Executive Lifestyle
Pet Safari's one-stop concept takes off

Ng Whye Hoe is a second generation pet shop owner who was roped into the business under desperate circumstances. His father, who established Pet Lovers Centre - said to be Singapore's first pet food store - in 1973, died when Whye Hoe was 16. His uncle took over the business, but was unable to hold it together. After eight difficult years, Whye Hoe's mother asked him to join the company and see if he could rescue it. If not, it would be dissolved.

'There's room for a wider product range. And in terms of service, the Americans are fantastic... So staff training is critical and that's one area which we're trying to improve on.' ----- Pet Safari's Ng Whye Hoe (right)

Then, the young man who grew up with dogs, rabbits, terrapins, and hamsters as pets, was doing his own business importing ginseng and distributing portable seats.

"When my dad passed away, his business was the only thing he left behind for us," says Whye Hoe. So even though he didn't like being in a family business because "emotions can get in the way", he didn't want it dissolved either.

So Whye Hoe joined the company at 24, at a time when it was bleeding badly and had only one retail store at Shaw Centre. But after one-and-a-half years, he managed to overhaul its systems and turn it around. With most pet products being very homogeneous, Whye Hoe focused on building Pet Lovers Centre's brand identity.

Today, there are five Pet Lovers Centre outlets as well as the one-stop shop, The Pet Safari, at Eastpoint Mall.

The Pet Safari - a brainchild of Whye Hoe and his friend and partner, Daniel Lum - is the biggest pet store in Singapore. At 11,000 sq ft, it groups together 11 companies. "I decided to start The Pet Safari in 1999 because I thought the pet industry was too fragmented," explains the 29-year-old. "Everyone was doing their own thing. I thought if I could consolidate them in one place, they can leverage against each other. Like the all-in-one stores in the US, it would be a very interesting concept."

Products and services at The Pet Safari include the sale of pets, as well as pet fashion, accessories, food, grooming, holistic therapy and a veterinary clinic. There is also a touch-and-feel cave featuring reptiles and sea creatures, which is often visited by school groups.

Pets are also allowed to go shopping with their owners in the air-conditioned mega pet store.

The concept has taken off well, and together with the five Pet Lovers Centre outlets, annual turnover is expected to rise from $800,000 in 1996 to over $5 million this year.

"Opening a store is easy," muses Whye Hoe. "The most difficult part is the control systems over stocks and human resources. If you have an experienced staff, the product range widens, and if she is less experienced, the range narrows. So we use technology to make our job easier. We computerise everything, documenting experience, and using a point-of-sales system. The staff now order new stocks via the computer, at a touch of a button."

Looking ahead, he believes business condition will get tougher, but because the local market is "easily four years behind the US" there is still plenty of room for new developments.

"There's room for a wide product range," says Whye Hoe. "And in terms of service, the Americans are fantastic. They are very detailed very patient and very knowledgeable. They really explain well, so you know what you're buying when they sell you a product. And when they teach you how to look after your dog, it's really completed. So staff training is critical and that's one area which we're trying to improve on."

Another thing he would be working on is the possible expansion of The Pet Safari concept to other parts of Singapore, as well as overseas.

"Going overseas is the long-term plan," he says "Yes, that would be ideal."