SARAH WONG

A Juggling Act

“A change in staff mindset is also another challenge”

Described by Lonely Planet as the place to stock up on picnic items, wine, durian chocolates and hiking snacks, Tong Hing Supermarket in Kota Kinabalu stands as a vision of its late founder Datuk Wong Tze Fatt, who had the foresight to make his mark in the city as the first purveyor of imported fine foods. “During a trip my grandfather made to Singapore, he noticed that the Cold Storage brand offered quality imported products and he aimed to establish a similar concept here in Kota Kinabalu,” remarks Wong’s granddaughter Sarah, who now holds the director post and is gradually learning the ropes around the family business. The biggest challenge of running a retail business is the people you work with,” Sarah opens up, citing staff motivation as a challenge. “It’s easy to get the stock in but we also place a large emphasis on customer service, which requires plenty of staff education and training as we encourage our staff to be proactive. A change in staff mindset is also another challenge as we have numerous good and loyal staff who have been with us for long, but as they are of a certain mature age, they may not necessarily want to do more,” she elaborates further.

Read the full feature in Prestige Malaysia July 2018 issue.

Credits:

photography Kah Mun
photography assistance Hal Yip
styling Ibnu Aswan
styling assistance Nigel Lee
make-up & hair Gavin Soh
location Hilton Kota Kinabalu