On its 40th anniversary, No Signboard faces its biggest challenges yet
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On its 40th ceremony, No Signboard faces its biggest challenges nonetheless
No Signboard Seafood Eatery'south CEO Sam Lim talks about how he propelled the humble hawker stall that his grandmother founded into a listed company, and how the pandemic is reshaping its strategy.
How did a homo who took eight years to get through primary school pb a company to SGX listing? "I dared to ask (questions)," said No Signboard Seafood Restaurant'southward CEO Sam Lim. (Photo: Alvin Teo)
14 Jun 2022 06:30AM (Updated: 05 Jul 2022 02:10AM)
A forty-year run is no hateful feat in Singapore's competitive eating place industry, peculiarly when y'all've made the leap from hawker stall to household name. Then it'due south no surprise that No Signboard Seafood Restaurant's story is one that'southward oft told.
For the uninitiated, it goes something like this: In the 1970s, a woman opens a humble stall selling seafood dishes to brand ends meet. Decades afterwards, her grandson makes a bold movement, borrowing Due south$300,000 from a friend to transform the family unit hawker stall into a humming restaurant, and somewhen, a listed company.
Success stories like these, nonetheless, are often paved with challenges. Betwixt its lines are years of physical toil, frayed nerves and obstacles to overcome. Keeping upwards with the ever-irresolute times is a hurdle all unto itself, only No Signboard Seafood has rolled ably with the punches.
Just two years ago, its once steadfastly traditional flagship at The Esplanade was given a dramatic transformation and its menu redesigned to appeal to younger foodies agile on social media. Suddenly, its ceiling was framed with LED screens, its floors lined with stylish terrazzo, and the dishes that left its kitchen adorned with edible flowers and dollops of caviar.
To cope with the downturn, the company has had to manage its toll structure and operational efficiency by reducing its staff strength, closing its Clarke Quay outlet and shuttering its outpost in Shanghai. "We have to preserve greenbacks so that when things turn effectually, we will have the ability to move forwards," Lim explained.
The 44-twelvemonth-old certainly knows a thing or two virtually life's changing tides. Overcoming arduousness, after all, is what led him to announce to his family that he'd borrowed S$300,000 from a friend to motion No Signboard Seafood from their hawker stall in Race Grade Road to a swanky restaurant space in Kallang 21 years ago.
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Apprehensive Beginnings
The Lim family grew upwards in a Tai Seng area kampung. In the late 1970s, as the kampung was earmarked for redevelopment, they were relocated to a three-room flat in Bedok North which eventually housed x family members.
Its dame, Ong Kim Hoi, started No Signboard Seafood at a Mattar Road hawker centre in the 1970s. Unable to afford a sign for the stall, they just painted a plank above information technology orange and the stall shortly came to be known every bit wu zhao pai (no signboard) in Mandarin. The name, evidently, stuck.
Not academically inclined, Lim – Madam Ong's grandson – took 8 years to graduate from primary school and trained as a motor vehicle mechanic at the Vocational and Industrial Training Board (at present ITE). Every bit a child, Lim watched his grandmother wake at 5am to buy seafood, start preparations for her stall at 3pm, and retire to bed only at 2am.
"When I was immature, there was a lot I didn't know. Sometimes people experience embarrassed to enquire (questions), but if you don't know there's nothing wrong with asking."
Between the ages of fifteen to xviii, he took on various jobs every bit a petrol pump attendant, window cleaner and chef at Swensen's. When he realised that he was never going to make plenty money in those vocations, he began looking for a way to earn a higher salary.
"I found a chore at a cargo concord where I worked most 12 hours a day as a mover. Everything was heavy and it was very hard piece of work. Just I fabricated a few thousand dollars, which was a lot of coin. All this time, I just wanted to see what working outside [of the family business] was like."
After National Service, Lim joined his grandparents, mother and uncle at the stall. "Every day, I gear up up 20 to 30 tables and chairs and I would think, 'how can we expand this business concern?'," he said. "We cannot stay similar this forever. And so I thought of moving [the business] to a better location."
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TAKING THE LEAP
Fate led him to Kallang Haven in 2000. "Information technology was a beautiful location, with two octagonal floating restaurants," he recalled. "I talked to the owner and nosotros settled it the next day. I borrowed S$300,000 from a friend [to exercise it]. Everything happened quickly and I didn't really get a take a chance to explain it to my family members. I merely told my female parent that this was what we were going to practice and she told my grandmother. You know, when you're young, you lot're only bold."
Even if his grandmother had objections to her 22-year-old grandson's big plans, she never raised them. In fact, she never said anything about it at all. "She probably idea it was risky to spend then much money on a projection, but she merely gave me a positive mental attitude," Lim said.
"From young, I've seen the changes in Singapore and in business. And I've changed myself to accommodate this society. Those who are not willing to alter volition lose out."
"The worst case is that I lose this Due south$300,000, but I could work difficult to pay information technology back. Maybe it would have me three to 4 years if I took on extra jobs, just my dream was to be successful and provide a better life for the family unit."
Happily, information technology is a dream he's fabricated come true. Today, No Signboard Seafood operates a chain of restaurants and diverse F&B brands and concepts that include Lilliputian Sheep Hotpot, Mom's Touch Korean Craven & Burger, and a beer brand for Typhoon Denmark in Singapore. In November 2017, the company was listed on the Catalist Lath of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited.
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RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
How did a man who took eight years to get through primary school lead a company to SGX listing? "I dared to inquire [questions]," he said only. "When I was young, in that location was a lot I didn't know. Sometimes people experience embarrassed to inquire [questions], just if you lot don't know in that location'southward nothing wrong with request. Even like how I tin can't speak good English language. I simply speak information technology anyway, so one day, you but can."
A willingness to alter is another integral ingredient for growth, Lim added. "From young, I've seen the changes in Singapore and in business. And I've inverse myself to suit this society. Those who are not willing to modify will lose out. Doing the right thing at the right time is non piece of cake. No Signboard Seafood has been around for xl years and has gone through a lot of difficult times… Y'all have to make changes; otherwise, you cannot survive this long."
"It's hard to predict what's going to happen adjacent, merely our strategy is to lay firmer roots in Singapore and expand our business within our shores before we caput overseas again when this situation settles downwardly."
Despite the fact that it is now a wholly corporate entity, No Signboard Seafood continues to operate from the legacy that Lim's late grandmother created. At its heart, it is about sharing meals with family and harking back to a simpler fourth dimension when important bonds were formed around the dinner tabular array. That, and the crab dishes that are synonymous with its name. "No matter what, our white pepper crab and chilli crab volition always be on the carte. Without them, we cannot stay true to the brand no matter how we change or grow," Lim said.
When asked what his grandmother, who passed away in 2014, would brand of the concern's growth today, Lim said, "She would surely be overwhelmed that we are public listed."
Meanwhile, though they take retired from the family business organization, Lim's mother and uncle all the same serve as the guardians of the family unit's treasured recipes and ensure the quality of the nutrient and ingredients that the restaurants serve.
Equally No Signboard Seafood'southward story continues to unfold, Lim and his team discover themselves in yet more uncharted territory. The COVID-19 pandemic may present unprecedented challenges, but in these times, home is literally where the centre is.
"It's hard to predict what'due south going to happen side by side," he said, "but our strategy is to lay firmer roots in Singapore and expand our business organisation inside our shores earlier we head overseas once again when this state of affairs settles down."
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