Singapore Volume 10

7 6 | S U P E R B R A N D S V O L U M E X MARKET Sheng Siong is a supermarket chain born and bred in Singapore. It currently has over 57 stores of varying sizes located across the island, and serves customers young and old, from all walks of life. Sheng Siong places emphasis on offering value-for-money and quality products with excellent and efficient service. ACHIEVEMENTS Since 2007, Sheng Siong has consistently ranked third in sales revenue, according to the Retail Asia-Pacific Top 500 survey by Euromonitor International. In 2012 and 2013, in addition to its top three ranking within the local retail sector, Sheng Siong emerged as Singapore’s “Best of the Best Retailer”, the highest honour conferred to an Asia Pacific company by the award’s organisers. This high standing reinforces Sheng Siong’s position as a well-recognised, established brand name with a solid track record of performance. Sustained by steady growth, it has also earned the status of “Superbrand” every year since 2008. The parent company, Sheng Siong Group Limited, was listed on the Mainboard of the Singapore Exchange in August 2011 and emerged as Runner-up in the Retail & Household Goods category of the 17th Securities Investors Association Singapore (“SIAS”) Investors’ Choice Awards for the Most Transparent Company Award in 2016. It was the fourth time Sheng Siong Group Limited had received an award in that category. The Group Limited was also recognised as the Bronze Winner in the Top 10 Retailers’ category by Economy in the 2017 Retail Asia-Pacific Top 500 Awards. In addition, the Group Limited also won the InnovationExcellenceAward, whichwas awarded by SPRING Singapore and the Singapore Quality Award Governing Council in 2015. The Award was conferred in recognition of Sheng Siong’s endeavour in improving productivity through the introduction of the hybrid self-checkout system and individually quick frozen technology to preserve the freshness of its seafood. In its continued efforts to go green, Sheng Siong’s distribution arm installed Singapore’s then largest single solar panel on the rooftop of its distribution centre in Mandai Link. Occupying an area of approximately 118,400 square feet, this record-breaking project led Sheng Siong to a 2013 Solar Pioneer Award. The awards, launched by the Economic Development Board of Singapore, recognise early adopters of solar energy and encourage other organisations to be both environmentally friendly and sustainable, in their business operations. HISTORY Sheng Siong began as a family-owned retail store on Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3, below a block of residential flats, after taking over the retail space of Savewell in 1985. At the time, Mr Lim Hock Chee (current CEO of Sheng Siong Group and Managing Director of Sheng Siong Supermarket Pte Ltd) and his wife had been renting a stall from Savewell to sell pork from their family’s farm, which had an over-supply of pigs. (Savewell was then a supermarket chain with 11 stores, facing liquidity problems and seeking buyers for its retail space.) Within nine months, the couple managed to clear most of the family’s excess stock, just before Savewell decided to let go of its stores. At about the same time, the Singapore government was starting to phase out pig farms, so Mr Lim Hock Chee, together with his two brothers — elder brother Mr Lim Hock Eng and younger brother Mr Lim Hock Leng — ventured into the supermarket retail business. Sheng Siong has made its mark by selling quality and value-for-money products. By combining those standards with personalised service, it created a winning formula for the company to survive the harsh retail environment, and to convert initial daily turnover of S$3,000 to S$19,000 within three short years. In 1988 and 1996, Sheng Siong expanded to Bedok and Woodlands respectively, and then grew again in a big way after 2000. The company took advantage of low rental rates that followed the market downturn of the dot-com bubble burst, and within five years had added 14 stores. The latter part of 2006 onwards saw Sheng Siong embark on an internal restructuring and reorganisation process to pave the way for future growth. This included a makeover of its logo and progressive upgrading of its stores. During