MYDIN – Company History & Background

The company started before the independence of Malaya, it was founded in 1918 by
Mr. Ghulam Hussein Bin Jamal an immigrant from Kathiabar in Gujerat, India. He ran a
provision shop where he sold a variety of goods and father to Mydin Mohamed. Their first
hawker business opened in 1940. However, the shop was destroyed by fire during World War
II, and the family lost everything. But his children, Mydin Mohamed, have made a strong
determination, perseverance, and faith to continue the trades of wholesaling. Mr. Mydin
Mohamed begins his business territory with a small shop in a small space that he built with
his own money and without the assistance of the government or his family, despite coming
from a wealthy family.

He later decided to forge ahead in a foreign land in Kelantan, it has become the focal point
upon which important decisions were made by Mr Mydin and his sons later on. Being the
eldest child in the family, the visions that Mr Mydin’s late father had shared with him and his
younger siblings had also encouraged him to be a visionary entrepreneur, taking challenges
upon his stride in order to improve his family’s finances. Thus, when the stage was set for the
migration to a new land – Kelantan. He left behind the hawker business to his younger
brothers to takeover, sacrificing everything he has worked hard for to start all over again
together with his family in Kota Bharu. Mydin set up his very first shop resulting from inflow
of goods from the neighboring country Thailand, in the year the country achieved its
independence, 1957. It’s a small wooden shop called Syarikat Mydin Mohamed in Jalan Tok
Hakim, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, selling toys and general merchandise.

In the early years, life as a general retailer in Kota Bharu, life was tough as Mr Mydin had
only a bicycle for transportation of his goods. He had to cycle all over town in the scorching
heat and heavy rain to order goods and make deliveries to his many customers. During the
times that he had to make out of town deliveries, he had to traveled by bus. Business slowly
prospered and he was able to purchase a van for deliveries. Ten long years in the small-retail
business did not deter him from becoming a successful wholesaler. So it was, in the year
1957, that Syarikat Mydin Mohamed, a sole proprietorship company was formed in Kota
Bharu, Kelantan. Close proximity to Thailand means that Kota Bharu is the best transit for
business transactions between the two countries. The heavy traffic of goods to and from
Thailand has facilitated Mr Mydin’s business to expand and achieve popularity among the
local residents. While the business was steadily growing, there was little to be proud of as
Mydin was only able to operate and maintain one outlet.

With the assistance of his immediate sons, the company expanded its operations to Kuala
Terengganu in 1979, his eldest son, Tuan Murad Ali went on to start up a branch of Syarikat
Mydin Mohamed in a neighboring state of Kuala Terengganu, marking another milestone in
the family business’ expansion plan. For the community of Kelantan and Terengganu,
MYDIN has established itself to be a reliable and trustworthy brand, which is close to their
heart, offering a variety of merchandise at affordable prices. Despite having two branches in
two different east coast states, MYDIN remained widely popular only in the east coast.

It took another ten years before they decided to venture to a more crowded metropolis in the
west coast state and then to Klang Valley at Jalan Masjid India in 1989. It was a momentous
departure in terms of a shift in location competitive dynamics as Mydin venture beyond its
familiar background of the east coast to prove its mettle against larger retailers in the growing
metropolis. Beyond this, it also marked another crucial milestone, an emotional return of Mr
Mydin’s prodigal son, Dato’ Ameer Ali who had never shown any interest in the family
business back into the family fold, but had carved a niche for himself in the banking industry
all these whiles. Dato’ Ameer Ali never regretted the decision which he took. This brave
move also marked a turning point for the expansion of the family business.

The journey to the top had made him more determined than ever and that there is no turning
back. Dato’Ameer Ali has come a long way to achieve this extraordinary accomplishment.
His unconventional path to success was inculcated since the early years when the family
business was first set up in Kota Bharu. Being the second son in the family, Dato’ Ameer Ali
often tagged along on the many occasions that his father – Mr Mydin – had to deliver goods
by bus to his many customers from Kota Bharu to Kuala Krai, Rantau Panjang and Tumpat.
Waiting in the sweltering heat, most times he had to guard the merchandise which his father
had instructed him to, until his father returned from taking orders or making his deliveries to
one of the many customers in that particular area. It was on those occasions that he
unwittingly picked up the interest as well as the talent to be an entrepreneur, by observing his
father manage his business. He accumulating values, business principles as well as
philosophies that has been in the family for generations, by observation, direct and indirect
learning. His father had inculcated values, entrepreneurial skills and knowledge as well as
shaping his experience as an entrepreneur since childhood, by involving him in the family
business. From time-to-time, his father entrusted him with the responsibility of serving the
customers and undertaking other regular jobs in the store. From there he learnt to develop
networking through close interactions with customers and suppliers.

Throughout his adolescent years was filled with much curiosity, creativity and hard work,
which fueled his ambitions. All these experiences have made him stronger and more
determined to be different from his siblings. In comparison to his brothers, he felt that he was
more driven towards furthering his studies overseas because of the difficulties that his father
faced along his business route to success, since the family business was the only lifeline for
the family. He felt that his decision to quit was the turning point of the family business as
they were stepping into a new era of business management skills unlike the pre-Mydin
Mohamed early business years. MYDIN Mohamed Holdings Berhad is the company's new
name.

In 2011, MYDIN, along with other major hypermarkets such as Tesco and Carrefour,
participated in the TUKAR programme as part of the Economic Transformation Programme.
The program's goal is to convert 100 random shops into modern mini marts. Along with
Tesco, the company is responsible for training the stores and providing assistance after they
have been transformed into mini marts. MYDIN's then ventured into high-end retailing in
July 2013, with the opening of the first SAM's Groceria outlet at the Gurney Paragon in
Penang. SAM is an abbreviation for Saya Anak Malaysia (I am Malaysian). As of January
2015, there are 267 outlets cross country which incorporate 18 hypermarkets, 16 emporiums,
3 marketplaces, 47 smaller than expected shops that work as MyMydin, 8 odds and ends
shops that operate as MyMart and 6 establishment outlets working as Mydin Mart, 7premium
grocery store known as SAM's Groceria, 2 premium F&B store known as SAM's Deli and
162 Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia (KR1M). Mydin is the biggest business in Malaysia that
participates in discount and retailing.The product offering incorporates food, firm stance,
family, and delicate details. Each branch has its own business class dependent on the quantity
of products exchanged. There are hypermarkets, small business sectors, establishment stores,
odds and ends shops, retail outlets, and marketplaces in this classification. Mydin presently
works 107 outlets the nation over, remembering 23 hypermarkets for Mydin shopping center.
Today, MYDIN employs around 7,500 employees and has stores in Malaysian states of
Selangor, Terengganu, Melaka, Kelantan, WP Putrajaya, WP Kuala Lumpur, Pahang, Pulau
Pinang, Negeri Sembilan, Johor, Perak, and Kedah