Star : The entrepreneurial princess
Uncle Yap
18 April 2004
The entrepreneurial princess
By KEE HUA CHEE
At her father’s coronation in March last year, Tengku Zerafina looked
every inch the fairytale princess in her kain songket and jewels. But
away from the ceremonies and limelight, she leads a life not too
different from everyone else.
In London, where she works selling curry powders, ready-made sauces
and toiletries, Tengku Zerafina, 34, commutes daily using the
underground train. At the launch of her father’s book project,
Landmarks of Selangor last year, she caused a commotion when she
arrived in a taxi at Suria KLCC instead of a royal limousine. Little
surprise then that the unsuspecting welcoming committee tried to shoo
the cab away.
One suspects Tengku Zerafina, being the gutsy gal that she is, simply
wants to prove that she can make it on her own. Here in Kuala Lumpur,
she can choose the best director’s post in any publicly listed
company. Instead she chooses to try her luck in London where she
doesn’t even own a car. Like most Londoners, the princess takes the
underground train.
Tengku Zerafina with business partner, Tim Ryan
“The London Underground is over a century old, and they don’t have
air-conditioning in summer. There are signs advising passengers to
drink plenty of water, and elderly folks sometimes pass out from the
heat!” she grins.
In London, she is simply known as Zerafina Idris and few have any
inkling her father is the Sultan of Selangor. By an amusing
coincidence, the only “give-away”, though inadvertent, is her address:
Palace Court in Nottinghill, a posh residential enclave which people
like Jason Donovan, Madonna and Hugh Grant call home.
“Not all parts of Nottinghill are posh!” she quickly adds.
Before London, there was New York. She arrived there in 1991 to study
design and marketing at the prestigious Parsons School of Design.
Specialising in product development and marketing, she made the Dean’s
List every semester and graduated in 1993 in the top 10%.
Degree obtained, Tengku Zerafina went for job interviews like everyone
else where “I was lucky to land a dream job – as assistant producer
for MTV and Viacom!”
“I planned music and fashion segments for Cindy Crawford’s House of
Style which was the hottest thing then and also identified new
designers, provided styling and helped in editing,” she recalls
enthusiastically.
Then in 1995 she opened a Malaysian restaurant in Soho, New York. “It
was called Three Degrees North,” she says. “I was a partner and raised
US$75,000 (RM285,00 now) to get it going. I designed promotional
campaigns that generated 23% of the revenue.”
Later, Tengku Zerafina came home and joined Royal Selangor as a
product development executive. “I developed 144 new product designs
for their global retail operations,” she said. “I was also responsible
for special events for international clients like V&A Museum, London,
The Metropolitan Museum of New York and Singapore Airlines.”
The Zadris Bath and Cosmetic, and Kitchen ranges
In 1997, she left to enrol in the London Business School to do an MBA
where she won her first accolade. Ford Europe was sponsoring the Ford
Wizard Opportunity Competition, and the blueprint and working plan she
submitted for the launch of the Ford Focus impressed the panel of
judges. Not only did she triumph over other European and American
graduates, she was also offered a job as consultant for Ford Europe in
Cologne, Germany.
After pocketing her MBA in 1999, Tengku Zerafina worked for a New York
company and set up a B2B (Business to Business) online trading
network. She left in 2001.
Like her seafaring Bugis forefathers, Tengku Zerafina is adventurous
by nature and not one to sit still. From New York she headed back to
London where she had first had first arrived as a 10-year-old student,
to explore other career possibilities. There, she decided there was
still room for a Bodyshop-type business – but with a difference. So
she established Mareby Ltd, the UK subsidiary of Multiple Frontiers
Sdn Bhd of Malaysia. Its mission was to produce cosmetics and
toiletries using herbs and ingredients from Asia. Being a cook, she
naturally included culinary products in the range of merchandise
offered.
“I enjoy experimenting with food so it was only natural I went into
this line. I’m also promoting typical Malaysian flavours,” she says.
The Miss Khoo’s Asian Deli brand offers eight types of curry powder,
paste and soup. Quick, easy and delicious, they are sold in swanky
Harvey Nichols, the upscale Knightsbridge store favoured by the young
and rich, and Harrods. Zed’s Kitchen meanwhile includes a
comprehensive range of barbecue sauces, sweet chilli sauces, spices
and condiments.
“Most of the recipes are from my mother who got them from her mum,”
she says of Zed’s Kitchen.
Tengku Zerafina's line of instant curry mix under the brand Miss
Khoo's Asian Deli.
The Zadris Bath and Cosmetic Range is presumably named after her
parents, Raja Zarina and Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah. Exquisitely
scented, the soaps look delicious enough to eat. In Malaysia, you have
to check into Pangkor Laut, Tanjung Rhu and various YTL hotels in
order to get your hands on them.
She is not laughing all the way to the bank yet but Tengku Zerafina’s
three brands are going places. Manufactured in Malaysia, they are now
exported to UK, Australia, New Zealand, US and Bali.
Her latest passion? Vintage clothes.
I stare dubiously at her outfit when we lunch at Madam Kwan, KLCC.
It’s a simple, sober, three-piece with trainers to match – nothing
faintly vintage about it.
She grins, “I don’t have a permanent boutique. This new, little
venture is called ‘Couture Cave’ and I set it up with Tim Ryan. We
like the concept of a grotto filled with all sorts of lovely, vintage
clothes, accessories, furnishings and bits and pieces. We sell to
friends at private viewings – in homes, museums, art galleries or a
friend’s Bond Street office. It all depends. We show about eight times
a year and we are into the second year.”
The couture vintage garments can cost a pretty penny – anywhere from
£200 (RM1,400) to £1,000 – if they carry labels like Chanel, YSL, Dior
or Versace.
“They have all been carefully dry-cleaned and are in pristine
condition. But some non-vintage dresses go for £20, so never say I
charge the earth! I also sell vintage costume and new jewellery, bags
and luggage, including Louis Vuitton vintage trunks,” she says.
Tengku Zerafina and Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.
“In Malaysia, women wouldn’t dream of wearing second-hand or vintage
clothes. But in Europe, they don’t care. These vintage clothes are
beautiful works of art from another era.
“We also sell new clothes by young new designers not easily available
lest (you fear) someone else might turn up wearing an identical outfit
but looking better than you. We tend to sell to those attending shows
like BAFTA and galas,” she explains.
I suspect there are other ventures cooking with her.
“Well, yes, you’re right but I can’t divulge anything until they are
up and running. I am always thinking about the new but never at the
expense of on-going ones. My parents taught us to think global and
contribute to the community we happen to live in.
“It’s easy for a Malaysian to adapt as we are multi-racial and
multi-cultural. I am always at home wherever I am because I am so used
to different cultures and lifestyles. Companies tend to rope me in for
specific projects like new product developments or competition
analysis, i.e. spying on competitors not on their current radar.”
How do you describe this multi-faceted, multi-talented royal dynamo, I
wonder aloud.
“Oh, just call me a serial entrepreneur,” she smiles.
Kesler@bigpond.net.au Barry Kesler
"Uncle Yap" <yf...@streamyx.com> wrote in message
news:o6m3809dr591qt3fh...@4ax.com...
> faintly vintage about it.
>
> She grins, "I don't have a permanent boutique. This new, little
> venture is called 'Couture Cave' and I set it up with Tim Ryan. We
> like the concept of a grotto filled with all sorts of lovely, vintage
> clothes, accessories, furnishings and bits and pieces. We sell to
> friend's Bond Street office. It all depends. We show about eight times
> a year and we are into the second year."
>
> £200 (RM1,400) to £1,000 - if they carry labels like Chanel, YSL, Dior
---
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Uncle Yap
18 April 2004
Fast food ‘underdogs’ make it good
BY ELAINE ANG
NINETEEN O One Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Tengku Rozidar Tengku
Zainol Abidin is an extraordinary lady.
Passionate independent and confident, she has managed to make a
success of the company's home-grown hot dog chain 1901 in the very
competitive local fast food industry dominated by fast food giants
like McDonald's, KFC and Burger King.
The business, which she started with her husband, Ahmad Zakir Jaafar,
in July 1997, has grown from a single pushcart in Sunway Pyramid
shopping centre to one with 43 outlets throughout the country.
“I believe we represent the underdogs in the industry and we are
excited about the growth of the company. We want to be an inspiration
to others by bringing the business to new heights. It is a strong
driving force for us,” she told StarBiz.
Rozidar was educated in Canada and has degrees in English Literature
and Education.
She was a tutor in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and worked in the
property division in Berjaya Group before taking a one-year sabbatical
to further her studies for a Masters in International Relations in
Britain.
“I had aspirations to be a diplomat then as I love to meet people and
to travel,” she said.
However, after meeting Ahmad Zakir in Britain, she changed her plans
and they were married three months later after a whirlwind romance.
She returned to Malaysia and later joined TV3 as a broadcast
journalist for two years before leaving with the intention to pursue a
doctorate or to start her own business.
The couple chose to start their own business and the rest as they say
is history.
Rozidar said events in her life had helped shape her into the person
she is now.
“A very significant event was when my dad passed away. I was 18 then
and having my pillar of strength taken away was very difficult as I
was close to him.
“It forced me to be more independent and made me stronger. Now I am
totally self-reliant,” she said.
“I have a nurturing personality which I obtained from my teaching
experience. I believe in giving people, especially my staff, a chance
to develop into confident and successful people,” she said.
That said, she admits to coming down really hard on her staff when
they do not show their full potential.
Her management style is one of open communication.
“I like to share ideas and always encourage my staff to voice out any
ideas that they may have,” she said.
Although work takes up most of her time, Rozidar spends whatever
leisure time she has catching up with family, especially her sisters.
“My second love is shopping and I tend to go for shopping sprees. I
also like to read – from novels to motivational and self-help books,”
she said.