The World Of Tzu Chi(Vol.128)

TZU CHI 128 17 mention, Thiam Wah’s mobility difficulties. However, Thiam Wah never gave up learning. He relied on self-study with books and dictionaries borrowed from friends. At age 13, he started a small business selling snacks in front of his house. With his parents busy with work, his grandmother took care of him since young. He recalled his childhood where he envied his siblings as they could run and jump freely. His grandmother realized this and would encourage him, “You’re only physically disabled, but you’re very smart. There are many things you can do with your hands and you can find ways to live independently.” And so, Thiam Wah began to think about what kind of future he wanted to pursue. Expanding steadily, one step at a time At 23, Thiam Wah, with experience and interest in grocery retailing, opened the “Hiap Hoe Sundry Mart” in Klang with his savings and help from his family. He said, “I named the shop ‘Hiap Hoe ( 协和 )’ (harmony in Mandarin) because I had hoped to build good relationships with my suppliers, customers and even my competitors.” Although Thiam Wah had already ten years of business experience, there were still some differences between running a small stall and a grocery shop. He had to learn from scratch again, starting from the product system, display, right up to the service model, exploring them one by one. Since he managed everything, the shop won the hearts of the residents. Two years later, the business gradually got on track. However, Thiam Wah was not satisfied. He questioned himself, “Can there be a breakthrough in running a neighbourhood grocery store? Are there more challenges in my life?” Whether it was about his life or his career, ThiamWah never set limits for himself. He began to pay close attention to market information, read a lot and kept learning. He even visited marketplaces of different scales to observe and study. “Apart from the difficulty of starting up, I faced a second challenge in my career in 1990. It was challenging to reform my business without adequate information systems.” With perseverance, he finally managed to come up with a replicable business model. In 1992, the 99 Mini Market was established and became the prototype for 99 Speedmart. The brand name “99” carries a simple meaning and pronunciation. Thiam Wah explained, “There is no such thing as a perfect world. 99 signifies room for improvement.” He put in a lot of effort into researching product categorization, pricing and competitiveness. With his dedication and down-to-earth attitude, by 1998, he owned eight mini-market outlets in Klang. In 2000, 99 Mini Market was renamed 99 Speedmart, signifying the beginning of greater achievements in Thiam Wah’s career. With the slogan “Near n’ Save”, 99 Speedmart hopes to bring more convenience to people living in neighbourhoods. In terms of product prices, they are even cheaper than hypermarkets. 99 Speedmart won the “Consumer Choice Award” for four consecutive years (2006 to 2009) from the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs. In 2012, it won the award again. Between 2010 and 2014, 99 Speedmart won the “Fair Price Award” every From Disabled to Able