Source: Asian Case Research Centre
The University of Hong Kong
Poon Kam Kai Series (Abridged from case no. HKU854)

Gold Peak Electronics: R&D Globalisation from East to West
Gold Peak Electronics (GPE) was a multinational company (MNC) that was among an elite group of
Hong Kong electronics manufacturers. GPE started off primarily as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM). Over time, the company became more involved with original design manufacturing (ODM) through contracts with leading global brands in professional audio. Since its founding in the 1960s, it had grown to become one of the few locally grown, technologically advanced MNCs that designed, manufactured and sold premium professional and home electronics products. Despite the global recession in 2008, its parent company, Gold Peak Industries, had achieved USD189.7 million in revenue worldwide, with over 70% of profits attributed to its electronics division.
GPE’s growth included acquisition of two high-end loudspeaker companies in the UK in 1992: KEF
Audio and Celestion International. Both were highly reputable electronics brands with wellestablished research and development (R&D) capabilities. Brian Li, managing director of Hong Kongbased Gold Peak Electronics Industrial Group, hoped to develop GPE’s own brand of innovative and high-end loudspeaker. In doing so, he aimed at leveraging the established KEF and Celestion brands, as well as their technology, continual technology development, distribution channels, talent, R&D expertise and markets. A key goal of these acquisitions was for GPE to gain engineering and design expertise from engineers in the UK. New R&D centres were established in Hong Kong and mainland
China to facilitate this strategy. Each of the R&D centres was to act as a specialised R&D site that performed specific R&D functions.
However, GPE had underestimated the