Success Stories of Businesses in Singapore
Like milk and cookies, Business and Singapore are inextricably linked. The work culture, location and lack of bureaucratic hurdles make Garden City ideal for flourishing trade and commerce. The result is a hub of successful businesses emerging as market leaders worldwide.
In this article, we list some of the stories of businesses in Singapore that have stood the test of time and become household names.
Secretlab
Singapore-based SecretLab has rapidly emerged as one of the leading gaming chair manufacturers in the world. Founded in 2014, the company has established itself as a household name among gamers worldwide, known for its high-quality and comfortable chairs. While SecretLab’s success began in Singapore, the company has quickly expanded its reach to other parts of the world, particularly North America and Europe.
The company’s expansion efforts began in 2015 when it launched its office in Malaysia and Australia in the next year. Since then, SecretLab has been rapidly growing its presence in the region. They’ve partnered with prominent esports organizations and gaming influencers, such as Team SoloMid and Pokimane, to increase brand awareness and drive sales. They’ve since expanded into the North American and European Markets and created a reputation of quality and understanding within the gamer community.
SecretLab’s expansion efforts have not been limited to just physical locations. The company has also strategically partnered with major retailers, such as Amazon and Best Buy, to make its products more widely available in North America. Additionally, SecretLab has been investing heavily in digital marketing efforts, utilizing social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter to engage with its audience and build brand awareness.
One of the reasons behind SecretLab’s success in North America and Europe is its ability to cater to the unique preferences of these markets. For instance, the company has introduced new designs and colours specific to North America and Europe, catering to the individual tastes of consumers in these regions. SecretLab has also been actively seeking feedback from its customers in these markets to improve its products and services further.
Moreover, SecretLab has been able to differentiate itself from other gaming chair manufacturers by emphasizing the importance of ergonomics and comfort. The company’s R&D department has designed the chairs to provide maximum comfort and support for gamers sitting in front of a computer. As a result, SecretLab has become the go-to brand for serious gamers who value comfort and quality.
Secretlab has also tapped into government agencies like Enterprise Singapore(EnterpriseSG) for help in executive decisions and business challenges.
Omni-Plus System
Omn-Plus System (OPS) was the first Singapore company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) in June last year. It was founded by Marcus Neo, who believes scalability is essential for its business to succeed. As a result, OPS has become a regional powerhouse with about 200 staff in 8 countries, including Japan, China, Malaysia and Thailand.
During the Covid-19 crisis, it achieved a compound annual growth rate of 26 per cent, and in the 2021 financial year, its sales increased by 30 per cent to US$249.6 million (S$345.9 million). OPS had to set up an office in Shanghai to help a client transfer materials and finished products from Malaysia to China and had to track a massive movement of equipment and tools amid all the chaos.
This experience taught the company to mind the details and be creative during crises. OPS is a Singapore-based company that has invested heavily in innovation and staff development. In 2018, it worked with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research’s (A*Star) Institute of Materials Research and Engineering and EnterpriseSG to establish its engineering centre in Singapore. The centre has an in-house materials database of over 500 formulations, enabling OPS to develop materials for its clients more efficiently. In addition, to support its efforts to capture new markets and extend its international footprint, OPS has joined forces with an A*Star start-up to produce a unique coating material for critical parts in EVs to make them safer and lighter.
In 2020, OPS also hired Singapore Polytechnic (SP) to carry out an analysis of training needs for its junior staff. The company arranged various training courses for its staff at education centres like the NTUC Learning Hub and SP. Depending on their training needs, employees were encouraged to learn new skills, from how to use Zoom and advanced Excel functions to big data analytics. Daryl Neo has highlighted the importance of professional development and internationalization in the business world, noting that OPS has engaged tertiary institutions to raise awareness of the company among students and has implemented part-time courses on relevant subjects. Marcus Neo has also stated that having offices globally enable OPS to adapt more quickly to new business environments and changing customer needs and to globalize the company.
EtonHouse
The EtonHouse International Education Group was a small local enterprise with three preschools in 2003 when its founder Ng Gim Choo decided to expand to China. This was due to the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) set up by the Singapore and Chinese governments, which has helped to double its annual revenue to S$200 million over the past five years.
The company now has 20,000 students and 120 schools in 11 countries, mainly in Asia, including 50 schools in China and 40 in Singapore. It focuses on China for its demand for quality education and has partnered with local partners such as the government, landlords, and site developers to help them enter new markets. However, the partnership has not been successful, leading to the need to follow the local pre-tech model, with longer hours, lower fees, and Chinese instead of English.
EtonHouse has recently connected its partner to a partner for its second school in Tokyo and supported its expansion to the nearby resort town of Karuizawa, which is a significant market for the firm due to its economy and emphasis on preschool education. The agency has deep knowledge about many markets and no vested interests, making its advice invaluable. EtonHouse also has created a curriculum licensing and school management platform to license bilingual and inquiry-based curricula to other pre-towns. It is in the midst of launching it in China, its largest market, before rolling it out in other countries. The initiative aims to help local firms with high growth potential to scale quickly and effectively and become leaders in their communities.
EtonHouse International Education Group is transitioning from a small-and-medium enterprise into a large local enterprise. The programme lasts between 12 and 18 months and provides firms with the opportunity to network with peers, learn from business leaders and work with consultancies on their growth strategies. EtonHouse’s chairwoman and group managing director, Ng Yi-Xian, decided on the move into the digital education space after a week-long executive course at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. He believes that the digital platform could be successful in its own right and grow beyond the company’s core business. Government agencies such as EnterpriseSG have many programmes to support firms, including initiatives to boost their capabilities.
Singaporean firms should think about how they can make their mark in other countries, including by tapping into technology. The Adviser recommends doing due diligence, managing risks, being flexible and asking for help when needed.
AEM Holdings
AEM Holdings is a Singapore company that has kept Intel as a critical customer for over a decade, which has enabled the testing solutions firm to grow from strength to strength. In 2020, AEM posted a record profit of $97.6 million, while its market capitalization crossed the $1 billion threshold. Despite this, the company posted a loss of $17.9 million in 2009 and was briefly placed on the Singapore Exchange’s Watch List the following year. AEM’s journey was driven by four years of investments in engineering since its acquisition by Novo Tellus in 2011, which included the need to attract and retain talent to drive the research and development (R&D) process. The company continues to invest nearly 10 per cent of its profits into R&D and has seen remarkable results for the company, such as in 2015 when it shipped laboratory units of its High D. AEM has achieved a fivefold increase in revenue since 2015, largely due to its global growth path.
It has acquired seven technology companies and partnered with several more, allowing it to expand its capabilities into new areas such as industrial radio frequency test solutions, wafer-level testing solutions of micro-electro-mechanical systems, and vision inspection. AEM has also gained access to new markets and customers and is investing in R&D and manufacturing to diversify its order book away from one major customer. It operates over five manufacturing plants globally, including in China, Finland and Malaysia, with its main production unit in Singapore. In addition, AEM has taken advantage of an Enterprise Singapore (ESG) programme to look at its strategic plans to expand in the China market in 2019 to help high-growth local companies accelerate their growth and scale globally. The company’s revenues from China rose by 38.4% year-on-year to $69 million in 2020, with China being the company’s fourth biggest geographical segment.
AEM is seeing a steady build of its China book, with relatively high-profile contracts, and further penetrated the Chinese market in 2020 by winning new accounts with various products. However, at its headquarters in Serangoon North, AEM’s leaders are reminded to align decisions with Resilience, Innovation, Sustainability, and Entrepreneurship (Rise) and focus on taking care of all stakeholders, not just shareholders.
NexGen Wafer Systems
NexGen Wafer Systems is a microchip company founded in 2011 by Cheung Ting Kwan. It develops and sells machines that add circuits to wafers, a crucial step in creating microchips. Despite facing adversity, Cheung has persevered and has since taken a step back to focus on NexGen. The global shortage of chips has affected production for smartphones, cars, and other products and infrastructure, and NexGen has started research and development (R&D) projects to create more applications for its machines. Revenue has grown by about 20%.
NexGen is a global expansion company founded by Mr Cheung and his three co-founders, two Austrians, who set up an office and factory in Austria. With the support of Enterprise Singapore (ESG), they opened an office in New York and planned to expand their business overseas. NexGen is expanding overseas amid a global microchip shortage and is looking to expand its offerings, including new microchips and chips made from new and emerging materials. To do this, they have set up a joint laboratory with IME to develop new applications for its machines and focus on having new capabilities to differentiate themselves in the market.
The most important idea is that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should strive to be better and stay ahead of the curve when setting up an office in the US, as this helps Singapore businesses expand into new markets. ESG’s New York overseas centre connected NexGen to a lawyer who has walked it through the necessary legal and corporate processes and requirements.
