KUALA LUMPUR: Mydin Mohamed Holdings Bhd, as a household name in Malaysia’s wholesale and retail chain industry, will continue to enhance its commitment to nation-building.
Managing director Datuk Ameer Ali Mydin said Mydin would often sacrifice its margin and prioritise the people over profit to help build long-term relationships with customers, thereby helping the company to stay afloat.
Having been in the business since its humble beginnings in August 1957, he said the company had faced many challenges in its journey, such as economic vulnerabilities in 1998 and natural disasters such as the massive flood in 2021 and the most arduous journey of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis in 2020.
Recalling the tough lockdown phase, he said it was difficult to pay rentals and employees with the company generating less sales or posting lower revenue, he said.
“We learn a lot through the pandemic. We started to deliberate on ways to reduce operational costs and diversify by selling goods on e-commerce platforms to attract more consumers and strengthen Mydin’s brand,” he told Bernama.
Support from the government and business unions in terms of engagement and dialogues also helped to cushion the impact and build resilience for recovery.
Rahmah initiative
As part of its nation-building commitment, Ameer Ali said Mydin was the pioneer of the Rahmah initiative as it volunteered to initiate Menu Rahmah after working together with the late Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub to curb food inflation and help the public deal with the higher cost of living.
Menu Rahmah, which offers meals priced at RM5 and below, was first launched in Mydin Subang Jaya Hypermarket on Jan 31, 2023.
“The complaint was that it was difficult to do cheaper meal programmes, but I told Datuk Seri Salahuddin that it was possible and told him, let’s give it a try.
“At first, many eateries were worried that their profit would be squeezed as people might opt for Menu Rahmah, but after operating for two or three months, we saw only 10 per cent to 15 per cent of customers taking the cheaper meals.
“Overall, I would say that the Menu Rahmah is sustainable because the percentage of people buying the cheaper meal is not very high, and it does not affect their businesses as they are making profits from other normal menus,” he said.
The journey then continued with the Payung Rahmah initiative, such as Jualan Rahmah, Bakul Rahmah and ‘Kasih Sayang Ibu dan Si Manja’ campaign, to lessen the burden of the low-income group and the hardcore poor.
Origin
He said the business under the name of Mydin Mohamed Bros was started by his late father, Mydin Mohamed Ghulam Hussein, who migrated from Penang to Kota Bharu, Kelantan.
His father began selling sundry goods on the sidewalk and from a small wooden shop in Jalan Tok Hakim, Kota Bharu.
His elder brother, Datuk Murad Ali Mydin, expanded the business by opening a second wooden shop in Kuala Terengganu in 1979, he said, adding that the shop eventually grew to become a supermarket chain with the name Mydin.
Continuing the family legacy, Ameer Ali said he made the move to bring the business to Kuala Lumpur and opened a store at Jalan Masjid India in 1989.
Due to enormous demand, Mydin then made a giant leap by opening its first mall and hypermarket in Subang Jaya, Selangor, in 2006 and the largest mall hypermarket at Kota Bharu known as Mydin Tunjong in 2022.
Currently, Mydin has 61 branches with almost 7,000 employees nationwide and carries 130,000 stock-keeping units, including 100 of Mydin’s original equipment manufacturer brands.
Outlook
In conjunction with the country’s Merdeka celebration, Ameer Ali said he is optimistic about the business despite the lingering economic headwinds such as inflation, a softer exchange rate, and decreasing purchasing power.
“We have gone through a lot of obstacles such as sanctions and ban on imports of products following the Russia-Ukraine war, as well as a weakened ringgit versus the US dollar this year.
However, he felt that these were temporary shocks.
He expressed hope for Malaysia’s economy to remain stable post-state elections while the government focuses on developing the country and bringing more investment to restore investors’ confidence.
“For next year, Mydin plans to adopt artificial intelligence, data analytics and smart business technology solutions to enhance customer experience.
“We aim to expand by opening a new branch in Perlis by the end of 2025 to generate more revenue and returns,” he said, adding that Mydin would always be a proud Malaysian brand that has been in existence since 1957. – BERNAMA
