Founder of a Public Listed Company
On 11th March 2004, Melissa took her business public by officially listing her company on Bursa Securities Malaysia. It was the first time a skincare company was ever listed on the Malaysian Stock Exchange.
As one of the first few women in Malaysia to public list a business, Melissa was featured on the front cover of Dare Magazine, Malaysia’s inspiring new magazine for women. Melissa has achieved her dream and realised a passion that inspired a generation of young beauty entrepreneurs. She engaged Hong Kong and Hollywood actor Maggie Q to become the brand ambassador.
At the pinnacle of success, the company exclusively distribute more than 6 major brands across Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia and other ASEAN nations. These brands include Dermalogica, Eve Taylor, Clinelle, Averine Skincare Cosmetics, Bioxil and the APS Beauty Equipment. Among these 6 brands, 4 were founded and developed by Melissa (Clinelle, Averine Skincare Cosmetics, Bioxil and the APS Beauty Equipment). Salon numbers expanded regionally to over 50 outlets at the time, along with over 1,000s of authorised dealerships across the region. Leonard Drake was soon rebranded into what is known today as Astersprings.
A beauty school named the Esthetics & Wellness International (EWI) Academy was also established, where Melissa personally trained and educated thousands of young enthusiastic therapists throughout Malaysia.
It was ultimately Melissa’s passion for finding skin solutions naturally brought her to R&D, where she focused a lot of her time and attention on developing new skincare products she believed would meet the needs of her customers.