Today, with his two brothers, Ehiya runs a multi-million-dollar enterprise supplying flowers to the world.
MOHAMMED Ehiya was sitting unassumingly waiting for me at the Original Kayu Nasi Kandar in SS2 in Petaling Jaya for our interview.
Dressed in a simple short-sleeved shirt and without a flashy wristwatch to flaunt, he barely looked like a rich businessman.
A wave from him indicated he was the man I was looking for and had kept waiting.
I had heard that Ehiya, a millionaire recognised as the second largest flower producer and exporter in the world, was in the Klang Valley for a working visit.
“How are you sir, I am very pleased and honoured to meet you,” he said, shaking my hand. The privilege was the other way around though.
Ehiya, 60, who hails from a small village in Tamil Nadu’s Thanjavur, began his journey working as a helper at a small florist in Dubai in 1990.
Today, with his two brothers, he runs a multi-million-dollar enterprise supplying flowers to the world.
The Black Tulip Group (BTG) is not only the supplier of flowers, but also grows its own with farms in Ethiopia, India, Kenya and Malaysia.
“We are in the process of expanding our farms in Cameron Highlands,” he revealed.
BTG owns around 3,200ha of farmland across these countries with a workforce of 10,000 employees, and it exports flowers like roses, orchids, gypsophila and lilies. Its annual turnover is about US$250mil (RM1.1bil).
Its main markets include the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Singapore, Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Switzerland, Russia, Ukraine, Japan, Australia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Ehiya, who regards himself as thrifty, said he dropped out of school in 1982 due to family circumstances, left India, and joined his brother Basheer in Dubai. Basheer was working as a sales manager in a small flower shop there.
“Eventually we decided to start our own flower shop in Dubai in 1990, with an initial investment of US$20,000.
“This was our entry into the flower business. We felt that we had learned sufficiently, and we were ready as entrepreneurs,” he shared.
Joined by a third brother, the siblings were dealing directly with customers as employees from the shop previously.
“Luxury hotels were coming up in Dubai. So, we told these hotels to buy from us instead and most agreed to give us a chance. After all, these hoteliers knew us personally,” he added.
They imported roses and lilies from Malaysia, Jordan and Kenya as well, with the preserved variety using cold storage to keep them fresh, but the company’s profits were low because of high overheads and unfavourable exchange rates.
“Eventually, we decided to cut out the middlemen and source directly from farmers to improve our earnings, but the only long-term answer was to grow our own flowers. So, from exporting flowers, we decided to be producers too, starting this year,” he said.
BTG took up a 81ha piece of land on lease for flower farming in Kenya and the following year, it bought 121.4ha in the African nation through a joint venture (JV) with Indian enterprise East African Group, in a US$6mil (RM26.4mil) project. BTG invested US$3mil (RM13.2mil) in this JV and obtained the rest on loan, according to yourstory.com.
“By 2005-2006, the company had scaled up production. It’s easy to do business in Dubai, with simple rules to follow.
“The government has created a friendly environment for entrepreneurs. However, when my friends heard that we were doing business in Africa, they were scared.
“But I didn’t fear anything. The biggest challenge came when the European Union was formed, and the euro gained prominence. This affected Black Tulip’s business due to inflation.
“We realised that it was not profitable to buy flowers from Europe anymore. We also realised that we could generate profits only from African countries,” explained Ehiya to the portal.
It wasn’t smooth sailing though. A fall-out with a partner and incessant rain wreaked havoc, affecting the production of flowers and the company’s income.
It was a tough six months at the start of their operations, which included 800 workers on the payroll, and the brothers even began to have doubts.
“But we didn’t believe in giving up or abandoning our venture. We persevered and made sure we succeeded. Indeed, the end results were worth it,” he said.
Today, Ehiya, who is the chairman of BTG, flies to his regional offices, farms and his customers around the world.
“But I like KL the most. I feel at home here and the food here is wonderful. My office is in Petaling Street, and it is vibrant.
“Malaysia has given me plenty of opportunities and Malaysians make me feel at home.”
His Malaysian company remains known as Weng Hoa – or Bright Flowers – although he bought over the company eight years ago for RM4mil.
“It’s the best florist in KL and everyone knows it, so why change it for no reason?” he offered with a smile, clearly embracing the maxim “If it ain’t broke, why fix it?”
