Shoe entrepreneur sees failure as a stepping stone to success
KOTA BHARU: Muhammad Bakri Yusrizal, 30, who suffered losses in shoe-making business in 2017, has never let the failure get in the way of his idea of success.
“My initial capital was RM40,000, but the sales were only around RM3,000 – I couldn’t even sell a pair of shoes a week.
“Then I decided to take a break before coming back in 2019 with updates including more interesting shoe designs that apply elements of Malay cultural art,” the owner of Sniika shoe brand told Bernama when met recently.
According to him, Sniika, which means ‘seni kasut’ (shoe art), now has more than 10 designs that highlight the theme of Malay art and culture.
“For example, the proverb ‘lalu penjahit, lalu kelindan’ which means first success leads to more future success, is embroidered on the tongue of the shoes,” he said, adding that Sniika features a range of leather, suede and canvas shoes including the ‘Wayang Kulit’, ‘Gasing’, ‘Kelasik’ and ‘Taji’ editions.
Muhammad Bakri added that after Sniika began to be widely accepted, he decided to launch shoes in collaboration with local celebrities, including Cromok and OAG.
“One of Sniika’s earliest collaborations was with cartoonist Ujang.
“We produced 450 pairs which were sold at RM229 and all the shoes were sold out within 30 minutes,” he said, adding that Sniika had so far teamed up with local celebrities to release nine shoe designs.
The Kota Bharu-born man said he never imagined that Sniika would become a successful brand.
“In the beginning, I only worked alone with the help of one staff, now there are six people in Sniika’s team.
“From selling a pair of shoes a week, Alhamdulillah (Praise to Allah), we can now sell around 1,000 pairs a month and we have even reached 2,000 pairs (a month),” he said. — Bernama