So basically, you retail DIY products to help people to help people DIY...
Yah correct. Correct. I think when I first started, DIY wasn't that popular a phrase also. We were having to explain to customers what does DIY mean. Now I think if you say DIY, most people will know by now

So how did you actually get started in this line of work, this business?
My parents are in the hardware business. They have a hardware shop. They recently retired. I think it was just beginning of this year they retired. So the idea was that they wanted me to take over the business, when they retire. That was ten years…that was about eleven years back. So I started working with them, but it was not that easy in that context, because they only…they will have a quote on the cost of the product, and the mark-up or the selling price will depend on who walked in, whether it is a contractor or a well-dressed consumer and all that. So I found that it was not that easy to work, because I cannot remember how much I sold this guy today, and you know, if he come back tomorrow, oh yah, just sell him at this price again. So I tried to convert the shop, to make it more customer-friendly in terms of layout, and to have a proper mark-up with proper labelling. So it started off when I tried to transform the shop. We used to sell nails by grabbing it and wrapping in the newspaper. So I went to…I proceeded to pack the nails into smaller packs and have a fixed price on them, and which leads on to merchandising them properly, finding a jar or container to store the various sizes.

So you actually started helping out at your parents' shop?
Correct. We both grew up in the shop as we stay above the shop. (Double storey shophouses)

But why did you actually start your own shop eventually with your brother?
We were…my sister was in polytechnic then. So she came up with a very basic point of sale system, whereby it allows me to monitor my inventory level. It allows me to deduct off the inventory when we sold. We wanted that as a form of inventory control, so we started assigning stock keeping unit, SKUs, a four digit number to the product. This created some chaos with my parents who are not used to doing it that way. And of course also, it is not that easy to transform a traditional hardware shop into a, you know, proper layout. I think I must have spent almost a year trying to transform. And there was one day when I was flipping through the newspaper, and there was this advertisement by Far East in Siglap Centre for a shop for rent. So I told my parents, you know, why don't I try new in this shopping centre and we see how it goes?

I see. So you saw the advertisement in the newspaper and decided to start you own shop in Siglap. That was your first shop. How did your brother end up joining you?
My brother, he, from the onset, financially, he came in with some money, for the down payment, in terms of the rental deposit. At that time he was in the insurance industry. I think he was doing very well also. And he will come in to relieve me over the weekend. After all, he was also brought up in a hardware shop background also. He used to help out in my parents' shop.

So is he your only brother? How big is your family?
I have…I'm the eldest. My younger brother Cheong Yew. And there's one more sister Khar Imm. She did not join me then, but I think a couple of years back, she started her own chain of DIY. I think right now she has two outlets.

Two outlets? Er, which one is that?
It's called DIY Essentials.

DIY Essentials? I think I have seen something like that.
Yah. It's along ….One of our branches at Sun Plaza is actually... I wouldn't call it a full franchise, but we loan the name to her, and she owns the majority of the shop, but she's using Home-Fix to trade. Her own shop, DIY Essentials, is at Geylang Serai. It's very near where my parents' shop is.

Okay. So what were you doing before you went to help your parents and started your own shop?
I think I tried out in a few jobs that didn't really go anywhere. I was a handyman for a while, with my uncle. We did some odd jobs - repairs, basic plumbing, painting jobs. So I suppose all that these help in the foundation on my end, that I'm able to…I'm in a better position to know the things I sell, and their uses and their functions.

So was that your first job?
No. That was my second job. Prior to that, I was a operation manager… no, no, operation executive in UDMC.

UDMC? So you took care of the chalets?
Yah. UDMC. I think I didn't last very long in that job also. It was getting very boring (haha...).

UDMC…so actually, er …let's talk a bit about yourself. Are you married?
Yes, I'm married. I have a lovely wife, Erica. She's helping me in this company right now. She's the human resource manager.

Any kids?
No, no kids unfortunately. We are still working on it.

Oh okay, well, you just got to work hard on this.
Hehe…

Can you tell us a bit about yourself? You know, your education, where did you go to school? So let's start from say, when you were younger? Say primary school?
Okay. Primary school. I was in Presbyterian Boys' School. It's a school near my neighbourhood. I don't think they are around any more. After that, secondary school I moved on to Telok Kurau Secondary School. It has a Malay-majority as classmates. Okay, it came and went. I went on to Siglap Secondary School to do my pre-U. After that I went for my national service obligation. Yep. Everybody does that. Yah. Fortunately, I think it's fortunately, I was the best recruit in my platoon and I went on to OCS, and whereon I became an engineer officer.

Combat engineers?
Combat engineer officer, yeah.

I see. So your neighbourhood was around the Siglap area?
It's more of Geylang area. Geylang Serai particularly. That's actually where my parents' shop is. I think that also helped me and my brother when we decided that…after we have started the Home-Fix shop, I think first year into it, we decided that if we can, we should expand this as much as possible, otherwise we might end up with just one shop and working in it for the rest of our lives. There's nothing wrong with my parents are doing, but I think it would be more interesting if I could grow it and have put in place a system to maintain and to keep things going and allow us in a way to step back. Because I think my parents put in a lot effort. For many, many years it was seven days a week, nine to nine sometimes, as it goes on it became nine to seven, nine to six. Recently they decided to close on Monday. And of course now they retire.

So it was basically less and less. They gradually started stepping back from the business, getting more relaxed about it?
Yah. Partly I think, they have been doing this for many years. I suppose it does gets to you. I do know they miss it. I know even now while they are officially retired, they do go down to the shop to look at it.

They sold the shop to somebody else?
No, no, no. My sister and her husband basically took over it. Now they are running it with hired workers.

So actually, when you were young, you grew up in a hardware shop. Did you ever thought of becoming a hardware store owner?
No, not really.

Your childhood experience never actually sort of like pointed you in this direction, "I want to own…"
No, not really. When I saw the kind of hours they put in…it's hard work. All day long they are on their feet. Customers coming in, and practically everything they have to go and get it for the customer, even if it's a small pack of screws or nails, because they have wrap it and pack it for them. So it never really occurred to me. But underlying that, I think I did saw the value of being your own boss. And I think ultimately they are enjoying everything that they make.

So would that be the reason why you decided to become an entrepreneur yourself?
Yeah. I think it was a natural progression to it. I mean, when we did started, there was hardly any DIY shop around. There was a very big DIY shop in Bukit Timah. It didn't last very long. I think they are ahead of their time. But otherwise, we did recognise the need for a DIY shop that caters to the home and household user. Especially in those days, for a normal consumer to go into a hardware shop, usually they will be lost as to what they want. The operator of the shop will usually not be able to give any form of advice or they will not be bothered. They just you to get what you want, and then get out of their shop. I think we came in to fulfil that niche.

So you saw a niche that was not being fulfilled by the regular hardware store, and probably…what will you consider to be at the other end, you know. There's two ends.
No, there was mainly hardware shop and I think the DIY shop then weren't very developed, I think. To be fair, I also didn't really get a chance to see this 'Hands' DIY shop before. I heard about it all my life, but I never really did went to see it. There was hardly any DIY shops around.

So, was there a particular point where you actually decided, yes this is what I'm going to do, this is how I'm going to do it? Was there a trigger?
I think its when I went into the first Siglap shop full-time. In the earlier days it was not that good. The awareness was not there. Like I said, I was explaining to customers what does DIY stand for. They were buying very basic things. I think now it's progressing a bit more. And I think the turning point was when one year later we opened our second shop in Tanglin, in Tanglin Shop. Shortly after the Tanglin outlet, in a couple of months, we were invited by Ikea. I think the former MD used to visit Tanglin Shopping Centre. And he saw the shop and he liked what we did. He got his property manager to invite us to go into Ikea. That was our third shop. That also became a turning point for us. I think firstly the sales in the Ikea shop was very good. We are getting the right kind of customers.

Mostly expats?
No, not just expats. I think by the fact that they are going into Ikea, they are expected to go back home and assemble the chairs, and the tables themselves.

So the crowd at Ikea was basically a DIY crowd?
Correct, correct. It enabled us to actually broaden our range of products that we could bring in and I think that really give us the confidence also to expand subsequently.

So that was…you would say that the Ikea store was sort of the turning point?
Yeah. My brother Cheong Yew joined us full-time when the second shop came about.

At Tanglin?
At Tanglin. Prior to that he was still in the insurance. He comes in to cover when I go off. I think it was during that period, me and my wife, we got married and we have to go for honeymoon. He really have to stand in.

Oh, hehe, okay. How did you meet your wife? Was she working in the shop? Or…
No. I met her through a common friend. She was a kindergarten teacher in Marine Parade also. So…

Siglap area?
Siglap area. (Haha...)

Okay. So in this DIY business, is there any particular regulations or licences you have to get before you actually do anything?
No, not really. There is ... we don't carry any poison. I think you will need a licence for that. But even to this day we don't really carry any of those that's classified as that. I think… no, no particular licence. It's that we still have a niche in this field, because the scope and range of things that we carry in there is pretty big. To date we have about eighteen thousand SKU that we manage.

So nowadays you actually require any… apply for licence or anything?
No. No need.

So what will be the basic requirements to open your own DIY shop?
I think nowadays is location. It's selecting the right location and having the right catchment. And through the years we noticed you need at least a thousand to thousand five (hundred) square feet to have a decent shop. What we are going into, we are trying to break away from shops that we can't really fully service our customers.

So, basically there's a minimum size lah?
Yep. Yah.

So if I were to run my own DIY shop, I will need, first get a location that's about a thousand five (hundred) to thousand square feet.
And the rental being fair, fair rental. It has been our strategy to open our outlets in shopping malls where there are good crowds. The trade off is the rental factor. There are some landlords that are more understanding in their rental expectations and there are those that are not. Despite our chosen locations, we are still essentially in the service industry- a hardware shop-selling basic tools and household items. The margin is not that great. We need the volume to sustain ourselves.

And so I get the shop fixed up, and I'm basically in business?
Correct. Of course, you must have the passion in it also. If half the time you do not what this screwdriver does, or what this drill can do, this is no good. We strive to be as complete in our range as possible. Our outlets are usually divided into 9 departments, namely, hardware, plumbing, gardening, household, paints, locks and security, car care, electrical and promotions.

So you have to actually know the stuff, to be a DIY man yourself?
That would really help. Because I think a lot of customers even to this day will come in and ask what does the red line in this socket mean, what does this brown line mean, or what's a Phillips screw head, what's a torque screw head, and things like that. We should be in a position to tell them.

In your own opinion, why would you think that anybody would want to start their own business? Basically it wasn't easy for you initially, right? Why be their own boss and go through all these hardship? Why not just get a job and work for somebody else?
I think it's the satisfaction that you get out of it. It was… I think we were lucky enough that this whole business is successful. I mean through the years, in the past ten years, we have grown to twelve outlets across Singapore. And sometimes I don't realise that we have grown so big. When I look at my card, hmmm, we have came a long way.

So how tough was it? Was it very tough in the beginning? Did you have any difficulties to overcome?
Yes, yes. The shop started with me running it most of the time. I remember the first time that we do a set up, my parents came down, my brother came down, few friends came down to help us merchandise and do the price-tagging. We don't really have any guideline to do any classification. And also, the shop was also relatively small. That was about six hundred square feet, or maybe smaller, I think, five hundred square feet. I was not able to afford any worker. So for a while, I worked that alone. In the evening, when my wife finished her school, she will come in and help me. There are times when I have to run to the toilet, or I hold back as long as I can. And meals was a bit of a problem. I had a good neighbour who will once in a while buy food for me. But most of the time I went without lunch, and sometimes I will skip dinner. And the hours were long. I opened the shop from ten till to ten at night in the beginning. It was a twelve-hour shift and seven days a week. I think that's when all my social life…

Went to pieces?
Went to pieces. I couldn't contact…no one would go out with me after I bathe…you know, that will be eleven something and because the very next day I still have to go to work. It wasn't exactly very healthy living then.

Did you have any problems with capital?
Yes. Our capital base was very small then. As with all retail business, straight away we have to pay three months rental deposit, one month rental in advance, the renovations all these play a part. I mean the flooring, the lighting, the furniture, the fixtures. I remember scouting around for second-hand shelving. Actually come to think of it, I don't know whether…I actually bought some of my furniture from a shop that was closing down lah. But at the end of it, of course it converted to savings. It was a good shelving system.

So how did you basically raise your capital? Where did it come from?
My brother chipped in. I had a bit of savings. But just a tiny bit. But the fact that my parents were in the trade, I think that helps a lot. Straight away, some of her suppliers are more willing to give us term. And my parents will always remind me, no matter what you must pay the supplier first. So, in the earlier days, salary wasn't that important. Actually, it worked out fine, because anyway there's no social life. No chance to go out. But the fact that my parents are in the trade, I think that helps a lot.

It helps a bit?
A lot. A lot.

So you started your business… nineteen ninety-three?
Ninety three.

So its about ten years now.
Correct.

When you look back…this past ten years….this is your tenth anniversary. So if you look back at the past ten years, was there any time or any point you though of giving up and just walk away?
No. I have a very supportive wife that quitted her job to join me halfway through when…because she has to leave the house earlier, being a kindergarten school teacher. I could leave a bit later. My brother also quit his job to come in, but to come also. I feel that right now I have very good synergy with my brother. He's very good with his figures, and his computer. I right now do…I think this helps a bit, help a whole lot…my brother (being) part of it. He plays a big part in controlling our finances and the IT aspect of it, which I think is very important. In fact, from the very beginning, I know that this will form the backbone of any good business, the control of information or inventory at the backend.

So for you and your brother, right, how would you actually describe how you split the roles you play in the company?
Currently, he oversees the accounts and the IT.

Yourself?
I'm taking care of …I'm overseeing the two operation managers, and business development in terms of opening new locations and overseas expansion. Currently I'm overseeing the Malaysian side of it.

Malaysian side? Why Malaysia would you be expanding?
We already have one outlet in KL. We recently shut down one in anticipation for a bigger one. I think, maybe by the third quarter of this year we should the biggest Home-Fix in between Singapore and Malaysia, of about fifteen thousand square feet. It's something that I always wanted to do in Singapore, but I can't afford the rental. (haha..)

Fifteen thousand square feet? That's expensive in Singapore.
Yeah. It's big lah.

So for you and your brother, do conflict arise over the running of the business? If there is, how do you resolve the issues that crop up from time to time?
No. Not really. In the earlier days we segregate by branches, so he oversees a few branches, I oversee a few branches. Of course there will be differences. I mean, what he perceives as good merchandising I might not perceive as that. But right now, as we grow, we have more managers to come in to control things like that. Right now I think this segregation is working very well. It's working very well now.

But if you do have issues that must be worked out, how do you actually work it out?
I think we are pretty close. We are pretty close. There's nothing that can't be resolved. I think we are both reasonable person. I think most importantly, we are close enough to have that understanding.

So normally how do you do it? Over a cup of coffee at home? Or?
Well, we talk. Face to face. And all that.

So is there any story or incident in this past ten years, that made a very deep impression on you? Or a more interesting story? What about the story of the dollar note or two-dollar note at Siglap Place?
Oh. From the onset, we try to collect and keep and frame it up, the very first piece of note we collect in a transaction. So I think as much as possible we have been following this tradition. Some of my store manager have not hang up the first note anymore. There was one branch we mistakenly spent that first ten dollars. Otherwise we make it a point, oh this is a…it holds a lot of meaning for us, especially in the shop in Siglap, you know, oh this is the first two dollars that a customer used to buy something from the shop. We kept it and we frame it up.

So you have doing that for all your shops ever since?
As much as…yah, it should be across the board right now. But there were some branches that don't display. I think it is also lost among the store mangers.

What's the purpose of doing it? Is there any practical purpose, besides sentimental value?
It's more of sentimental value. It's something that… it's done in the very first outlet. And to this day we play an active role in setting up the outlets, myself and my brother will be there even though we have a lot of other managers to help us now, but we will be there to set it up and help out.

So basically your decision making process is more of consultation?
Correct. Any decisions we will have a discussion. I think in a way this good also. It allows me to buy time with the other party, because I need to discuss it with my partner. Okay, we will get back to you. It's a good arrangement.

What if let say part of the prize of this award is actually a scholarship to be awarded to any school or institution of your choice, you and your brother's choice, if you win? Do you have any particular institution or school in mind right now?
Not really. But I will give it some thought also. How big is this scholarship?

Well, just assume it's a scholarship. We have no idea how big it is right now.
Alright.

So if you win, would be willing to be actually interviewed on air by the media to tell your story? Would you be willing to go on air in case they want to interview the winner?
I have never done it before. The very last time I was on air it was for a DIY programme in one of the morning show and I felt, I didn't do a very good job. I was getting very nervous. So, I don't know. Maybe I will talk to my brother. I will talk to my brother.

Is there anybody you admire in business or in general?
Our parents, Mr Low Boon Keng and Mdm Teo Ah Ai.

Is there anything else you would like to add to the interview? Anything to tell young people?
I would like to tell them not to give up. We were lucky to be able to grow smoothly. There was no bad and difficult period when we wanted to give up. It's a lot of hard work also. It's never easy. The things we went through. It takes up all the time. We…you got to commit. I used to like drama serial. I can't watch for 6 to 7 years. While everybody else having fun, I was in the shop.

When we get competition, it compels us to be better. When we heard that big American competitors were coming in, we came up with the VIP card programme. It's serving us very well, due to its localised content. It is done in house and provides a direct communication with our customers. We currently have 44,000 members. I am very happy with the results; good customers are more knowledge, and they spent more.
br> We also went online with the dot.com boom. Our online portal is a good marketing tool, although the online sales are not good. At that time, even not very good companies would have done pretty well.

Our webstore manger was a physical store manager who was sent for web design course to upgrade. She was a good and responsible manager. It allowed us to retain her after her accident. She was allowed to work at home, sort of a home store, since it is inconvenient for her to bend.

What is the secret of Home-Fix's success?
We are always making effort to improve ourselves, be progressive. Some ideas are only feasible when we have size. We are willing to try out new products, new marketing, for example the VIP card base and, newsletter. We conduct courses for DIY to enhance our customers' knowledge. The more they know, the more likely they will want to try out projects. We make an effort to bring in stuff not available here, that are exclusive to Home-Fix. We try to make Home-Fix different, since the market is too crowded. We are conservative; we don't play the number games. There is no need for more branches just for their sake.

Was the strategy of opening/expanding fast a deliberate strategy?
Yes. The landlord seek us out. Due to the changing lifestyle, there was a need for such stores, so it was a deliberate strategy. We have good staff retention, since we are able to grow together. Staff morale will be higher, if they can progress. We promote and push people up through training. We were adopted by 3M as a mentee on HR/Personnel matters, so the managers get some form of training. 3M came and reviewed our training needs, and made recommendation to upgrade and retain people.

People play a very important part; as retailer, we must be able to retain our people, to slow the turnover. Since they have decided to become…to come into this line, they need specialised knowledge. They have to know the products, to be twice as efficient. I am glad they are willing to learn.

I am happy with the staff I have; our managers are quite young, in their early 20s to mid- 20s. This is the job-hop group, and as you know, retail is not very fun. There's long hours, and we can't rest during the weekend, since it is the most important, likewise holidays.

When were you and your brother born?
I was born in 1964. My younger brother was born in 1967. He is married with one kid.

Student Interviewer's Personal Comment