in 1973, has devoted itself to manufacturing quality latex material products such as condoms, surgical gloves and latex finger cots for the past 35 years.
In April 2000, it changed the company name to UNIDUS ― from the similar phonetics of the catchword ``You Need Us.’’ In 2001, the company was listed on the Kosdaq market.
UNIDUS has then emerged as the world’s largest manufacturer since 2005 when it built a new factory in China in addition to its main plant at home to produce 1.15 billion condoms a year.
``We now export our products to more than 80 countries through international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Funds for Population Activities (UNFPA),’’ Kim said. ``Even North Koreans are using UNIDUS now.’’
He added that his firm, which makes some 80 percent of its profits from overseas sales, now accounts for about 30 percent of international bids for orders made by international organizations.
Currently, the global demand for condoms numbers about 8 billion units worth 1.1 trillion won ($1.2 billion) annually. Given that South Korea accounts for less than 1 percent of the global market, the international competitiveness of UNIDUS is quite amazing.
Kim, who has worked for the company since 1995, says the secret to success lies in the firm’s continuous efforts to improve the quality of its products through development of key technologies.
He said that his company has set a high standard for its products, twice higher than the international standard, which requires every condom to bear the pressure of 18 liters of air injected into the product.
``Unlike other goods, the recall system is useless for condoms ― if defective they could produce irreversible results,’’ he said. ``That’s why we inspect all products.’’
UNIDUS is also stepping up efforts to develop new products. Following the ``Long Love,’’ a best-selling brand, the firm is also set to release a new series of products with images of animals on boxes, designed by famous pop artist Kunstler Andora, next January.
Efforts to Change Culture
Kim, who once worked for a paper-manufacturing company, has faced large obstacles while working for the condom company for over 10 years ― mostly from the prejudice of the people and the culture in society.
``In this conservative society where Confucian values still linger, the rate of the condom usage is standing at around 20 percent, the lowest among all member states of the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development),’’ he said.
Next year, Kim said, UNIDUS plans to focus on improving its brand image not only among experts and representatives from international bodies and foreign countries but also consumers at home and abroad.
He added that the company would also have to cut production costs by active research and development (R&D) activities in the face of the won’s rise and, from a longer-term perspective, it would stage a campaign to ensure the sound culture of sex at home.
``Like our company name UNIDUS, or `You Need Us,’ I would like to develop my firm into one that our customers around the world need,’’ he said. ``I hope the domestic consumers could one day tell the vendor `UNIDUS, please!’ without hesitation or shyness.’’
