e Eid al-Fitr, the religious holiday celebrating the end of Ramadan, was over, as the war in Ukraine along with other factors, such as supply chain bottlenecks and inflationary pressures, began to rear its ugly head in the marketplace. Interestingly, sales from the offline component of the brands picked up in 2022. “Everyone talks about e-commerce growth these days, but when we saw our offline sales picking up, that was a good thing. We have about 15 physical stores, and honestly it’s a very uncertain time right now. We are trying our best to be as agile as possible,” she said. It was time to pivot Yusof’s e-commerce marketplace, FashionValet, once sold over 400 brands in both modest and mainstream fashion, but she had to pull the plug on it this year, as the company was operating at a loss. “As you know, our company is a privately listed one, but our pivot to our household brands, Duck and Lilit, was very public. Thankfully, the storms have cleared, it’s much healthier internally, and our focus has also become a lot clearer,” she said. Yusof revealed that the team is very focused on allocating resources to chase profitability. Duck is already profitable, while Lilit is on track to profitability. “Obviously, it was bittersweet to say goodbye to a business unit that we were so passionate about. But it was the right thing to do for the group, and we hope it played a good role in elevating our brands to the marketplace,” she said. Tough times ahead The Malaysian Ringgit fell to a historic low vs the American Dollar recently (1 USD to 4.7 RM), and coupled with global recession fears in 2023, and rising costs both locally and internationally, one could say the Malaysian economy is heading towards a perfect storm. “With all these things happening in the economy, it has affected our business greatly. For example, our courier costs have almost quadrupled in some cases. It’s very scary. Costs have just shot up in the last three months as well as delays in shipments,” Yusof said. This has impacted her customers, and the company has had to adjust its launch schedule and take care of inventory issues as well. The company has also been offering in-store pick-up options for customers to offset these issues. “We had to look at our delivery costs, because that was the most alarming aspect for us. So we gave our customers options, normal delivery or longer waiting times. Express deliveries with extra charges was also an option for customers too,” she said. Yusof has also been diversifying her supplier base to reduce the dependency on companies based in China, and instead sourcing from Indonesia, Vietnam, India and locally from Malaysia as well. “We’ve also invested in machinery and some in-house production efforts in order to have a more self-sustaining mode of operations,” she noted. Nuances matter Not everyone is affected by these external factors. Yusof has noticed that customers in the higher income brackets are still shopping as per usual.  However, those in the mid-to-high income bracket seem to be shopping for good deals and pouncing once promotions are offered. “We get a lot of inquiries on when is your next sale? When is the next promotion? We just had our 10.10 sale recently, and we were shocked at how well it did. Our customer acquisition metrics went through the roof,” she added. Sales figures from the shopping event exceeded Yusof’s expectations and made it clear to the team that customers are looking for good deals. That is now a key strategy for the brands. “We’re one of the only local fashion brands that has a truly omnichannel presence, and we have a lot of shopping going on via WhatsApp as well. But right now, we’re seeing a slower growth online and a sharp rise in the offline sales aspect,” she stated. Diversification was key During the pandemic, Duck and Lilit had zero sales from physical stores and around 70 per cent of its sales came from scarves. Yusof had to pivot the product line-up quickly. “Everyone was staying at home, who wants to buy scarves? But we pivoted quickly. We got into mass essentials, like loungewear, and even grocery bags. Grocery bags was a category that really surprised us. I guess people were excited to go grocery shopping at the time,” she said. Partnering with Grab, Asia’s superapp, was also key to ensure customers could get their deliveries within 30 minutes. Instalment plans for customers was another popular feature that was well received within the marketplace. “Another thing that we saw which grew quite fast was the whole practice of gifting. As everyone was isolated during the pandemic, they wanted to send gifts to each other, and personalisation was a key element in our product mix too,” she said. Generation Z and Millennials As always, brands in Malaysia are laser focused on Gen Z and Millennials. Yusof is no different in this area, and her brands are use social media heavily. “Instagram, TikTok, we have to be there. We have a list of 200 social media influencers that we work with. Brands have to care about the Gen Z and Millennials, because they are different and love purpose-driven brands,” she added. As cliche as it sounds, Yusof observes that this target market responds positively to brands that are championing female empowerment, charity campaigns and body positivity initiatives. “Brands like Lilit are really celebrated on social media, because we have a 10-size pack. From XXS right up to 5XL, we have something for everyone, and our customers love that,” she noted. During the pandemic, Lilit rolled out several charity campaigns for working mums, and held a fundraiser to get medical supplies for hospitals. The brand actually raised five million Ringgit through its campaigns. “Gen Z and Millennials have so many choices. For them, cost is not a concern. They love sustainability. We had scarves made out of coffee-bean waste [and] cut-down trees, and all of these were snapped up,” she stated. The sky’s the limit According to a 2022 report on the global Islamic economy by advisory firm DinarStandard, global Muslim spend on apparel and footwear is expected to rise by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.1 per cent, reaching US$375 billion by 2025. There is huge potential for Yusof’s brands to reach even greater heights globally. Right now, around 60 per cent of her revenue comes from the Malaysian marketplace, while the rest comes from a combination of sales from markets like Singapore, Brunei, the UK and the US. “There are many mainstream brands trying to do modest fashion, but most of them come off as inauthentic. Sometimes in business, it’s very important to stay in your niche, and resist the temptation to be everything for everyone,” she noted. Yusof explains that Duck is positioned as a premium modest fashion brand, something that has been quite successful in its eight years of operation, and the aim is to make it a global brand. “We’ve had international collaborations for the aspirational factor, with Barbie, Fox Movies, Monopoly games, etc. With Lilit, on the other hand, it’s all about being a modest fashion staple. It doesn’t try to be a trendy brand, it’s more mass market,” she added. Yusof maintains her edge by always observing the latest fashion trends and conversations on social media. From Paris Fashion Week to observing malls and being a voracious reader of fashion-related articles, she is always on the lookout for the next big thing. “I’m always on Instagram and TikTok, and I feel like it’s my job to know what people are talking about. Which designers are making noise? Who are these influencers? What are they wearing? All these things matter, and it’s how I stay inspired in this business,” she concluded.