Koufu

THROUGHOUT the 1990s, the Aik Hua F&B Group was known as Singapore's largest coffee shop operator. Says Mr Pang Lim, the then-managing director of the group: "At that time, we only thought about getting bigger, but bigger is not necessarily better."

In 2002, Mr Pang was forced to sell off the family business to the Kopitiam Group. "There was a deep sense of loss; it was one of the toughest time of my life," he says.

Despite gaining a substantial windfall, he could not idle at home for long.

Within the same year, he and his wife bought over three Kopitiam foodcourts in Toa Payoh, Yishun and Woodlands, and Koufu, the heartland foodcourt chain, was born.

"Getting rid of old baggage turned out to be a blessing. We started anew with the experience we had accumulated, without the burden of all our past mistakes," he says.

Today, Mr Pang, 52, is the managing director of 37 Koufu outlets with an annual turnover of close to $60 million last year.

Besides 21 Koufu foodcourts, the company manages five 1970s-style Pick & Bite cafes, four halal Fork & Spoon foodcourts, seven coffee shops, and Punggol Plaza, the only large-scale shopping mall in Punggol 21.

Koufu, which in Mandarin means the good fortune to dine on delicacies, stands by its mission, "Better Food, Better People, a Better Life".

Says Mr Pang: "When it comes to eating, customers look for a combination of taste, pricing, ambience, cleanliness and service."

Every morning, Mr Pang goes for coffee at one of Koufu's foodcourts.

The drinks and dessert stall, and the dim sum stall are operated in-house, and the buns and dim sum are freshly made at the company's central kitchen.

Mr Pang says: "It has become my habit - drinking coffee. I remind myself that even if we use the best beans in the world to make this coffee, but if the stall keeper is unhygienic or moody when serving it, the flavour will be lost."

He believes that long-term success depends on building a corporate culture of learning.

Hygiene and service skills training programmes are mandatory for its 600 workers, and all staff with children receive education subsidies while long-term training grants are provided for its food stall partners.

"Koufu has just celebrated its fifth anniversary," Mr Pang says.

"In the near future, I hope every Koufu employee can see himself improving and learning something new each day."

The company has received the Enterprise 50 award for the third year running.

He says: "This award gives us a positioning vis-a-vis other enterprises. Knowing where we are allows us to plan where we want to be in the future."

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