Gleneagles brand spreads its wings worldwide

Gleneagles brand spreads its wings worldwide

THE name "Gleneagles" is taking wing overseas, as its parent IHH Healthcare seeks to grow the brand's geographical footprint.

The group recently opened Gleneagles Hong Kong Hospital (GHK), a 500-bed multi-specialty private tertiary hospital in Hong Kong Island South.

Gleneagles Hong Kong Hospital (GHK)Photo: GHK Hospital Limited

Its managing director and chief executive Tan See Leng said at the opening that this was IHH's first tertiary healthcare facility in Hong Kong, and would "place the group in a good position for its next stage of growth".

The company intends to bring the Gleneagles brand to the rest of Greater China as well; it is already building two hospitals under the Gleneagles brand, one each in Chengdu and Shanghai, to be operational in 2018 and 2020 respectively.

Group chief operating officer of Parkway Pantai (a wholly owned subsidiary of IHH Healthcare) Lim Suet Wun described the "Gleneagles Hospital" brand as a uniquely successful Asian one.

IHH, which has a presence in Asia, central and eastern Europe, now has five brands under its umbrella.

They are Mount Elizabeth, Gleneagles, Pantai, Parkway and Acibadem.

Of the 52 hospitals in its stable, 16 are Gleneagles hospitals.

Starting from the one in Singapore, and aside from the one now in Hong Kong and the two coming up in China, the hospital also has a presence in Malaysia, India and Brunei.

The brand is still growing.

Dr Lim said: "We believe this is because IHH Healthcare, through its Parkway Pantai subsidiary, has the ability to deliver high-quality healthcare services.

"Our success with our Gleneagles Hospital brand strategy is not something that can be easily emulated, and sets us apart as the benchmark for healthcare excellence in the region."

Founded by the British Association in 1957, the hospital in Singapore started out as a 45-bed nursing home.

Today, Gleneagles Hospital and Medical Centre is a 258-bed private hospital; it also has more than 160 specialists spread across 30 specialties.

The Business Times understands that a brand-valuation exercise commissioned last year by IHH assessed the brand as having the potential to become a leading global brand by virtue of its scale and brand strength.

The name has been trademarked in Singapore, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Thailand and Sri Lanka, among other markets.

Speaking at a results briefing last month, Mr Tan said that, to spread the name further, IHH is consolidating its India platform by rebranding all its global hospitals facilities under the "IHH Gleneagles" name "to drive greater brand equity". The brand-change process started more than a year ago.

The brand change was announced in January.


This article was first published on March 29, 2017.
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