For the fourth and final interview from a series of one-to-one discussions titled International Insights, TradeMalta meets Andy Gatesy, chairman and CEO of Toly Group.
International Insights featured one-to-one interviews with experienced business professionals who achieved international success. This initiative was organised with the support of HSBC Bank Malta p.l.c., and the interviews by Joe Schembri, chief officer at TradeMalta and lecturer at the University of Malta,
The story of Toly Group started in 1956, when a Hungarian immigrant arrived in the UK determined to make something of his life. A few years later he set up an injection molding company, which he moved to Malta in 1971.
His son, Andy Gatesy, took over in the late 1980s and in two decades grew Toly in the multinational company it is today.
Toly designs and manufactures packaging solutions for global brand names in the beauty industry. Employing over a thousand people globally, it manufactures out of Malta, South Korea and China and has sales subsidiaries in seven countries – and is the winner of numerous prestigious awards, including Exporter of the Year at the first edition of TradeMalta’s International Business Awards.
Gatesy outlines the challenges and opportunities that Toly Group has experienced in its 50-year journey.
“We started in Malta in 1971. When I joined the business Toly was an English company with a satellite factory in Malta. Our clients were British – but my dream was always to internationalise our business. I remember when I was a kid, we went for a family holiday in Paris, and we visited Galeries Lafayette. Seeing all the beautiful brands like Chanel, Guerlain, Dior inspired me – and I started planning how we could work with such brands.
“The first step was to create a sales office network – and we opened in the US in 1987. Then we opened an office in Paris in 1989 and Benelux in 1994.
“Back then the world was much bigger. You had to be physically present, deal with the local currency, and speak the language.
“Eventually, as we became competitive and gained credibility, we managed to start attracting global names. In the late 1980s, we got our first contract with Chanel. That was a major milestone. We invested in state-of-the-art technology – and that helped us add more prestigious brands to our portfolio.
”Today, Toly Group is a world leader in luxury packaging for the beauty industry.
“We have the biggest factory in our group in Malta, a joint venture in China, two plants in South Korea, one of which is a joint venture, and partners around the world to offer manufacturing to the US and South America. We truly offer global manufacturing.”
“Then we have our sales organisation. We have sales offices across the US, in the UK, a beautiful office on the Champs-Élysées, in Belgium, Hong Kong, China, South Korea and Malta. We are in a position to support international clients around the world.”
In the last few years, the industry has changed again.
“The internet has transformed our business. Suddenly anybody can launch a brand and scale up. For instance, we work with Fenty, which is Rihanna’s brand – due to the fact that nowadays, access to customers is easier, Fenty went from launch to becoming a $500 million brand in five years. Before the internet, that would have taken years.
”Malta is Toly Group’s corporate centre – and it houses an integrated innovation centre.
“Innovation is the currency of the future. Through our innovation centre, we co-produce solutions with our clients. Nowadays, it is easier to demonstrate innovation on Instagram, Youtube and social media – so our innovation centre comes into play here.
”Toly Group has changed substantially through its 50-year existence.
“From a historically industrial player, nowadays we employ beauty bloggers, influencers, designers, make-up artists, trend watchers. We have concept designers and innovation engineers applying for patents.”
The coronavirus pandemic has pushed Toly Group to adapt.
“We used to generate leads through trade show participation around the world. When Covid-19 hit, we quickly moved online. It was a real challenge – but our marketing team was very clever and built an audiovisual studio which I believe is a very powerful tool.”
Gatesy says that nothing comes easy.
“There will be challenges and setbacks. My father died when I was 27 – so I was very young to take on the position of CEO. Then the UK exited the ERM. The Malta pound was devalued – and that saved us. We had the recession a decade ago. Those were all setbacks. We invested in markets that didn’t work out – like India. But you learn to manage crises.
“My advice is to love what you do, dream big, aim high and work hard – because nothing comes easy. And be agile – with Covid, the world changed very quickly, and we were quick to adapt. You have to learn to dance in the rain.”
First step towards internationalisation
TradeMalta offers a wide range of services tailored to the needs of Malta-based companies planning to take that first step towards internationalisation, making the leap easier, more efficient, and ultimately more effective. This includes specialised training programmes in international business development and marketing, industry data, and insights on specific markets and sectors. Market research is imperative for companies who seek to internationalise their operation as it provides insight into market gaps, trends and customer needs, thus enabling businesses to make a well-informed decision before starting on their export journey.
TradeMalta also offers support to established exporters who reach out to the organisation for a different set of services such as enabling introductions through the Maltese diplomatic network and facilitating B2B contacts with enterprises in international markets.
For more information visit www.trademalta.org.