Ideal Safe Box Malaysia World is a local company specializing in security equipment, such as safes, vault doors, and office furniture. Founded by the husband and wife duo, Iqa Erryka and Mohd Zaharry, their main clients include government, corporate, commercial, and import-export markets in the Middle East and around the world.
Iqa Erryka, an outstanding entrepreneur, has built a positive reputation and won awards for her contributions to the Malaysian safes manufacturing industry. She is credited with bringing the world-renowned brand Chubbsafes to the Malaysian market.
While their initial venture was in shipping and freight forwarding, the company under Iqa’s leadership has strategically shifted its focus to the security industry and office furniture supply. This transition allowed them to thrive and establish themselves as key players in the market.
Ideal Safe Box Malaysia Thrives for 16 Years
Throughout 16 years in the market, Iqa acknowledges that changing seasons and industry trends have forced the company to evolve continuously. In a conversation with WargaBiz, Iqa emphasizes the advent of e-commerce has significantly disrupted the market.
The 38-year-old CEO of Ideal Safe Box Malaysia World mentions that her business has been adversely affected by the substantial presence of the e-commerce market, which offers competitive prices and undeniable convenience. This impact is particularly felt in Ideal Safe Box’s clientele, especially in the hotel sector.
The Impact of e-commerce
“Over the last 16 years, we had clients coming from hotels where we supplied safes on a large scale. However, our hotel client base has diminished with the presence of international e-commerce platforms,” she clarifies.
Iqa also notes a recent sharp decline in requests from banks, as most retail banks choose to minimize their branches post-pandemic. Moreover, she has to contend with the limited source of manpower she faces from time to time.
“The pandemic has put a lot of pressure not only on businesses but retail banks too. It’s a challenging era for us, but this will come to pass, and we need to think out of the box during this difficult period on how to lure new clients,” she adds.
Personalized Security Solutions at Ideal Safe Box Malaysia
Ironically, this has created a new opportunity for the company. The traditional way of keeping precious and valuable physical assets is still very much alive. Iqa says she receives many requests from clients to customize vaults built into their homes.
“We have many clients requesting a vault to be built in their house to store valuable things like gold bars, foreign currencies, watch collections, and many more, and they will go to great lengths to protect these valuable items,” says Iqa.
“However, I enjoy doing it. It tests my creativity, and whenever I deliver the end product, I feel satisfied and proud of myself.”
Break the Stereotypes in the Safe Industry
“Sometimes, people underestimate me as a woman in the industry is always coined as one who should be tough and trustworthy, adjectives that go along with males. But, at the end of the day, I deliver my work, and clients have no complaints.”
Ideal Safe Box operates two outlets — in Klang and Setapak. The company is the top dealer for a few leading safe brands such as Chubbsafe from Gunnebo Sweden as well as locally made products like Falcon Safe, Lion Safe, Uchida, Brand, Aegeus Safe, APS Safes, Yale, Treny, and Moem Safe.
Throughout 16 years of operating the business, she notices a sharp shift away from the traditional method of purchasing a safety box. Over the last decade or so, there has been a strong shift in buying trends, with clients now preferring to conduct purchases solely online.
Iqa reveals that 80 per cent of their sales funnel from the online stream. “We still have a few people walk into our showroom, but the number is not that high compared to online.”
“But, the showroom is still important to us as we are dealing with thousands worth of ringgit per product. Clients sometimes may hesitate to do an online transfer without seeing our shop and the products face to face,” she explains.
She acknowledges the challenges in dealing with different client requests, emphasizing the importance of quickly adapting to various situations while maintaining professionalism.
Addressing the Skill Gap
Another challenge she faces is the difficulty in hiring a great technician. Sadly, in this industry, one of the major obstacles that has been around for decades is producing quality technicians.
“In Malaysia, for instance, you need an experienced technician when it comes to drilling or repairing a vault or safe. You can’t simply teach anyone, as this experience or knowledge comes naturally from working in a factory producing safes for a long time,” she adds.
As the company was built from the ground up, Iqa shares that she learned to celebrate every milestone, no matter how small. Recently, she has achieved a few milestones, including being recognized as a Top 100 Young CEO.
“The secret to sustaining the business for over a decade? You need to stay focused and move forward aggressively. Invest in knowledge, plan your strategy, be disciplined, and you must have passion. All of this didn’t happen overnight!” she quips.”
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