1. Born in 1964, Lee Thiam Wah was about 8 months old when he was diagnosed with polio
He was paralysed from the waist down because of it.
2. The young Thiam Wah only studied until Standard 6 as his family couldn’t afford any further
At that time, his father worked as a construction worker, and his mother a hawker worked hard for their family of eleven children.
3. To keep busy, he read books borrowed from neighbours and sold snacks in a roadside stall
“I have to help myself. Nobody would hire me due to my physical limitation.”
4. He saved RM17,000 when he was only 23 years old
Thiam Wah used the money to open a grocery store.
5. In 1987, he started a traditional “mom and pop” sundry mart called Pasar Raya Hiap Hoe in Tepi Sungai, Klang
This humble beginning has allowed Thiam Wah to gain firsthand knowledge and insights into the sundry retail market through personal interactions with customers and suppliers.
6. After five years in the industry, he wanted a challenge and decided to sell his store to his relative for RM38,000
He took the money he made from his first store to open his first mini-mart, Pasar Mini 99.
7. The first store that bore the name ’99’ was in Klang Utama
Pasar Mini 99, represented the first step Lee took to realize his vision of building an integrated chain of mini-marts.
8. From 1992 to 1998, Thiam Wah expanded Pasar Mini 99 to eight other outlets in Klang ala chain store format
“I wanted the challenge of running a bigger business. If you don’t have scale you can’t compete with Chinese medicine halls on pricing, and you can’t compete with hypermarkets in terms of range.”
9. In 1999 he changed the name of the store to 99 Speedmart
“We chose the number 99 because it implies that even though we are not perfect, we still aim to offer our customers the best services and products at a competitive price. This also reminds us that there is always room to improve.”
10. In 2017, 99 Speedmart launched its 1000th outlet in Shah Alam Seksyen 13, Selangor
Thiam Wah plans to expand to more than 2,000 outlets in three to five years. He also wants to open 99 Speedmart in every corner of Malaysia before expanding internationally.
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