Mr Sim told The Straits Times in his Ubi Avenue office that the downturn has created a wealth of opportunities, and that he is 'always on the lookout for more mergers and acquisitions'.

'We believe there are so many other businesses that are part of Osim's business, as long as they are in well-being, lifestyle and retail,' he said. 'I'm looking for non-organic growth that has synergy with existing Osim businesses.'

Mr Sim was reluctant to give examples, but when pressed on whether it could be a sports apparel brand, he revealed: 'Yes. Maybe.'

Footwear, too? 'Also, yes. There are so many businesses in Hong Kong and China. It's possible,' he added.

Osim has already bought two companies with large, global retail networks. It acquired 29.9 per cent of Global Active, which owns the General Nutrition Centre (GNC) franchise in Singapore, in 2003, and Brookstone in 2005.

'The market is best developed via a leveraged buyout because you get a large number of shops - and quickly,' said Mr Sim. 'With our experience with M&As in the United States, we are in better shape now in terms of understanding how to do buyouts, how to structure the buyout, and how to better control and align shareholders' interests in future acquisitions.'

At the time of the acquisitions, GNC had a network of 145 stores and Brookstone, 304. These have now grown to 161 GNC stores and 312 Brookstone stores.

The Brookstone fiasco delivered Osim a body blow, but Mr Sim is back with a renewed confidence that shines through as he lays down his expansion plans for the coming years. Denying that he has all but given up on Brookstone, he said he is 'shifting all my time, energy, focus and money' to China, a market he describes as 'moving at tremendous speed'.

He said Osim's sales growth in China was 'pretty strong' in April and last month. Its top-selling product there is its most expensive massage chair, which retails for more than S$9,000.

Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times