Old Chang Kee: Lessons from Mr. Han.

Added on 12 April 2017:

OLD CHANG KEE DI INDONESIA
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I enjoyed an article on Old Chang Kee today in The Business Times.

Mr. Han Keen Juan acquired Old Chang Kee in 1986. He tried blending cultures and introduced croissants but these did not take off. 

Apparently, it was the norm to hold a curry puff and eat it on the go but people preferred to eat French pastry sitting down! It also created some customer confusion as to what Old Chang Kee represented.

To me, Old Chang Kee is the King of Asian finger food in Singapore. Their menu has expanded to include, for example, XL size fishballs which they call "footballs" and you have to trust me when I say they are delicious especially with the special chilli sauce made just for them!

Some of my other favourites are spring roll, yam cake, carrot cake and fried chicken wings (Sedap!). For sure, I cannot go without at least one of their signature curry puffs every once in a while.

The success that is Old Chang Kee today is very much about keeping to a theme that is familiar to Singaporeans. It is about sticking to a formula which has worked well for years.

Similarly, it could be a good idea for us to stick to what we know best when we are investing in the stock market. 

If we were to expand our investment portfolio, it could make sense to look at industries we are familiar with or industries which are related to what we are familiar with. 

If a strategy works well for us and is reliably replicable, why not stick to it?

Mr. Han also ventured into the dining arena by starting a small kiosk that sold authentic Hainanese dishes. It became a hit! He quickly opened another outlet without first ensuring that the kitchens could maintain the quality of the food. Diners were disappointed and the business folded within four months.

Old Chang Kee's mobile kitchen!

This holds a precious lesson for investors at large too. Don't be too hasty to take the plunge. Make sure we have a strong foundation and the necessary resources before we try growing our investments.

If our portfolio size is beyond what is the optimum (and this is probably a subjective notion), we could be increasing the probability of something nasty happening along the way. Shudder at the thought.

Related post:
Old Chang Kee: Almost 70c a share.

Luck plays a part in investing.

I would readily admit anytime that luck plays a part in investing and I would also find a businessman who admits some of his success is due to luck to be more believable.

If someone claims that his success is due to his foresight and never luck, good for him but forgive me if I say I do not believe him. 

I am sure we have come across people like this in our lives. 

They are full of confidence and think that they can do no wrong.





Some might find such confidence attractive and gravitate towards such personalities. 

It is quite natural. 

Mind you, I am not saying that it is wrong to do so. 

There must be some reasons other than luck which have contributed to the success these personalities enjoy. 

So, there must be lessons we could learn from them.





The important thing is not to surrender our cognitive abilities and be swept away by emotions. 

They are as human as all of us although some might want us to think otherwise.

The Chinese have a saying:

谋事在人成事在天






People could make plans and put them in motion but whether the plans succeed or not depends on the heavens.





Related post:
Motivations and methods in investing.