DKSH International Almost 150 years in Asia In the 1860s, three Swiss entrepreneurs sailed east to Asia. Over the years, they established flourishing trading houses, which over decades evolved into major players in South East Asia, China, the eastern Asian Pacific region and Japan. At a glance 1860s Sailing to Asia 1 Three Swiss entrepreneurs embark on a journey 1860-1930 Sailing to Asia 2 Impressions 1860-1930 The early years 1 Wilhelm Heinrich Diethelm seizes his chance Around 1900 The early years 2 Impressions Around 1900 Exploring the markets Strengthening Switzerland's commercial interests Around 1900 The founding fathers Portraits 20th century Growing with Asia 1 The founding fathers pave the way 20th century Growing with Asia 2 Impressions 2002 The creation of DKSH 1 Fourth generation descendants chart their companies’ future 2002 The creation of DKSH 2 After the merger: DKSH becomes a powerful, specialized services company 2006 Celebrating a long-term presence in Asia DKSH celebrates its 140th anniversary 2002-2012 The DKSH success story DKSH re-invents the conventional business model 1865-1998 Chronology 1 The tide of events 2000-2008 Chronology 2 The tide of events 2009-2012 Chronology 3/1 The tide of events 2009-2012 Chronology 3/2 The tide of events 2009-2012 Chronology 3/3 The tide of events 1860 and 2012 Office locations Impressions Today DKSH today The fantree © DKSH Management Ltd./DKSH Holding Ltd. 2 / 18 1860s Sailing to Asia (1860s) In the middle of the 19th century, Asia’s vast opportunities encouraged three young and adventurous Swiss entrepreneurs to embark on a journey into the unknown. Wilhelm Heinrich Diethelm, Eduard Anton Keller, and Hermann Siber-Hegner followed the advice of their day, which was: “go east, young man”. Independently of each other, they sailed the oceans and endured many setbacks like falling overboard into the sea or losing warehouses to the devastations of fire. Little did they know that the entrepreneurial spirit with which they founded their trading houses would lay the foundations for decades of successful trade. In 1865, Siber & Brennwald was established in Yokohama; in 1868, Eduard Anton Keller joined C. Lutz & Co. in Manila, which he acquired in 1887. Wilhelm Heinrich Diethelm joined Hooglandt & Co. in 1871 in Singapore which he took over in 1887 and renamed it to Diethelm & Co. Ltd. The early days in Singapore when Wilhelm Heinrich Diethelm, for instance, was considered a ‘Sinkeh’ – a greenhorn – passed quickly and the fledgling enterprises soon began to grow. © DKSH Management Ltd./DKSH Holding Ltd. 3 / 18 1860-1930 © DKSH Management Ltd./DKSH Holding Ltd. 4 / 18 1860-1930 Wilhelm Heinrich Diethelm seized his chance to set up his own venture when the Hooglandt family, the majority owners of the trading house he had joined, decided to repatriate their capital from Singapore. It was only after lengthy negotiations that Wilhelm Diethelm and the Hooglandts reached an agreement. Upon his return to Zurich, Diethelm founded Diethelm & Co. Ltd. in A member of an official Swiss trade delegation, 24-year-old Caspar Brennwald arrived in Japan in 1863 aboard the Dutch steamship Medusa. Two years later, he named Hermann Siber as his partner and founded Siber & Brennwald. The company’s formative years were marked by major political and social upheaval. After centuries of isolation, the country slowly began to open up to trade again. Yet Siber & Brennwald first had to overcome many challenges and setbacks before it was able to secure a leading position in the silk export industry by 1890. © DKSH Management Ltd./DKSH Holding Ltd. 5 / 18 Around 1900 © DKSH Management Ltd./DKSH Holding Ltd. 6 / 18 Around 1900 At the turn of the century, the now highly esteemed entrepreneurs also assumed diplomatic responsibilities with a view to strengthening Switzerland’s commercial interests in their respective host countries. In April 1866, Brennwald became the first Swiss representative in Japan, Eduard Anton Keller became Consul in Manila, while Wilhelm Heinrich Diethelm was even named ViceConsul of Russia in 1884. These positions offered not only a steady and secure income; they also enhanced their social – and hence economic – influence. As respected businessmen and diplomats, the three Swiss entrepreneurs were presented with many business opportunities. Wilhelm Heinrich Diethelm, for instance, entered into a risky but potentially lucrative cooperation with a mineral company that would later merge to Royal Dutch Shell. He even achieved stellar profits during the rubber rush. Later in their careers, Wilhelm Heinrich Diethelm and Eduard Anton Keller transformed their trading houses into public limited companies in order to raise capital for further expansion and acquisitions. It was also during this time that the ties between the two families were deepened, share capital was exchanged, and for the first time the idea was expressed to combine the Zurich offices of Diethelm and Keller. © DKSH Management Ltd./DKSH Holding Ltd. 7 / 18 Around 1900 Hermann Siber © DKSH Management Ltd./DKSH Holding Ltd. 8 / 18 Eduard Keller 20th century With the far-sightedness of entrepreneurs, the founding fathers early on paved the way for a smooth transition to the next generation. While the successors could build on strong legacies, the 20th century presented formidable challenges with two world wars, the Great Depression, social upheaval, natural disasters, and unprecedented economic prosperity. In 1923, the Great Kanto Earthquake devastated Japan and killed more than 100,000 people with more than 40,000 people reported missing. It also destroyed all of Siber Hegner & Co.’s buildings in Yokohama. The company’s subsequent efforts to restore its business operations were severely threatened by the onset of the Great Depression and Siber Hegner & Co. suddenly faced an uncertain future. A far-reaching rescue operation was launched which transformed the company into a public limited company with headquarters in Zurich. This step also established the basis for later growth and brought Willy M. Keller onboard as shareholder and vice-chairman in 1932. During this period, Diethelm & Co. continued to grow and opened a third branch office in Penang, following Saigon and Bangkok in 1923, and recorded extraordinary growth in the second half of the century particularly in the travel industry. © DKSH Management Ltd./DKSH Holding Ltd. 9 / 18 20th century Diethelm & Cie in Cambodia SiberHegner silk manufacturing in Yokohama in 1928 © DKSH Management Ltd./DKSH Holding Ltd. 10 / 18 2002 With China’s opening and the tiger states’ spectacular growth, the last quarter of the 20th century saw a period of unprecedented economic opportunity in Asia, giving rise to doubled and even tripled turnover. Highlights of the time included commercial successes like the Swiss candy “Sugus”. The sky seemed the limit. The outbreak of the Asian financial crisis in 1997, however, served as a costly wake-up call. Reporting a record loss in 1999, Siber Hegner initiated a turnaround process. The ties between the Diethelm and Keller dynasties dated back to beginning of the 20th century. So when the fourth generation descendants of the two families got together to chart their companies’ future, they did so with a strong sense of tradition. The founding of Diethelm Keller Holding Ltd. on June 16, 2000 was an extraordinary achievement and a tribute to changing times. The two firms were united under a new organizational structure, Diethelm Keller Holding. Around the same time, Siber Hegner experienced a revival of business after a major restructuring exercise and posted a record profit in 2001. This remarkable turnaround was closely watched by the new Diethelm Keller group. It did not take long until negotiations were underway to bring the two groups together. The companies were an ideal match in terms of service offering and country coverage. 2002 On June 19, 2002, shareholders approved the merger and the new DKSH Group was formed. The traditional trading house was now definitely a thing of the past. The creation of DKSH marked the beginning of a specialized services company and a new powerhouse in Asia. © DKSH Management Ltd./DKSH Holding Ltd. 11 / 18 2006 In 2006, DKSH reached two milestones of historic proportion: Fourteen decades after Siber & Brennwald had begun trading raw silk in Yokohama, DKSH celebrated its 140th anniversary in Japan 1865. The prominently attended ceremony honored Nihon SiberHegner as the oldest foreign company with uninterrupted presence in Japan. In February, Diethelm Ltd. celebrated its 100th anniversary of continuous operation in Thailand. DKSH is one of Thailand’s leading companies today. 2002-2012 The DKSH success story In each year since the merger of the Asia activities of Diethelm Keller with SiberHegner Holding Ltd. in 2002, DKSH has achieved uninterrupted annual growth. This major success story is built on the fact that we totally re-invented the conventional business model of trading companies and created a distinctive new category: Market Expansion Services. The numbers are compelling: since the merger, net sales have more than doubled, EBIT increased fivefold while our footprint has expanded by 178%, now covering 680 offices in 35 countries. Moreover, in the years since the merger, more than 12,900 new jobs have been created. We are now ready to take the next step and cement our position as the leading Market Expansion Services provider with a focus on Asia. In order to actively manage its expansion, DKSH has carefully laid the groundwork for further growth and has constantly invested in its infrastructure with new distribution centers and a cutting-edge IT-infrastructure. In addition, we have extended our network and continuously strengthened our leadership while attracting the industry’s top people. All these measures serve one goal, which is to keep DKSH ahead of the competition and to make it known as the leading Market Expansion Services provider. © DKSH Management Ltd./DKSH Holding Ltd. 12 / 18 1865-1998 Chronology 1 • 1865: founding of Siber & Brennwald, the precursor of the SiberHegner Group, in Yokohama • 1868: Eduard Anton Keller joins C. Lutz & Co., founded in Manila in 1866 and later acquired by Keller • 1871: Wilhelm Heinrich Diethelm joins Hooglandt & Co., Singapore, established in 1860 and later acquired by Diethelm • 1887: founding of Diethelm & Co. Ltd. in Singapore. Ed. A. Keller & Co. founded in Manila after the take over of Lutz & Co. Ltd. • 1902: SiberHegner enters Chinese market • 1906: founding of Diethelm & Co., Zurich; branch office opened in Bangkok. Takeover of Singapore-based Swiss trading firm Cadonau & Co. by Diethelm • 1921: SiberHegner & Co. acquires a small Swiss trading company with a presence in Shanghai • 1923: Keller acquires Kern Ltd. in Hong Kong • 1936: SiberHegner acquires German trading house H. Boss & Co. based in China • 1968: acquisition by SiberHegner of Manchester-based trading firm Haycraft and London merchant house L.J. Rickards & Co. Ltd. • 1998: acquisition of Cosatec AG by Ed. A. Keller in a joint venture with Diethelm Group 2000-2008 Chronology 2 • 2000: fourth-generation representatives of the Diethelm Group and the Keller Group formally join forces, forming Diethelm Keller Holding Ltd. on June 16 • 2002: on June 19, DKSH Holding Ltd. is formed through the merger of Diethelm Keller Services Asia Ltd. and SiberHegner Holding Ltd., with annual revenues exceeding CHF 4 billion, approximately 13,000 employees, and an EBIT of CHF 50 million • 2002: acquisition of consumer goods business of East Asiatic Co. in Malaysia. • 2003: acquisition of KOSE Logistics, Korea • 2004: acquisition of Medinova Ltd. (Zurich), EAC Transport (Malaysia), and United Housewares Pty. Ltd. (Australia). Official opening of the Corporate Shared Services Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia • 2005: opening of two distribution centers in Vietnam and Singapore • 2006: Diethelm & Co. Ltd. celebrates 100 years in Thailand. Nihon SiberHegner celebrates 140 years in Japan. Opening of three distribution centers in Thailand, Taiwan, and Cambodia. Acquisition of Pro-Tech Group Pty. Ltd. (Australia) • 2007: launch of the global branding rollout • 2007: acquisition of Texchem Consumers Sdn. Bhd. in Malaysia. Buy into RAS Superfries. Opening of four distribution centers in Thailand, Vietnam, Korea, and South China • 2008: new investors join DKSH. Acquisition of Desco, A.i. Scientific and Drives & Power Systems. Opening of four new distribution centers in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia. Opening of new Finance Center in Singapore © DKSH Management Ltd./DKSH Holding Ltd. 13 / 18 2009-2012 Chronology 3 • 2009: development and implementation of DKSH strategy for growth for the Group and the Business Units. Acquisition of Dasico A/S Denmark; Voltas Ltd., India; Michael Weinig Japan K.K.; and the Shell Distribution Company, Thailand. Joint Venture with Smollan Group Pte. Ltd. (South Africa), a leading field marketing company • 2009: launch of Fantree Academy in Singapore. Opening of three new state-of-the-art distribution centers in Australia, Thailand, and Myanmar. Completion of Group-wide rollout of project Pegasus, a global ERP system. Completion of the new DKSH design implementation. Launch of new client magazine "expand" and launch of new website © DKSH Management Ltd./DKSH Holding Ltd. 14 / 18 2009-2012 Chronology 3 • 2010: DKSH outperforms market with resilient business model and continues to make substantial investments in its key market Thailand. Further expansion of the distribution and logistics network across Asia and Europe. Renaming of the local DKSH branches © DKSH Management Ltd./DKSH Holding Ltd. 15 / 18 2009-2012 Chronology 3 • 2012: DKSH successfully goes public on the SIX Swiss Exchange. At the price of CHF 48 per share, the offer was multiple times oversubscribed. The IPO was the largest in Switzerland in five years. • 2012 was a record year with 20.4% sales growth, 16.7% EBIT growth and 21.3% profit after tax growth (excluding the gain on sale of OLIC); total dividend of CHF 0.95 paid out to shareholders in 2013. IPO © DKSH Management Ltd./DKSH Holding Ltd. 16 / 18 1860 and 2012 Former building of SiberHegner DKSH Taiwan reception desk © DKSH Management Ltd./DKSH Holding Ltd. 17 / 18 Today Dr. Joerg W. Wolle, CEO "The fantree ideally visualizes our company rooted in a rich history: our many branches reach for the future" © DKSH Management Ltd./DKSH Holding Ltd. 18 / 18
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