NORHARIZAN SHARES HER 30 YEARS OF WORKING EXPERIENCE WITH MARRYBROWN

UUM ONLINE:Othman Yeop Abdullah Graduate School of Business (OYAGSB) continues to strengthen its collaboration with industry players by bridging theoretical and managerial perspectives in academic lectures in order to provide opportunities for more applied research.

The owner of Mewah Maju Abadi Sdn Bhd and Mewah Kurnia Abadi Sdn Bhd as well as the franchisee operator for Marrybrown Fried Chicken, Mdm. Norharizan Hussain, recently gave a talk via Webex to 40 MBA students enrolled in OPMM 6013 Strategic Marketing about her 30 years of experience working in the fast-food industry.

Marrybrown is the largest chain of Halal-certified fast-food restaurants in the world. Started in 1981, it pioneered the fast-food franchise industry in Malaysia. Only in 1987 did Marrybrown begin offering its business as a franchise opportunity to interested parties.

In 1989, Mdm. Norharizan was one of the first trailblazers in Johor to receive training from Marrybrown for a start-up company.

On 10 October 2006, she launched the first location of her Marrybrown restaurant in Souq Albukhary, Alor Setar. During that time, business was booming due to the newly opened Giant supermarket that was situated in close proximity to her Marrybrown restaurant. Her second Marrybrown outlet, located in Star Parade, Alor Setar Kedah, first opened its doors in 2016.

She noted that most of Marrybrown's long-lasting restaurants are located in suburban areas, attributing this to the company's unique strategy of segmenting its marketing efforts by geography. Marrybrown targets Asian and Muslim consumers based on their preferences in terms of comfort and culture. Marrybrown was among the first fast food chains to offer breakfast rice dishes like ‘nasi lemak’.

Technology is required to ensure that the raw materials in the restaurant continue to maintain their freshness and to prevent the sale of food that spoils, which would be detrimental to the reputation of the company. So, important parts of the business plan that the principal of Marrybrown is making are doing research on existing markets and coming up with ideas for new products.

Any business that hopes to be in operation for a significant amount of time must take into account the cost of the employees, which includes the cost of providing ongoing training for those employees. She also emphasised the significance of word-of-mouth advertising and maintaining positive connections within the local community as means of promoting a company.

Mdm. Norharizan has been honoured with several prestigious honours for her outstanding achievements in her field, including the UUM Alumni Icon Awards 2022 and nominations for both the Chartered Management Institute's (CMI) Students of the Year 2022 Award, United Kingdom (UK), and the Advanced Master of Business Administration (AMBA) Focus Group UK.

Meanwhile, Prof. Ts. Dr. Norazah Mohd Suki, Deputy Dean of Research, Innovation, and Knowledge Transfer at OYAGSB, stated that the sharing session supports the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2015-2025 (Higher Education), which emphasises the need to take collaboration between universities and the industry to the next level by allowing the industry to lead curriculum design and delivery through partnership models like apprenticeships, hands-on training, and real-life simulations.