Survival of the fittest, we shouldn't waste anymore pocket money

[Windwaver]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwinism

Darwinism is a theory of biological evolution developed by the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and others, stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual's ability to compete, survive, and reproduce.

https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/ministry-of-food-winding-up-fails-to-pay-debt-of-200000

Ministry of Food winding up, fails to pay debt of $200,000

SINGAPORE - Home-grown restaurant chain Ministry of Food is winding up after failing to pay a debt of $200,000.

We all know Charles Darwin so I'm not going to explain his theory of natural selection.

Nevertheless, I created this thread because it's pretty amazing we're 1 year plus into the pandemic and there are businesses/individuals that still refuses to evolve. They continue to think the world will return to normal and rely on government aid (tax payers money) or cheap labor (maximize margin) to drive their organizations (plus complain a lot).

Do you think they are worth saving?

 

[Lethalstrike]

$200k debts for a F&B business of this scale should be manageable, logically. But I guess the Covid situation hammers the nail in for them, probably they are already running the min. cash flow to sustain the business. Thus, any unforseen impact is going to be multiplied. 

It's not that easy to fully pivot in a short space of time considering the sunk costs and capital made into their various branches. Well, F&B is cut throat like that here even in a normal operating climate without Covid. Thing is, one falls, there is always another one to take it's place! 

[Lala81]

F&B is tough. You are competing in a space with what Peter Thiel would call Infinite competition and hence very tight margins.

Last time when paktor with wife, still got eat MOF few times. Ok but nothing memorable. Definitely not as consistent as Sushi Tei.

Edited May 21, 2021 by Lala81

[Beregond]

short term help yes. sometime a company just need some cash to tie over. their model is still making money, some grant or 0 interest loan from  gov to save these company is important, esp big company they provide job etc.

but if their model is simply losing money over the long run, we simply cannot help them.

like in usa , some company is simply losing money every year, but gov grant, their boss got 12 mths bonus every year, and share keep rising. this cannot be the case for  sg.

grant during pandemic have to be fair. just because

company A management are drawing 1m pay per year, the gov give them 10m grant.

company B management drawing 0.5m pay per year the gov give them 5m grant?? 

this dun make sense. if company A  personal have to drop their high life , sell their bungalow and lambo and settle with the 5m grant, then they simply had to do it.

my 0.002 cents

[Tianmo]

The only thing in the world that does not change,  is "change" itself. 

One close here,  another one will open there.  

Maybe it's time to revisit and re-evaluate the model of over gearing for growth...

 

[Mustank]

I thought I saw the 3rd option is sit on face

hmmmmm

[Ender]

Ministry of Food, which Minister heads it? Won't be surprise it's OYK. Such a waste.

[Jman888]

1 hour ago, Windwaver said:

 

Nevertheless, I created this thread because it's pretty amazing we're 1 year plus into the pandemic and there are businesses/individuals that still refuses to evolve. They continue to think the world will return to normal and rely on government aid (tax payers money) or cheap labor (maximize margin) to drive their organizations (plus complain a lot).

Do you think they are worth saving?

i am not sure how can F&B evolve or change unlike manufacturing or other services.

F&B still very much depends on the quality of the operators and the taste of the consumers. It is very labour intensive and time consuming on both side, good food needs good staff to maintain consistency and consumer willing to go extra distant or patience to get the food. Plus how the operators perceive in the worthiness of their business.

On the other hand, some operators suffer huge losses and still remain open (either they have deep pocket or strong investors), other won't even let a single cent losses eat into their own pocket no matter how good their food is and how popular they are. Consumers are fickle, they won't feel any lose after a while, things come and go so what is a good bowl of bak chor mee worth saving?

[Volvobrick]

Lots of people still like to throw money at F and B. Maybe it have little entry barrier, or everyone has secret desire to own a lifestyle cafe/restaurant, imagining everyday chit-chatting with the customers while serving expresso.

I stay far far from this industry. 

[Beregond]

10 minutes ago, Jman888 said:

i am not sure how can F&B evolve or change unlike manufacturing or other services.

F&B still very much depends on the quality of the operators and the taste of the consumers. It is very labour intensive and time consuming on both side, good food needs good staff to maintain consistency and consumer willing to go extra distant or patience to get the food. Plus how the operators perceive in the worthiness of their business.

On the other hand, some operators suffer huge losses and still remain open (either they have deep pocket or strong investors), other won't even let a single cent losses eat into their own pocket no matter how good their food is and how popular they are. Consumers are fickle, they won't feel any lose after a while, things come and go so what is a good bowl of bak chor mee worth saving?

i feel mof fail not because of cov19 or quality of food etc. their business model fail, expand too big and fast, keep trying to take over other company etc etc end up too much debt .

they own 4.8m not 200k,  they got 80 +_ outlet at 1 point ,not gonna fall for 200k

even before that the director or boss already trying to run road, sell house change name of her property etc etc,  

[inlinesix]

A lot of ppl like to set up cafe biz.  Thinking it is very trendy and sexy.

The question is: How do you stand out from the rest?

[Beregond]

12 minutes ago, yishunite said:

Honestly there is too many atas dining places in singapore and for the last year. Some need to simply close down for a while, market too saturated for pandemic... When things back to normal they can easily bounce back but meanwhile some of these places shouldnt be trying to survive on handout but try other things

yes, the market must be given the chance to balance itself.

its a business after all, if 100% make big money drive lambo, every 1 also be boss 

many boss alway complain and request gov help when they lose money.

many boss i know kpkb about how bad business is , not making money , but knn, i see them changing new cars. no joke, its real experience, easily 300k cars , 1 of them order a new bentley ( he  already owned 1 btw) 

but then there is another saying, if u own the bank 1m u scare of the bank, if u own the bank 1b, the bank start to be scare of u , if u own the bank 10b the country and gov also scare of u .

Edited May 21, 2021 by Beregond

[Watwheels]

24 minutes ago, Beregond said:

yes, the market must be given the chance to balance itself.

its a business after all, if 100% make big money drive lambo, every 1 also be boss 

many boss alway complain and request gov help when they lose money.

many boss i know kpkb about how bad business is , not making money , but knn, i see them changing new cars. no joke, its real experience, easily 300k cars , 1 of them order a new bentley ( he  already owned 1 btw) 

but then there is another saying, if u own the bank 1m u scare of the bank, if u own the bank 1b, the bank start to be scare of u , if u own the bank 10b the country and gov also scare of u .

"OWE" or "OWN"?

Limpeh catch no ball.

[Mkl22]

49 minutes ago, Beregond said:

yes, the market must be given the chance to balance itself.

its a business after all, if 100% make big money drive lambo, every 1 also be boss 

many boss alway complain and request gov help when they lose money.

many boss i know kpkb about how bad business is , not making money , but knn, i see them changing new cars. no joke, its real experience, easily 300k cars , 1 of them order a new bentley ( he  already owned 1 btw) 

but then there is another saying, if u own the bank 1m u scare of the bank, if u own the bank 1b, the bank start to be scare of u , if u own the bank 10b the country and gov also scare of u .

scared of OK Lim but still toh

[bsswan]

2 hours ago, Windwaver said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwinism

Darwinism is a theory of biological evolution developed by the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and others, stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual's ability to compete, survive, and reproduce.

https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/ministry-of-food-winding-up-fails-to-pay-debt-of-200000

Ministry of Food winding up, fails to pay debt of $200,000

SINGAPORE - Home-grown restaurant chain Ministry of Food is winding up after failing to pay a debt of $200,000.

We all know Charles Darwin so I'm not going to explain his theory of natural selection.

Nevertheless, I created this thread because it's pretty amazing we're 1 year plus into the pandemic and there are businesses/individuals that still refuses to evolve. They continue to think the world will return to normal and rely on government aid (tax payers money) or cheap labor (maximize margin) to drive their organizations (plus complain a lot).

Do you think they are worth saving?

 

Your Thread title and Content a little different.

I voted "No" based on the thread title and experience of seeing wrong companies being bailed out (not mine, for reference 😉). F&B is a bit more of a specific and, currently, challenging topic but many chains have evolved, now using very large centralised kitchens and subcontracting menu items.

I could believe MoF is in this position, given it's size? If, then, they still are in trouble then is it a matter of COVID timing or something more structural? The banks and creditors are the ones to make the choice and if they have decided the $200k cannot be returned through a suitable time extension then I would suggest MoF problems are structural and not temporary. Creditors will always wait for a return instead of getting zero, especially in the current zero interest rate environment.......unless creditors are equally in trouble, such as kitchen subcontractors where losses continue to increase and they just want to put a stop to that.

There are many smaller chains or one-off restaurants doing very well, now embracing take-out and delivery options. The model is quite simple, non-CB times can eat-in, take-away and have delivery each with different pricing. Eat-in, one price with take-out that price less 20-25% or delivery that same eat-in price plus, delivery (or free with Minimum Order). Very simple structure, easy to understand, and acceptable. COVID created or speeded up this process but in the hope eat-in remains the long term default model when times allow.

Other business lines........ I heard it from HK Bubble Flight discussions about some guys flying to HK next week to meet office staff and clients there and it was very important for them etc. - interviewed on TV to say the same. Most of these guys were in it to feel important, not for the reason. Businesses that have not evolved in the last 12months to reduce or remove this need to physical contact really shouldn't be the type to be saved if the time is required. "Just-for-a-Chat" or a physical hand shake arguments are now off the table, as far as I'm concerned but the big problem is service, having experts positioned in the wrong country or region to fix problems. Even on this front, TeamViewer, for example, has added functionality to allow a novice, to some extent, to be guided into fixing a problem via AI and a mobile phone camera. Generally speaking, solutions are available for evolution.

From my side, we adapted and put processes in place a few weeks before CB last year on the anticipation of it's arrival and, whilst it took a week or so to iron out kinks, in the end we waited for clients and partners to catch up. They have and, actually, in an odd side effect, we are talking to overseas contacts more than pre-COVID, actually talking instead of email.

It used to be said the only two things in life that are guaranteed, is death and taxes but @Tianmo is also right to add/mention "change."

[Ahwhye]

1 hour ago, yishunite said:

Honestly there is too many atas dining places in singapore and for the last year. Some need to simply close down for a while, market too saturated for pandemic... When things back to normal they can easily bounce back but meanwhile some of these places shouldnt be trying to survive on handout but try other things

In a shopping  centre i often visit, i see new makan shops pop-up & take over space vacated by handphone shop, beauty parlour, & whatever got closed down, and these makan are just another run-of-the-mill stuff, even no pandemic will not be able to sustain such concentration of makan shops, maybe I no rich and no businessman, so no understand why...

[Soya]

2 hours ago, Volvobrick said:

Lots of people still like to throw money at F and B. Maybe it have little entry barrier, or everyone has secret desire to own a lifestyle cafe/restaurant, imagining everyday chit-chatting with the customers while serving expresso.

I stay far far from this industry. 

Open smlj lifestyle cafe?

Open affordable Zhi char confirm do we'll 

 

[Lala81]

14 minutes ago, Soya said:

Open smlj lifestyle cafe?

Open affordable Zhi char confirm do we'll 

 

lol there are lot of zi char that toh also one lah.