Entrepreneur Aims To Open 30 Outlets Selling Prayer Mats From Madinah, Makkah In Malaysia

From Kamarul Irwan Alias

MADINAH, June 1 (Bernama) -- The Prayer Mat Sdn Bhd (TPM), a distributor of prayer mats from Madinah and Makkah, aims to open 30 outlets in Malaysia and hopes to reap sales worth RM9 million this year.

Its chief executive officer, Dr Siti Norwahida Shukeri, said TPM currently has 17 outlets, including in Changlun and Alor Setar, Kedah; Shah Alam and Bangi, Selangor, and Nilai, in Negeri Sembilan, and about 2,000 resellers.

"We also hope to penetrate the markets in Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei," she said when met here recently.

Sharing her experience, Siti Norwahida said it started in 2019 when she was offered a job as a lecturer at the University of Ha'il, in Saudi Arabia.

“It started with me helping to buy prayer mats for friends and contacts in Malaysia. I only charged them for the postage. After some time, I realised the business potential in selling the prayer mats because of the demand and then set up the company,” she said.

Siti Norwahida, said she obtained her supply of prayer mats from manufacturers in Madinah and Makkah and rebranded them with her own brand.

She said the COVID-19 pandemic which hit the world in 2020 and 2021 did not affect her business much.

“My company's products are in great demand online,” she said, adding that the company, which now has more than 40 employees, recorded sales of RM4.5 million in the second year of operation.

— BERNAMA