Sisters Khor Yi Ting and Khor Yi Chen grew up surrounded by seafood. Their grandfather was a fisherman, and their grandmother would often dry and preserve his surplus catch. During the financial crisis in 1997, the sisters’ parents decided to open a dried seafood shop in Penang, Malaysia, initially selling only to friends before steadily growing their customer pool.

During the pandemic, though, the sisters had to find a way to keep their family business afloat. In 2021, they embarked on a bricks-to-clicks journey and opened The Fisherman on Lazada. The online store sells locally made dried seafood, such as salted fish, anchovies, squid, oysters, fish maw, traditional round shrimp paste as well as other fresh and raw goods. Since its opening, the store has received great feedback for the high quality of its products as well as its competitive pricing.

Bringing a traditional family business online wasn’t easy, and the sisters had to rethink their operations, price tiers, product quality, packaging, delivery and customer service. “Thankfully, our journey as new sellers was guided by the Lazada team, which helped to drive more traffic and exposure for The Fisherman online store,” Khor Yi Thing said. “There was a lot of trial and error involved, but we gradually managed to grow our customer base, thanks to the help from Lazada.”

In just one year, the Khor family has already seen the benefits of digitalization. For example, orders are now arranged digitally instead of manually, thereby reducing the chances of human error. Automated operations also allow the sisters to spend more time on developing their product range and improving customer satisfaction.

Sustaining the family’s online business has been a significant journey for the two entrepreneurial young sisters. It’s been especially gratifying to be able to continue the legacy of The Khors’ in an increasingly digitalizing present and future. “I am proud that this business brings different value to my parents, to people around me and to my customers all around Malaysia,” Khor Yi Thing shared.