CASE STUDY-Sheikha Hub successfully connecting designers and buyers

Photo: Sheikha Hub at a SWIFF event / Sheikha Hub

COMPANY OVERVIEW

Sheikha Hub is a talent scout and event organizing company that helps up-and-coming fashion designers gain recognition and reach buyers beyond their country borders. Only two years after its initiation in June 2013, the company has partnered with government bodies and leading organizations from Malaysia, Singapore, Qatar and Australia to create modest fashion-related events.

KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS

1. Curated ASEAN Designer Project for ASEAN Entrepreneur Summit 2015
2. Curated a fashion training program for Malaysian government agencies
3. Appointed strategic partner by Qatar Tourism Authority for Heya Arabian Fashion Exhibition
4. Showcased modest fashion labels during Melbourne Spring fashion Week 2013 in Australia

OPPORTUNITIES BEING ADDRESSED

Connecting designers with potential buyers

Many talented fashion designers face difficulty in scaling their business beyond the local markets. Sheikha Hub addresses this pain point by curating networks and events that match a designer’s product offerings, thus increasing their chance to meet suitable business partners and buyers.

“Initially our target was the local (Malaysian) designers who has talents for designing fashion but could not move to a higher level and make it globally,” explains CEO Datin Norzihan Ahmad. “We were lucky to have quickly found ourselves approached by many designers from other countries as well, widening our pool of talents. Since then we have become an international company reaching talents and markets worldwide”.

Introducing modest fashion concept to mainstream designers

In addition to helping modest fashion designers earn more global recognition, Sheikha Hub also assists mainstream fashion designers who are interested to enter the modest fashion space.

At the November 2015 Heya Arabian Fashion Exhibition in Doha, Qatar, Sheikha Hub brought together Muslim designers from Brunei and Singapore as well as non-Muslim designers from Thailand and Italy on one runway.

KEY STRATEGY COMPONENTS

Networking to find the best designers

Sheikha Hub selects designers based on the quality of their design, attitude and professionalism. These factors are believed to be the key success ingredients in the fashion sphere. “Nothing beats quality product and feel,” stresses Ahmad. “The key [to attract buyers] is presenting a glamorous look and feel in our events.”  

Maintaining an extensive network

In its first year of inception, Sheikha Hub benefited from CEO Norzihan Ahmad’s network and previous experience in fundraising, fashion and social businesses. Ahmad refers to it as “a billion dollar networking”. As the business grows, however, the company receives many leads and solicitations through virtual means.

“We usually give opportunity to those who approach us via email or on social media; a proactive attitude is a great plus to us,” Ahmad says. “It doesn't really matter if they just started in the industry. If they want to go far, we'll take them by the hand.”

Nurturing designers to succeed

Sheikha Hub’s core values remain rooted in the original intention of its establishment -- to help designers reach their full potential.

“We started out with a sincere mission to help. A little da’wah on our part,” states Norzihan Ahmad. “Later the Nobel Laureate Prof. Dr. Muhammad Yunus recognized us as a social business in marketing. We promote new, up and coming designers with the right talent and attitude for success. Most are deserving of a break. We want to provide that.”

With sincerity and willingness to help as its core values, Sheikha Hub was able to reach great milestones since its inception. “Although we have reached our million in turnovers, we put our revenue back to promote our talents and enlarge our talent pool.”

“We measure our success by the success of those we promote. This November we have managed to secure deals with Qatar fashion stores for our designers. It is too early to gauge their performance in dollars and cents. Our mission is to make them successful; that is our key performance index – not bottom line.”

COMPANY OPPORTUNITIES

Starting its own event

Ahmad has ambitious plans to bring its marquee event, Sheikha Hub World Islamic Fashion Forum (SWIFF) to more countries around the world. “SWIFF will go back to Doha again in March next year following the recent success in November. There are [also] interests to bring it to other countries such as Morocco.” 

Given the growing awareness of its brand, there is also an opportunity for Sheikha Hub to establish physical stores that feature the collections of designers under its wings. Ahmad admits that her team has been approached with a “very enticing” offer to open a concept store.

COMPANY CHALLENGES

Finding the right talents

In spite of the many leads that she and her team receives every month, Ahmad confesses that a disheartening amount of modest fashion designers fall into two groups: “Designers who have the talent but refuse to go global, or [those] with little talent but project themselves as divas!” 

Growing pains

Sheikha Hub offers services that address a basic and major pain point in modest fashion, namely connecting supply and demand of modest fashion in an effective manner. As such, the company has struggled to keep up with the number of designers or proposals that come their way. “We do not have enough resources to keep up, as much as we would like to,” says Ahmad.

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