Amanda Loh Yip Hong has been awarded the Annual Best Second-hand Luxury Entrepreneur Award at the International Supreme Brand Awards 2023.
She has achieved great success as the queen of live-streaming sales for pre-owned luxury goods.
Despite facing numerous challenges along the way, she perseveres and keeps pushing forward.
Amanda Loh Yip Hong, through her own life journey, has written an inspiring story. Coming from a broken and impoverished family, she experienced hardships such as working as a child laborer at the age of 12, facing business failures, owing high-interest loans, and even dealing with illnesses. However, she overcame each obstacle and founded the MUSE Fei Yang team from scratch. She led the company to establish its presence in Japan, becoming a well-known live-streaming sales queen and a successful international entrepreneur among the post-90s generation.
Born into a poor family, Amanda Loh Yip Hong had to work at the age of 12 to support her four siblings. Later, due to her parents’ divorce, she was sent to an orphanage.
To support her family financially, she left the rural orphanage and went to work in Kuala Lumpur. Even while working, she always held onto her dream of entrepreneurship, hoping to provide a better life for her family.
Working tirelessly, she accumulated capital for her entrepreneurial ventures. She shared, “I used half of my salary to support my family and saved the other half as funds for future entrepreneurship. Two years later, I successfully saved 5,000 Malaysian Ringgit and started my business, selling affordable jewelry while continuing to work during the day.”
After accumulating 10,000 Malaysian Ringgit, she returned to her hometown to open a clothing store. However, due to a lack of business experience, the store closed down after nine months, leaving her with a significant amount of debt. To repay the debt, she brought her merchandise to night markets, where she achieved exceptional results and managed to clear her debts within six months.
To improve her living conditions and provide a better life for her family, she started selling goods at morning markets, operated an online business on Facebook in the afternoons, and set up a stall at night markets in the evenings. She persevered in this lifestyle, sleeping less than four hours a day, for three years.
Robbed of money in France and contemplated suicide
During the rise of the personal shopping trend, due to her market research, she discovered the potential of personal shopping early on and rode the wave of this trend. At its peak, she traveled to different countries worldwide every month to shop for clients, including Japan, France, Italy, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
However, she admitted that personal shopping was not without its challenges. One unforgettable experience was being robbed of all the money paid by her clients during a personal shopping trip in France.
“All the money I had was stolen by a thief. Luckily, after reporting to the French police, they allowed me to ride the subway for free. I had to borrow money from people I met along the way to make it back to Malaysia. Once back in Malaysia, I explained the situation to my clients and found a way to refund them, which resulted in me borrowing money again and nearly ending my life due to despair.”
Pandemic-driven live-streaming sales success in Japan
Fortunately, her younger brother intervened in time, preventing her from taking her own life and giving her the strength to rise again. During the outbreak of the pandemic, she stayed in Japan, where online live-streaming sales surged due to the lockdown. She happened to capitalize on this trend and gained recognition for her live-streaming talents. At her peak, she achieved a record-breaking daily sales of 5 million Malaysian Ringgit and live-streamed for up to 12 hours a day. In Japan, she became known as the queen of live-streaming sales.
Under Amanda’s leadership, her company has grown into a multinational enterprise, expanding its operations across Southeast Asia, China, and Japan. The company plays a leading role in the second-hand luxury goods live-streaming industry, revitalizing the market and inspiring many other internet live-streaming platforms to follow suit. Presently, the company collaborates with live-streaming platforms in China and the Philippines, tapping into even larger potential markets. Additionally, the company has established luxury goods appraisal institutions and courses in Malaysia and Japan.
Guided by Amanda, the company continues to thrive, earning her numerous accolades, including the Asia Integrity Top 100 Brands Award and the Golden Phoenix Outstanding Entrepreneur Award, showcasing her outstanding achievements.
Knowing what you want and not living by others’ opinions
She openly shares that the secret to entrepreneurship lies in knowing what you want and staying true to your dreams throughout the process, disregarding how others perceive you because they cannot decide what you truly desire.
Along her journey, she is grateful to those who have helped her, especially her elders, who selflessly guided and shared their knowledge, transforming her from an ordinary hawker into an extraordinary international entrepreneur. She also appreciates the support and trust from her online and offline customers. And of course, she cherishes the bond with her siblings. They were her responsibility since childhood and have become her strongest support in adulthood.
Looking ahead, she will continue to lead the MUSE Fei Yang team in expanding globally, extending the brand’s reach beyond borders, and becoming a brand that Malaysians can be proud of.
Amanda罗芊茟【MUSE飛揚团队】 