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THE HEALTH | MAY , 2021 Brought to you by
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Muhammad Farahi Arif Arrifin
Founder of Farmasi Arif Sihat and Farmasi Al Arif
NOT MANY people would dare leave a secure job and venture into their own business at the relatively young age of 26 .
But that ’ s precisely what Muhammad Arif , 28 , did when he decided to set up his own pharmacy in Bangi , Selangor , in 2019 .
He shared : “ If you look at my career pathway , I should be an academician . However , after completing my Masters , I realised I was passionate about business .
“ Right from the beginning , my aspiration was to build a business empire . So , I decided to start small with a community pharmacy .
“ I was working in a community pharmacy when I decided to take the plunge . I worked for less than a year before setting up my pharmacy and company .”
While he agreed there were ups and downs in his journey , he was also grateful that there were more ups than downs so far .
“ We have been through a lot , and there is still a long way to go .”
Today , Muhammad Arif is the proud owner of a chain of seven pharmacies located in Bandar Baru Bangi and Kajang in Selangor , Tanah Merah in Kelantan , Jerteh in Terengganu and Gemas in Negeri Sembilan .
Six are joint ventures with Koperasi Permodalan Felda Malaysia 2 Bhd ( KPF2 ) and are called Farmasi Al Arif . The branch in Bangi , his first , is called Farmasi Arif Sihat and is wholly owned by him .
He also collaborates with PUSPANITA , one of their clients . He helps them provide supplies and medical items for people affected by floods . Arif , who was born and grew up in Bangi , shared that location was very critical .
“ For Farmasi Al Arif , our target market segment is the Malay Muslim population . In Bandar Baru Bangi , there is a high percentage of Malay Muslim population , and they also have good purchasing power .”
What makes Muhammad Arif ’ s outlets different from his competitors is that it caters to the community ’ s
needs . “ In community pharmacy , the main satisfaction is to provide health and wellness to the community ," said Muhammad Arif who has attended the Duopharma Biotech Halal Pharmapreneur Programme .
As for customers ’ needs , he said it depended on the customers as well as their location . Their range consists of vaccines , supplements , ratio vaccines and rehab items . People even get their cosmetics and toiletries from pharmacies .
“ Around 20 per cent of our revenue comes from regular customers and 80 per cent from walk-in customers . We also see secure revenue from our e-commerce platform . For now , we have our shop in both Shopee and Lazada .”
Moving forward , he is looking to have his own e-commerce platform selling only their products catering to the community ’ s needs .
When asked about competition , he said : “ I ’ m positioning myself to be at par , or at the same level with a big chain of big brand pharmacies .
“ To differentiate ourselves from competitors , our unique selling point is that we are a halal-centric community pharmacy practice .”
Muhammad Arif completed his Masters focusing on halal pharmacy practice . He is now helping develop the first-ever guideline on halal-centric community pharmacy practice . He hopes for this to be applied in community pharmacy practice in Malaysia .
While the Covid-19 pandemic has had devastating effects on businesses throughout the country since March 2020 , his pharmacies survived . In a way , the pharmacy business is recessionproof .
“ Community pharmacy is an essential service which has been announced by the government . So , we are lucky we are not as affected as
We have requested a licence for franchising . So , for those who want their own pharmacy and are interested in Farmasi Al Arif , you are most welcome to join us .”
compared to other industries generally . “ In fact , at the beginning of the pandemic , there was a positive impact on Farmasi Al Arif and its revenues .”
From a logistical perspective , his operations during the pandemic focused on inventory management , which he deemed the critical aspect in retail pharmacy .
“ Basically , the mission is to improve the logistics management and inventory management to minimise costs and maximise profits .”
“ Currently , we are learning , and we are trying our best to adapt the Japanese management style to our operations . And we still have a lot more room for improvement .”
He has always been prudent in his spending and has been careful with his expenses .
“ Watch your cash flow . It is crucial because once you are stuck in your cash flow , it is tough to come out from it .”
Muhammad Arif is indeed an ambitious young man and has plans to open another three branches this year . “ We have requested a licence for franchising . So , for those who want their own pharmacy and are interested in Farmasi Al Arif , you are most welcome to join us .”
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WHILE working in a government hospital , Hani realised some limitations in its service to the public .
“ The hospital pharmacies were only able to provide medications and basic supplies with limited options . We also could not get health supplements and items used for dressing such as cotton and gauzes .,” said Hani .
“ Moreover , there was only one retail pharmacy which sometimes may not have all the required items . The needs of the people in Kuala Lipis had to be fulfilled . This is quite a big district , and they needed more options for wellness and health products .”
In 2016 , Hani established her first pharmacy , Farmasi Haniz , in Kuala Lipis , Pahang . Since then , she has opened another branch in Rawang , Selangor .
The residents in the area are mostly Malays , and they account for about 60 to 70 per cent of her clientele .
When selling products , her approach is to educate her customers .
“ My staff and I always ask in detail the purpose of the purchase and condition of the patient . We then explain and educate them on the different options of treatments and medications . Ultimately , the choice is theirs , but they should be well informed .
“ Being a business owner and managing a pharmacy is different from being a pharmacist . It requires a
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Hani Majdina Jaafar
Founder of Farmasi Haniz
different set of skills such as leadership , management , accounting and so on .
“ There is also a difference in working in a hospital and in a retail pharmacy ,” Hani added .
Thus , she emphasised the need to conduct research and gain experience before jumping into the business .
Before opening her own pharmacy , Hani worked at a retail pharmacy owned by her friend . She also reached out to other pharmacies to learn more about managing and running a pharmacy business .
“ I also learned a lot from the Duopharma Biotech Halal Pharmapreneur Programme . Like it or not , people are shifting towards the online market .
“ Following one of the many points from the programme , I started marketing and advertising through Facebook . Now , I have customers who contact me through FB Messenger .”
While there was no significant impact on her business due to the pandemic , Hani noted some changes in the business model to adapt to the new normal .
“ I noticed customer selection
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of products has changed . Earlier , customers used to purchase expensive supplements , and they were able to afford them . Now , they either do not buy supplements or look for cheaper alternatives .
“ So , we too change and shifted according to the customer ’ s need and affordability . If the item is expensive , we then suggest alternatives with the same quality which are not branded and costly .”
Also , since people do not want to go out during the pandemic , we introduced delivery service , consultation via telephone , and online purchasing and payment . She , however , noted there was also a limitation because controlled
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Being a business owner and managing a pharmacy is different from being a pharmacist . It requires a different set of skills such as leadership , management , accounting and so on .”
drugs cannot be sold online .
She also contributes towards charity by supplying supplements , medication and cash to charity houses .
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