Inspired & Driven
Even though they look so simple and seem like everyday items, hair accessories are a very thriving industry with a continuous high demand. In the last 19 years, Suhaimie and her partners have worked hard in building her hair accessory empire, Sukses Jaya, which later brought out its best brand, Mimori. We sat down and talked with the self-made entrepreneur about her journey from the bottom, her glowing success, as well as her dreams for the future.
Q: Did you always aspire to be an entrepreneur?
A: Since childhood, I have been fascinated by the business world. It all began in 2003 when I started opening a counter, setting myself in front of other people’s stores. By 2005, I’d opened my own kiosk. Just a small one, but certainly more than our humble counter before. This, for me, marked the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey. Following that, we expanded more and more, and in 2013 we finally initiated a physical store, located in the central wholesale area of Asemka. We named the store Toko Sukses Jaya, and found our first true success there. Tiga Pilar Familia was established two years later, which has been the core of our operations and business since then. The company developed our own original brands of hair accessories, namely Kamino, Roche Ornament and Mimori.
Q: What is the most memorable moment in the process of building Mimori?
A: I think it was a struggle to create a product that truly stands out in Indonesia – especially for an everyday product such as hair accessories. We had to think hard about how to make it different. We started by analysing the needs and demands. Mimori had to address the difficulties women face when using hair clips and had to be the solution to their dilemmas. Our first research found that storage is one of those problems and we came up with the innovative pouch. This, in turn, distinguishes us from regular hair accessory products. From there on, we were inspired to meet customer needs and solve more problems. Moreover, we identified the common problem of clips tangling and breaking, hence, we introduced a pro-guard technology, making the clip’s spring mechanism invisible. The variety in colours and shapes also set us apart further, offering rare and unique options not found in ordinary hair claws. These are the advantages we bring to the Mimori brand. These innovations eventually got the attention of our customers and eventually even won awards for us. I believe those were the most memorable and challenging aspects.
Q: In your opinion, what is the most important thing that you need as an entrepreneur?
A: The most crucial element is hard work. Motivating oneself during challenging times is essential. I have been through so many things in my 15 years of building this company and brands, and I still want to do and achieve more. Keeping yourself motivated and balancing it with hard work will undoubtedly yield results.
Q: Do you still have personal goals that you wish to achieve in the future?
A: My personal goal is more aligned with the development of the current company, hoping it can thrive in the next three years. This allows continuous development of the head accessories products I’m working on. If I can be more specific, this means primarily focusing on management, which includes fine-tuning and addressing the current shortage of a dedicated team for product development. We are experienced in wholesale but are still in the initial stages of developing our own brand in the retail sector – something that we are still learning every day. This new challenge, transitioning from buyer-to-buyer business mode to more direct buyer-to-consumers, is quite significant for us. As we deal directly with customers, we consider Mimori as our first and truly retail brand. We acknowledge and introduce the uniqueness of Mimori in the retail market, and we see it as an ongoing development. Along the way, we continuously learn how to grow an original brand that is currently under the TPF company.
Asia Dreams Volume 50
Mimori
Pergudangan Elang Laut, Kamal Muara
Jakarta 14470, Indonesia
T: (+62) 2121584404
IG: @mimoriofficial
