SAKAE! Cooking up a Global Food Business

148 Pages·2008·6 MB·English

by  William KOH

Sakae!
Cooking up a global food business
William Koh
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE
Australia • Brazil • Japan • Korea • Mexico • Singapore • Spain • United Kingdom • United States
00 SakaeRprelin.indd 3 7/21/08 11:41:21 AM
Sakae! Cooking up a © 2009 Cengage Learning Asia Pte Ltd.
global food business
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered
Publishing Director: by the copyright herein may be reproduced, transmitted,
Paul Tan stored or used in any form or by any means graphic,
electronic, or mechanical, including but not limited to
Senior Product Director: photocopying, recording, scanning, digitalizing, taping, Web
Janet Lim distribution, information networks, or information storage
and retrieval systems, without the prior written permission
Senior Product Manager: of the publisher.
Charles Ho
Publishing Executive: For permission to use material from this text or product,
Lian Siew Han email to [email protected]
Copy editor: ISBN-13: 978-981-4246-92-7
T.C. Seow ISBN-10: 981-4246-92-1
Cover Designer:
Meng Hui Lee Cengage Learning Asia Pte Ltd
5 Shenton Way #01-01
Compositor: UIC Building
International Typesetters Singapore 068808
Pte Ltd
Cengage Learning is a leading provider of customized
learning solutions with office locations around the globe,
including Singapore, the United Kingdom, Australia, Mexico,
Brazil and Japan. Locate your local office at: international.
cengage.com/region
Cengage Learning products are represented in Canada by
Nelson Education, Ltd.
For product information, visit cengageasia.com
Printed in Singapore
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 11 10 09 08
00 SakaeRprelin.indd 4 7/21/08 11:41:21 AM
Contents
List of Figures and Tables v
Acknowledgements vii
Preface ix
1. Introduction: Company Background 1
2. Expansion into Russia 5
3. Organisational Structure and Design 19
4. HR Policies, Practices and Strategies 35
5. Leadership at Apex-Pal 63
6. Marketing Apex-Pal 99
7. Conclusion: Financial Position of Apex-Pal 115
Appendix A 127
Appendix B 131
Bibliography 135
00 SakaeRprelin.indd 5 7/21/08 11:41:22 AM
List of Figures and Tables
Figures
Figure 6.1: Customers’ perception of Sakae Sushi’s 101
food quality and price
Figure 6.2: Customers’ perception of Sakae Sushi’s 102
service quality and price
Figure 7.1: Key Success Factors at Apex-Pal 121
Tables
Table 6.1: Customers’ frequency of visits to 113
Sakae Sushi
Table 7.1: Significant Changes in financials from 119
2006–2007
00 SakaeRprelin.indd 7 7/21/08 11:41:22 AM
Acknowledgements
I would like to acknowledge the help of my six research
students, whose initial work paved the way for the writing of
this book. Their tireless effort in conducting interviews and
collecting quantitative data forms the basis for this book.
Jane, Sharon, Laura, Jian Wen, Zheng Hao and Gilbert, I am
forever indebted to you guys!
I would also like to thank the managers at Apex-Pal,
whose generosity with their time made this book possible.
CEO Douglas Foo granted us numerous interviews; May Foo,
Joyce and many others chipped in, as did a number of their
service crew. Toward the end of this project, Soi Min gave
her time in ensuring that all the facts stated in this book are
correct and up-to-date.
I would also like to express my deep appreciation to two
special persons at Cengage Learning: Mary and Lian Siew.
Mary gave me hope when I was stuck on the writing and Lian
Siew expertly guided me all the way toward completion.
Finally, I would like to dedicate this book to my wife, Mei.
She took care of the kids so I could find the time to write the
book.
00 SakaeRprelin.indd 9 7/21/08 11:41:22 AM
Preface
At the beginning of 2007, when I embarked on a project to
study Apex-Pal with six of my research students, little did I
dream that one year on, I would be writing a book about the
company and its CEO, Douglas Foo. Yet, the project was truly
inspiring in more ways than one. It was inspiring to see how
one man with limited resources but a strong vision and never-
say-die attitude could accomplish so much in so short a time.
Douglas Foo started Apex-Pal in 1996, and over the next
10 years, against all odds, he would nurture it from a single
outlet to what is today- a global sushi chain with 10 brands
and 80 outlets in seven countries and counting.
This book details how he started Apex-Pal and grew
the company over the past decade. It highlights his unique
leadership style and also emphasizes the fact that the success
of the company owes more to a collection of people who made
the right decisions than the genius of one man. To be sure,
Douglas Foo is not perfect. Yet, time and again, whenever he
made a mistake, he learned precious lessons and brought
Apex-Pal to greater heights.
The chapters in this book are as follows:
Chapter 1 provides a brief history of Apex-Pal and the
company’s vision, mission, core values and corporate culture;
00 SakaeRprelin.indd 11 7/21/08 11:41:22 AM
x Preface
Chapter 2 looks at the company’s expansion plans into
Russia;
Chapter 3 examines the organisational structure of Apex-Pal,
and how the company is structured for greater efficiency and
effectiveness;
Chapter 4 discusses the HR programmes, practices, and
policies at Apex-Pal;
Chapter 5 observes the unique leadership style of Douglas
Foo, the CEO of Apex-Pal;
Chapter 6 analyses how the company positions itself against
the competition and markets itself to its customers; and
Chapter 7 concludes by turning to the financial position of
Apex Pal and the key financial indicators of the company.
I hope this book will inspire many budding entrepreneurs
to have the courage to follow their dreams. If Douglas Foo
could overcome the odds with his vision and determination,
so will many others out there who have their personal hopes
and aspirations too.
William Koh, Ph.D
Assistant Professor
Department of Management and Organisation
NUS Business School
National University of Singapore
00 SakaeRprelin.indd 12 7/21/08 11:41:23 AM
CHAPTER
1
Introduction:
Company Background
A
pex-Pal was established in 1996 as a garment trading
business. In 1997, it redirected its focus on the fast-
paced food and beverage (F&B) industry and started
its first F&B chain, Sakae Sushi. In spite of the 1997 Asian
Financial Crisis, which had far-reaching negative economic
impact within Asia, Apex-Pal overcame extreme odds and
triumphed at a time which saw many other F&B outlets closed
down.
Apex-Pal chose to focus on its dynamic and innovative
style of management in order to distinguish itself from other
F&B companies. It consistently offered customers in Singapore
a taste of the latest international dining trends. Moreover,
management at Apex-Pal had always placed (and still does)
strong emphasis on understanding what their patrons wanted
and strove to be sensitive to their needs. All these paid off
handsomely. Apex-Pal grew into a star on the local restaurant
scene, giving it much needed leverage to become a formidable
player in the international F&B markets.
01 SakaeRn.indd 1 7/17/08 6:04:07 PM
2 Sakae! Cooking up a global food business
In 2007, Apex-Pal had a total of nine brands under its
umbrella, namely Sakae Sushi, Sakae Teppanyaki, Sakae
Pizza, Sakae@Campus, Hei Sushi, Crepes and Cream, Uma
Uma Men, Sho-U and Nouvelle Events. On 10 April 2008, it
launched its 10th food brand, Sakae Izakaya at Fort Siloso
Beach, Sentosa. It has diversified its business and is now
involved in franchising its brands, food import and distri-
bution, business-to-business supplies and events catering.
In terms of markets, it has outlets in Malaysia, Philippines,
China, Hong Kong and the United States, just to name a few.
In the pipeline are plans to expand into Russia and other
parts of the world.
Looking to the future, Apex-Pal intends to remain com-
mitted to its global growth through rewarding partnerships
with its business associates, while it continues to be vitally
engaged with the communities it is a part of. It aims to be a
global F&B industry player with roots entrenched in where it
first grew.
MISSION AND GOALS OF APEX-PAL
Apex-Pal has a very simple and concise mission statement
which summarises the F&B company’s direction and goals
in one easy-to-remember sentence: “To provide good quality
food and excellent service at the best value”. In this simple
sentence we see three key values being expressed, namely:
1. To provide good quality food: which would be in line with
what an F&B company’s main aim should be.
2. To provide excellent service: which takes the good food
one step further by ensuring that patrons will have a
complete dining experience at any of Apex-Pal’s F&B
outlets.
01 SakaeRn.indd 2 7/17/08 6:04:07 PM