Born in 1961, the fifth of nine children grew up first in Jurong, then later in Lim Chu Kang and Punggol, when his Dad turned to rearing pigs.At the height of the business, the family had 3,000 pigs and lived on a sprawling 90,000 sq ft farm.
In 1984, when the farm was stuck with excess pork, he and his newly-wed wife rented a stall at the small Savewell Supermarket at Black 122 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3 to sell chilled pork.
The Savewell owner was in financial difficulties and asked if Mr Lim was interested in taking over an outlet for $30,000.
Although he was offered a stall in Bedok, which had the best location in the chain, he decided to stick with Ang Mo Kio as he was familiar with the "uncles and aunties" in the neighbourhood. His father poured in $200,000 and Mr Lim roped in two of his brothers.
They changed the name of the 1,400 sq ft store to Sheng Siong, which means "rising" and "vegetable" in Chinese.
The biggest expansion in the company's 22-year history was between 2000 and 2005, when 14 new outlets opened islandwide, including in Jurong, Bedok, Serangoon and Clementi. Sheng Siong at Tekka Mall, which opened in 2003, is the largest outlet, occupying 45,000 sq ft.
The chain has now become a household name and even has its own television show, The Sheng Siong Show, which made its debut last May. The game show, hosted by Kym Ng and Dasmond Koh, is into its second season and airs on Channel 8 every Saturday at 8pm.
Sheng Siong has been awarded top 500 retail enterprises in 2007 and became the third-largest retailer in Singapore. The company has also been awarded as Superbrands Singapore in years 2008, 2009 and 2011.
Sheng Siong Group Limited is publicly listed at the SGX (code: OV8) since August 17, 2011.
Quotations:
"I don't believe in luxury. Why have two beds when I can sleep in only one? Or have two coffins when I can be buried only in one?"
"Rather than waste time comparing ourselves with others, why not look at how you can improve yourself instead?"
