Rent is down, so ‘branches’ go up

Sheikh Ahmad Haiqal Shikh Abdul Murad, CEO and strategist for Tateh, the mother and baby boutique.

TAKING advantage of a depressed rental market, a mum and baby boutique is making its expansion moves since it is now able to negotiate the rent for prime lots.

Sheikh Ahmad Haiqal Shikh Abdul Murad, who is the CEO of Tateh boutique, had been eying Prima Sri Gombak in Selangor where shopowners previously refused to rent out their places for amounts below RM8,000.

“But now because of the slowdown, we were able to negotiate our rent to RM7,100. And we got a great spot too,” he says.

Sheikh Ahmad and his wife opened their first boutique in 2012.

Last year, thanks to the low rent, they opened seven branches, bringing their total number to 11.

“Our strategy is that this is the time to expand so that when the economy recovers, we are way up there,” he says.

The husband-and-wife team is planning to make it 17 branches this year. They are starting to franchise out Tateh and targets to have 30 branches next year.

Tateh, he says, was able to lock in the rental agreements for a period of between four and five years.

“Our customers are pregnant women and mothers, so our shops have to be easy to find and with parking available in front of the shop. We don’t go for high-density areas with parking problems.”

Why is Haiqal so confident about his business especially in the current economy?

He says in 2014 there were 511,000 newborn babies. Last year, this number rose to 518,000 births. Of this, he said, 75% of the births were bumiputras.

“Even in a downturn, there will be babies so the market will always be there. Parents may cut cost by spending less on themselves but they will still buy clothes and food for their babies.”

His wife, Siti Shafurah Abas, used to be a dietician at Universiti Hospital and a lecturer at UiTM. They have four children including a seven-month-old.

“My wife is concerned about food safety and plastic and the stuff we bring in. We won’t sell things that we won’t buy for our own kids,” adds Sheikh Ahmad.