Sophisticated Investor Profile: Mohamed Salleh Marican

Truly an inspiration to investors and entrepreneurs alike, Mr Mohamed Salleh Marican (or Mohamed Salleh S/o Kadir Mohideen Saibu Maricar as he is registered at the SGX) is the very embodiment of the epigram, “try and try until you succeed”. Undaunted by a first failed business, Mr Salleh put up what is now Second Chance Properties, and hasn’t looked back since.

Now the company’s CEO and Executive Chairman as well as its founder, Mr Salleh is also a Spiking Sophisticated Investor. An SGX announcement last January put the post-transaction percentage of his direct and deemed shares of Second Chance Properties at 57.78%, and 8.45% respectively.

If There’s a Will…

Mr Salleh began as an entrepreneur in 1974, when he established a menswear tailoring business which he was compelled to shut down soon afterwards. He tried again just five months later by opening Second Chance, sticking to the menswear segment but switching to ready-to-wear retail. His determination paid off, and in less than 10 years, he had four outlets in Singapore.

By 1988, Mr Salleh had adopted franchising, affordable pricing and a Western fashion image for Second Chance, which enabled him to grow the company to include 18 stores in Singapore and 7 stores in Malaysia.

Mr Salleh’s first major award proved to be a double-edged sword, as winning created awareness of Second Chance as a local brand. As sales dropped drastically, he decided to change strategies again, and close 21 of his 25 stores. By 1992, he had diversified his business into ladies’ ready-to-wear for Malay women. The new line, dubbed “First Lady”, is still a bestseller today.

Mr Salleh then followed up First Lady’s success with Golden Chance, which retails gold jewellery. Soon afterwards, during the Asian financial crisis, he again diversified his business to include property, which turned out to be his most successful venture yet. Property now accounts for over 60% of the company’s profits, with rental income being the top contributor.

Today, Second Chance has over 200 employees working in 50 stores in Singapore and Malaysia. After listing on the SESDAQ in 1997, Second Chance moved to the SGX Main Board in 2004.

Mr Salleh has since won several other awards, including the Inaugural Malay Businessmen Award from the Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce and Berita Harian; the Entrepreneurship Excellence Award from Lianhe Zaobao and the Entrepreneurship Development Centre of Nanyang Technological University; the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award, and the Best CEO Singapore Corporate Award.

Mr Salleh in Action

Mr Salleh’s latest trading activities include increasing 1 million deemed shares of Second Chance Properties at SGD0.25 at the end of last January. A few days before, he had also increased 291,500 deemed Second Chance shares at SGD0.252.

Follow the investing action of Mr Mohamed Salleh S/o Kadir Mohideen Saibu Maricar at https://spiking.com/v/mohamedsalleh, and track Second Chance Properties’ performance at https://spiking.com/sgx/528-second-chance-properties-ltd.

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Photo credit: 
http://www.ey.com/sg/en/about-us/entrepreneurship/entrepreneur-of-the-year/be-inspired_mohamed-salleh-marican

Sources:
http://www.ey.com/sg/en/about-us/entrepreneurship/entrepreneur-of-the-year/be-inspired_mohamed-salleh-marican
http://www.secondchance.com.sg/#bord
http://www.secondchance.com.sg/#about
http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=25274798&privcapId=10328304
http://infopub.sgx.com/Apps?A=COW_CorpAnnouncement_Content&B=AnnouncementLast12Months&F=XHQ0PR25FZ28LZBR&H=0304c1f65eaa421366beb6766aa93a732afecd384a21cbb7fd6addb551496cdc
http://infopub.sgx.com/FileOpen/_SCPL_eFORM1V2__Salleh_26Jan2017.ashx?App=Announcement&FileID=437446