After eight years working as a clerk for a factory, Song Hui-Li, 35, chose to start her business during the economic downturn. She brought the popular concept of fine quality grocery concept from abroad to Malacca and started to run her own unique and delightful grocery store.

Once you enter her grocery store Poppy Talk, you will sure be attracted by its warm decoration and gentle music. And you will find that every product in the store carries their own characteristics, including hand-woven accessories, foreign cosmetics and toiletries, fair-priced clothes, jewelleries, paintings and second-hand items selling at the special price corner.

Song told Sin Chew Daily that she has always wished to run a shop after she left the factory. With the support and encouragement from her family, she then opened the grocery shop to sell fair-priced products.

She modestly pointed out that it is only a “grocery store”. She hoped that her customers can shop for a long time and find everything they need in the store.

She said that she was feeling depressed during the first few days when no one entered her store. However, she understood that she must keep it up and now, many office workers visit her store during lunch time. And her business is good as the product prices are reasonable.

When being asked why she was so courageous to start her business during the economic downturn, she said she believed that the general working group will be willing to spend as her product prices are not so expensive.

She also joked: “What am I waiting for if I don’t start the business now?”

Her dream is to fill the store with unique and creative products but she has to start from a small business as she has only limited capital at the moment.

Meanwhile, she also applied the environmental friendly concept to her store by reusing second-hand furniture and some of the shelves were painted by her own.

Song has three sisters and a mother who love to do shopping but some of the items they purchased have never been used or only been used for once or twice.

“It is a waste to throw them away. Thus, I decided to sell them as second-hand items in my store,” she said.

She therefore set a special price corner to sell second-hand items, including some good quality second-hand goods she brought from others.

Song stressed that all the second-hand items have been disinfected. And those who buy any second-hand earring will be given a disinfection tablet so that they can disinfect the earrings once again themselves.

She said that all the five women in her family love to try the latest cosmetics and toiletries introduced in magazines. However, these products can hardly be found in Malaysia.

Thus, Song always asks her younger sister, who is studying in Taiwan, to deliver the latest products from there. She said that most importantly, they have tried those products themselves to ensure the quality before putting them on shelves to sell in her store. (Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE/ Sin Chew Daily)