You’ll more or less notice the signage of this company if you drive along the Tampines Expressway towards the airport - rain or shine. Here’s another hint – it is located within the Tampines Retail Park along with Giant hypermart.

If you’ve guessed COURTS, then bingo, you’ve got it right. But have you ever wondered if COURTS is a Singapore or a Malaysian furniture chain or who actually owns COURTS these days? Well, we will bring you all the answers in this interview.

With roots as a furniture retailer from the UK, COURTS started operations in Singapore half a century ago in 1974 and has since expanded to 13 stores spanning over 464,000 square feet of retail space.

The firm expanded to Malaysia in 1987 and most recently ventured into the Indonesian market in 2014.

Once known as COURTS Asia Limited, the firm was previously listed on the mainboard of the Singapore Exchange in October 2012. That was until 2019, when Yokohama-based electrical appliance retailer Nojima Corporation bought over the company’s shares.

Today, COURTS is wholly owned by Nojima Corporation, which runs over 900 stores and has a market capitalisation of S$1.8 billion on revenues of S$6.6 billion. So how has the firm changed over the years with Nojima Corporation as its parent?

Meanwhile, COURTS is also an interesting company to look at because of its efforts to refresh its offerings to target the next generation of furniture shoppers.

For one thing, the firm had in 2019 opened its first internet-of-things store at Funan to better cater to smart home shoppers. It also opened the 189,000 square feet COURTS Nojima in 2022 to provide an experiential retail space for shoppers.

But how far has the firm’s moves captured the hearts of younger consumers and what are the key drivers of growth in the furniture industry as brick and mortar chains compete against online retailers?

On Under the Radar, Money Matters’ finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Harry Higashiura, Group Chief Commercial Officer, Nojima APAC and Country CEO of Singapore and Malaysia, COURTS.

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From making 186 deliveries on day one to about 17 million today.

That’s a reflection of the growth of logistics giant FedEx through the years since it was first founded half a century ago in 1971.

At that point in time, FedEx was known as the Federal Express Corporation, with the word “federal” suggesting an interest in nationwide economic activity in the US.

Fun fact – it was meant to resonate with the US Federal Reserve Bank, which is a potential customer for the logistics player.

You might have recalled us talking to FedEx over a year ago on the show, and today we’re going to get an update as to how things are going for them right now.

Financially, the firm had in December 2024 reported second quarter earnings per share of US$4.05 in line with expectations. Revenue though, came in at US$22 billion for the quarter, slightly lower than the US$22.17 billion expected.

The firm’s CEO Raj Subramaniam said the results come despite several headwinds, including continued weak US domestic demand and the expiration of its US Postal Service contract. He said the showing demonstrates that the firm’s efforts to transform its operations have been working. But what were the key drivers of growth bolstering the numbers, and how far did Asia Pacific contribute to the firm’s top line numbers?

Speaking of Asia Pacific, the firm also said in 2024 that it will consolidate some Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa functions in Singapore to connect all of its operations in the region with greater speed and agility. But what should we know about the move?

On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Kawal Preet, President, Asia Pacific at FedEx.

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Today we’re going to bring you an inside look into an Italian pharmaceutical firm with over 135 years of history.

Founded in 1886 in Naples under the name of Farmacia Internazionale, our guest for today is from Menarini Group, a leading pharmaceutical and diagnostics company with a presence in over 140 countries.

The firm prides itself as a leading provider of important healthcare brands, with its 18 manufacturing plants producing over 609 million packets of products a year.

To this end, Menarini said it operates across the entire commercial value chain, from clinical development, regulatory approval and product launch to lifecycle management with a diverse portfolio of proprietary and partnered brands in key therapeutic fields.

That includes Consumer Health, Dermatology, Allergy or Respiratory, Gastroenterology, Cardio-metabolic, Anti-infectives, Oncology or Specialty Care and more.

All in, Menarini reported consolidated turnover of 4.375 billion euros in 2023, with international markets contributing 79% to the numbers. But how much of this is contributed by demand from the Asia-Pacific region?

Meanwhile, Menarini is also seeing a number of interesting developments of late. For one thing, Menarini APAC had in June 2024 expanded its partnership with Pharmacosmos to tackle iron deficiency in patients in Singapore and Malaysia.

So just how important are such licensing deals and partnerships in helping Menarini broaden its offerings while lowering R&D costs?

On Under the Radar, Money Matters’ finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Glen Godresse, CEO, Menarini APAC.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.