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S’pore seafood chain Jumbo to expand overseas
Home-grown Jumbo Group of Restaurants plans to expand overseas for the first time as it finds the business environment in Singapore "challenging", said its chief executive Ang Kiam Meng.
In an interview with Yahoo! Singapore Finance on Monday, Ang said that the group, which operates the popular Jumbo Seafood restaurants and other chains, is looking to open at least one store each in China and Indonesia this year.
"First of all (the reason we are going overseas) is the market-size compared to Singapore. There are still a lot more growth opportunities, especially in China and Indonesia," said Ang, noting there is no direct competition in those markets yet for the kind of food the chain offers.
The outlets will be located in Beijing in China, and in Surabaya and possibly later in Jakarta in Indonesia.
The group will still be expanding in Singapore as it plans to open two new outlets , said Ang, but he said the expansion was slower as business conditions were tougher.
"Part of the reason (we are going overseas) also is the current Singapore business environment is rather challenging. I think the two major factors — labour and rental — is adding a lot of pressure on business profitability, business bottomline," he said.
He disclosed that under the recently renewed restaurant lease at VivoCity, the company would be paying 50 per cent higher rental starting July.
He also said that given the tight labour market, the company has had to increase salaries. For example, in the past year and a half, they had to increase the pay of a dishwasher from S$800 to S$1,600.
He said that about half of the company's 670-strong workforce is Singaporean, but the group usually can't get locals to apply for the openings.
In the meantime, Ang said the group has been tapping on the assistance of SPRING Singapore to strengthen internal processes and train staff.
Taking part in the enterprise development agency's human capital development programme, the restaurant group has sent leaders and managers for advanced management training and tapped on experienced mentors for its leadership team.
It has also joined a part-time pool programme spearheaded by SPRING to address manpower needs.
The initiatives have since resulted in a manpower attrition rate that is lower than that of the industry, according to SPRING.
Singapore's government last year tightened on the entry of foreign executives and workers last year amid growing resentment among citizens. Massive influx of immigrants over previous years has been blamed for overcrowding on trains and for the sharp rise in housing prices.
