Ng whye hoe

However, the Ng brothers foresight were spot on and the store enjoyed brisk business. However, it went into a decline when one of the brothers, Robert Ng, passed away. Whye Hoe, who was only 23 at that time, took it upon himself to revive the family business together with the help of a classmate.

It was hard to hire staff back then because two of their consignment outlets had closed down and the creditors had to cut in their credit. In spite of this, Whye Hoe persevered. His first move was to set the store apart from other pet food and accessory stores in Singapore, but what really led to the growth was when they decided to have a clear mission and vision of what they wanted Pet Lovers Centre to be - to be seen as being different in every way, from the visual appeal to the emotional aspect of the business.

The company's business model was revamped after careful review of all operational processes. Pet Lovers Centre made another historic breakthrough when they made a move towards using Pet Care Consultants PCCs , and is presently the only chain of pet stores where customers can get professional pet care advice from vet-trained consultants stationed within the outlets. The Pet Safari was a vision to bring together vets, pet groomers, pet breeders, pet products and services and has now become Singapore's first massive one-stop pet shop.

In the US, Pet Smart already dominates. But in Asia, I think we stand a very good chance to be the Watsons or Guardian of the pet industry. A store for pet supplies of any kind, Pet Lovers is known for its 'cold-storage fresh' pet food, which hits the shelves directly from factories. And like any successful retail chain, Pet Lovers has its own house brand - Burp.

Our house doesn't compromise on quality. Besides providing a wide range of pet food and accessories, Pet Lovers offers in-store grooming and pet care services.

I think this is one of our X-factors. He was inspired to branch into pet services when he saw pet owners panicking when their animals experienced minor discomforts like an ear infection or diarrhoea.

Instead of rushing off to a vet, owners can now get the advice they need from 'pet care consultants' stationed at larger Pet Lovers outlets. Eight years ago, another bright idea led Mr Ng to start another brand of pet store, called The Pet Safari.

At 28, sq ft, the KL outlet is Malaysia's biggest pet store. Besides the one-stop concept, Pet Safari stores allow customers the unique experience of shopping with their pets in tow. Pet retail website Pet Lovers Centre also runs the only pet retail website in Singapore that offers the convenience of pet supplies delivered to the buyer's doorstep. The website, which lists all products sold in the company's stores, plus special promotions, scores 3, hits a day.

Mr Ng reckons home-delivery orders account for about 30 per cent of Pet Lovers' total turnover.