Raw Denim House focuses on online business
JERTEH: Starting from one second-hand sewing machine about 13 years ago, now the Raw Denim House (RDH) brand is not only famous throughout Malaysia but also the choice of jeans fans from abroad.
Founded by three young men from Jerteh, namely Ahmad Safuan Nizam Kamaruddin, 33, his brother Ahmad Syukri, 38 and their friend Muhamad Aidil Akhyar, 35, the vintage jeans brand for men already has customers from abroad such as Switzerland, Japan and the United States.
Ahmad Safuan Nizam, who hails from Kampung Simpang Tiga here, said they can now afford to own 30 industrial sewing machines and sell between 150 and 200 pieces of RDH jeans in just three or four days.
"Probably because we focus 100 per cent on online business, including Instagram, since 2013. It has helped the RDH brand to be known quickly," he told Bernama when met at the RDH premises in Jerteh town here.
He said the Covid-19 pandemic that hit the country since last year did not affect the demand for RDH jeans, in fact, all three of them along with eight employees have been busy fulfilling orders from customers.
“Last year, we launched our website to make it easier for customers to make orders. So, when the pandemic strikes, people are spending more time at home with their mobile phones. It makes the RDH network more widespread and orders even higher.
"Due to the huge demand, we switched from bespoke jeans to ready-to-wear. After producing bespoke pants for so long, we already know the size and design that most customers prefer,” he said.
He said a pair of standard RDH jeans is sold at prices ranging from RM250 to RM350 while premium jeans are sold at RM450 and above.
Recalling the beginning of RDH's journey, Ahmad Safuan Nizam said they started by providing jeans alteration services from home.
“In the beginning, we made jeans using surplus fabric for ourselves. Then, there were friends who liked it a lot and asked us to make it for them.
"At the end of 2013, we did the branding, and produced custom made jeans, but at that time only 30 pieces of jeans were produced every month," he said.
More impressively, the three young men have no background or degree in sewing or design and they learned sewing techniques through books and the internet.
Ahmad Safuan Nizam, who is blind in one eye due to an accident when he was five, is the recipient of the ‘Tokoh Orang Kurang Upaya' at the Terengganu-level Maal Hijrah celebration in 2019.
These three partners hope to further develop the RDH brand, including wanting to sell between 300 and 400 pairs of jeans a month by the end of this year