(Aug 26): Sydney Teo did not want to join his family’s business, Mayson Bakery, at first. He expected that making changes, for example, would be difficult, and he would have to go through several layers of approval. “I wanted to do something like sales or commodities trading, where it was more dependent on my own efforts,” says Teo in an interview with The Edge Singapore.
It was the tendering process for Mayson Bakery’s first outlet at Singapore General Hospital that brought Teo into the business. He was tasked with preparing and submitting the proposal, which won them the
space eventually. And it was from that outlet, about four years later, that Teo and his father observed changes in market conditions, which prompted them to revamp the business.
The bakery operations were both skill and labour-intensive, and Teo was having trouble finding workers. It was also largely dependent on a single customer, who was cutting back on orders. Teo wanted to reduce the costs of production. He persuaded his father to leverage the company’s existing automated production for pastry, and give up baking bread. He also wanted to focus on local coffee and tea; as a result, a name change was needed — after all, “Mayson” sounded too foreign.
And so, Kopi and Tarts, offering local beverages and pastries, was born. “[It] was a better concept. It gives us better control of our outlets and is not so skill-intensive,” says Teo.
The bakery was revamped and the new concept was tested. “We realised that the margins and profits were even better than running a bakery. So, we decided to continue expanding,” he adds.
The revamp was a risk that the company took under Teo’s watch, and it was 1½ years before they started seeing returns on their investment. Only then did Teo dare to continue expanding. From that one outlet, less than three years on, the company now runs nine outlets. He has also signed up its first franchisee. Obviously, the revamp is working.
There are plans to expand locally and perhaps even overseas, with enquiries coming from countries such as Malaysia and Hong Kong about franchising Kopi and Tarts. Even with the success Teo has enjoyed, he is not resting on his laurels, but constantly looking to rethink the business as overheads and start-up costs soar.
The way the business is run is constantly being tweaked as Teo seeks to find the right balance between attracting customers, keeping an eye on profit margins and manpower resources, while not veering too far off from the original concept.
Teo believes he has been fortunate that his father has been relatively hands-off after passing the day-to-day management to him. While Teo senior is kept apprised of what is going on during monthly management meetings, he rarely intervenes.
“He still does steer the ship, asking us to adjust pricing to factor in GST adjustments and labour costs. He still gives us his two cents,” says Teo.
Before taking on a management role, Teo had spent time at the bakery’s various departments — from production to logistics and finance, to understand how the business operated. That allowed him to appreciate the struggles associated with running a company, and he acknowledges that the stresses of it are far greater than what his peers would typically take on in regular jobs.
“Running a food and beverage business is a risky and tiring process. If it is just for passion, one outlet is okay; but if you want to do it big, your concept should be something that’s scalable and easy to replicate. If it is all dependent on you, it is impossible,” he says.
Teo says a key trait of a business leader is the ability to empathise with one’s workers and be grounded. “You have to be hands-on with the staff. You cannot expect things to just happen. You really have to… sweat it out, talk to the workers and blend in with them.
“This has given me a chance to continue my dad’s legacy, so it’s still something good to continue. Not everyone has this platform.”
