Leading A Legacy

Habib Jewels’ standing as one of Malaysia’s premier jewellers may be unassailable, but it’s taken more than just glitz and glamour to get them to where they are today. Dato’ Sri Meer Sadik Habib talks to The Peak about the importance of a synergistic business and the satisfaction that comes with building brands.

- Renyi Lim

"You know, I once heard a saying: ‘Jewellers are the tastemakers of society’,” Dato’ Sri Meer Sadik Habib muses as he waits for the next round of photography to begin for The Peak’s cover shoot. Given that the Group Managing Director of Habib Group is sporting a Tom Ford suit with a classic high-collared white shirt, it seems Malaysian society is in safe (and stylish) hands indeed.

For few other brands, of course, are as synonymous with jewellery in this country as Habib Jewels, which – over the course of 60 years – evolved from a small family business in Penang to one of Malaysia’s premier jewellers. With 30 showrooms spread out across the country, Habib Jewels’ reputation for quality, world-class designs and value still stands today.

As Dato’ Sri Meer will attest, however, it’s taken an enormous degree of pragmatism and astuteness to navigate the ever-shifting jewellery market and to ensure that the company remains both relevant and successful. “When it comes to our products, the quality and the creativity has to be there,” he says. “Timelessness and modernity are equally important to the Habib Jewels brand, so it’s a big challenge, but, hey, if there’s no challenge, there’s no brand in what we do.”

GOOD AS GOLD