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Hermanas, a new player in the Malaysian Hijab market, achieved revenue of USD284,688 just after a year of operation.
Their secret weapon? Omnilytics.
Prior to launching Hermanas, the Mouslema Ventures retail group had already dipped their toes in the Muslimah market by franchising Bokitta and launching Lawra. As the Executive Director and Marketing Director Mouslema Ventures, Syed Zulhilmi oversees the operations of every brand under the organisation. After several years of being in the Muslimah market, Syed was awed by the vast unpotentialised market opportunities that can only be uncovered through data.
“When we do our internal research, we found that we only had a 50% success rate in producing a successful product,” says Syed. “That’s an expensive bet to take, especially when our interpretations are inconsistent.” Based on his past experience of running Muslimah brands, he knew the importance of building a strong foundation from the very beginning. Therefore, it was crucial for the Hermanas to launch with a solid first collection.
To prepare for it, the team consulted Omnilytics on how to strategise the merchandise for their latest range of Hijabs. The team of merchandisers and designers at Hermanas used the Omnilytics Dashboard to determine key aspects of the collection such as assortment and colour selection.
“Omnilytics helps us build the structure of our assortment, especially in deciding the colour and pattern variation for each Hijab – and this played a big role in our first collection selling out within a few hours,” says Hermanas’ merchandiser, Nurul Yasmin.
Hermanas has carved out a very specific niche within Muslimah consumers – the brand specialises in creating printed square scarves exclusively. This meant that for Hermanas to stand out among a sea of Hijab brands that offer a variety of styles, the brand needed to set themselves apart with the right trends, colours and styles. This is something Omnilytics helps the team of designers with.
“With access to Omnilytics’ data, we are able to focus on the latest and trending design elements. This gives all of us an equal understanding of the market and improves our teamwork among designers in Hermanas,” says Syaliena Shah Zinan, a designer at Hermanas.
A Spotlight on Consumer Needs
One of the main challenges for Hermanas was fulfilling the exact needs of their consumers. The main consumers of the mid-level market brand are older women, who want a fuss-free Hijab for everyday wear. To achieve this, the team at Hermanas was tasked to create a range of Hijabs that looked and felt premium but priced within market expectations. Getting the colour palette right was tough too, as each variation of Hermanas’ scarves is produced in multiple colours, most in dual-tones or intricate colour combinations.
With the Omnilytics’ Competitor Benchmarking module, the designers were able to research popular Hijab designs within the markets. Data for product specifications, materials and colours could be accessed by analysing the best selling products of other prominent Muslimah retailers. The designers also used the module’s colour wheel to inform the range’s colour selection, down to the exact shades and hues required to achieve the desired look.
“We used to create a lot of Hijab designs in a pastel colour palette. However, through the Omnilytics Dashboard, we realised that a darker colour palette is much more suitable for our target audience,” says Syaliena.
Staying a Step Ahead
A huge contributing factor to Hermanas’ success is being able to leverage on the latest Muslimah trends to create their collections. “Through the Omnilytics Dashboard, we are able to understand top trending styles of Hijabs, colour palettes, patterns and shapes, while avoiding down-trending styles at the same time,” says Nurul Yasmin.
Having the ability to identify and track trends has especially been helpful to avoid any overstocking. With Omnilytics, the merchandisers can gain insights into trends early in the product development process which allows them to determine the breadth and depth of the collection. This ultimately leads to more effective product selection and risk management when producing new designs.
As a purely Hijab brand, Hermanas’ designers also had to consider how their scarves would be worn with clothing from other brands. Syaliena adds “Apart from identifying Hijab trends, I also observe the latest trends in fashion so that Hermanas Hijabs can easily be paired with various styles of clothing.”
“Apart from identifying Hijab trends, I also observe the latest trends in fashion so that Hermanas Hijabs can easily be paired with various styles of clothing” says Syaliena Shah Zinan, a designer at Hermanas.
Assessing the Competition
The Malaysian Hijab market is one of the most competitive segments within the local fashion scene. Understanding market conditions and identifying new competitors early is important in creating a solid assortment. The merchandisers at Hermanas used to spend several months researching the Muslimah market due to the lack of available information on the segment.
But after having access to Omnilytics’ data, Hermanas’ merchandisers were able to gain insights on their competitors’ product launches, pricing architecture and discounting activities with just a few clicks.
When creating the pricing architecture for the new collection, the merchandisers referred to the Omnilytics’ Pricing Analysis module to analyse the pricing strategies of their competitors. This helped them to identify the most suitable price range that could accommodate their profit margin and align with market expectations.
“With the Omnilytics Dashboard, we are able to validate market trends, identify upcoming trends and understand pricing strategies. This information gives us a comprehensive view of the Muslimah fashion industry,” says Nurul Yasmin. She continues to say that “All departments in Hermanas use the Omnilytics Dashboard, which allows us to obtain information quickly and helps us to validate any uncertainties with ease.”
The road to USD284,688 in revenue
Integrating Omnilytics’ data into every aspect of the product development process allows the merchandisers and designers at Hermanas to make data-backed decisions. Decisions that have proven to be profitable.
“Through Omnilytics, we achieved a revenue of USD284,688 in just a year by ensuring we chose the right colours, styles, patterns and price range for our market.”
