The Love Story of LAADA Shop’s Co-Founders: How Asif and Iffat Found Their Purpose in Sham Shui Po

When Iffat followed her husband Asif from Pakistan to Hong Kong, she didn’t plan to become a business owner. She was lonely, a little bored at home, and looking for something to do. Today, she and Asif run LAADA Shop in Sham Shui Po, a place that has become a gathering point for people from all kinds of backgrounds.

This is the story of a couple who found their purpose side by side, and of the deep love they share for the city they call home.

How Two Partners Became Co-Founders

Asif and Iffat are a Muslim couple from Pakistan. The idea for a business started as a passing thought. Asif noticed how lonely Iffat felt at home, and one day, the two of them had the same idea at the same moment: why not start a business together, work side by side, and support their family at the same time?

Iffat says she wanted something like a job, so she and her husband decided to build their own.

They also saw a need around them. In Hong Kong, Muslim abayas, hijabs and Pakistani cultural items were hard to find in their community. Many Muslim families worried about not being able to find halal items. So they opened a shop to solve that worry for their own community.

Why Sham Shui Po?

For many Hong Kongers today, Sham Shui Po is simply the place to buy affordable electronics and clothing. Asif and Iffat see it differently.

About 20 years ago, Sham Shui Po was a very popular market for garments. Textiles and clothing were affordable, which is why they came here to start their garment business. When overseas customers began to decrease, they turned their attention to serving the Muslim community instead.

How Cross-Cultural Understanding Shaped the Shop

After opening LAADA Shop, they quickly built a loyal group of customers. Slowly, people of other backgrounds began walking through the door too. So they widened their range beyond abayas to include girls’ clothes, jewellery and halal makeup.

That small change made a big difference. It turned a Muslim-focused shop into a multicultural hub. Today, their customers include Pakistanis, Indonesians, Malaysians, Chinese Muslim families and many Hong Kongers. Some local regulars even travel from as far as Tai Wai and Sha Tin just to support them.

What holds it all together is trust. Asif and Iffat share warm, friendly relationships with their customers, built on respect, whatever their cultural background. It’s this understanding that has kept them serving their community, rain or shine.

A Love for Hong Kong That Never Fades

To many people, Hong Kong feels complicated. Some say it’s a wonderful place to live, and others say it isn’t. But for Iffat and Asif, Hong Kong is simply home. That deep love is what keeps them going through difficult times.

In our interview, Iffat had a message for everyone reading this blog.

“I want to share that we need to love Hong Kong for everything it gives us, and as Hong Kong people, we have to give back to Hong Kong. There are good and bad people everywhere, but we don’t have to point out the bad things. If you are good, you give goodness and receive goodness back. We need to appreciate the small things we have in Hong Kong. If anyone thinks that Hong Kong isn’t good, they should visit other countries to understand the difference! That’s why we need to appreciate Hong Kong.”

For Asif and Iffat, Hong Kong is everything. Their family, their friends and their shop all began here, and continuing to serve this community is their purpose in life.

Visit LAADA Shop

The next time you’re in Sham Shui Po, step into LAADA Shop and say hello to Asif and Iffat. You’ll find abayas, hijabs, Pakistani cultural items and more, along with a warm welcome whatever your background.

Follow LAADA Shop on Instagram and Facebook, or visit the shop in Sham Shui Po (97 Fuk Wa Street) to see it for yourself. Supporting small, family-run shops like this one is one of the simplest ways to help our community grow.

If you want to learn more about the ethnically diverse small businesses we feature, get in touch at info@guidefong.org. Stay tuned for our next update!