Crystal clear vision

The man behind Crystal Jade talks about how he came from living in a cramped Hong Kong apartment to owning a company which earns $240m annually, and the family drama which sparked the birth of one of its biggest rivals. -ST
Rebecca Lynne Tan

Wed, Jan 16, 2013
The Straits Times

SINGAPORE - Fragrant Cantonese-style roast duck with crispy skin, juicy xiao long bao with handmade noodles and salted egg yolk buns that ooze warm, creamy centres are just some of his Chinese dishes you are likely to have eaten over the years.

You might not know Mr Ip Yiu Tung but chances are, you have probably had these dishes and more at one of his numerous restaurants here. And chances are, you have probably been back too. More than once.

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The restaurants that Life! is referring to are none other than those under the established Crystal Jade Culinary Concepts restaurant group, of which Mr Ip is both chief executive and chairman.

The chain of restaurants totals 114 outlets in nine countries from Singapore and China to Vietnam and Thailand. It is known for its Chinese cuisine that includes everything from Cantonese- style roast meats and dim sum to light, wholesome Teochew food and flavoursome Shanghainese fare.

His restaurants here are some of the most visible and popular, spanning Orchard Road to the heartland, and Mr Ip has achieved this despite Chinese eateries being a dime a dozen across the island.

He has hit on a recipe for success in Singapore's most predominant cuisine that puts his restaurant group as a leader of the pack. This is despite the heat from rivals including Imperial Treasure Restaurant Group which, in a twist worthy of a TV family drama, is run by his former business partner and brother-in-law Alfred Leung.

Mr Leung had founded the first Crystal Jade in 1991 but in a move that shocked the restaurant scene, he quit the group in 2004. His two brothers had left the year before. Mr Leung then set up his first Imperial Treasure establishment just across the passageway from Crystal Jade's flagship restaurant at Takashimaya Shopping Centre. But more on this later.

Mr Ip can boast a chain that has 49 Crystal Jade outlets in Singapore alone and counting. New sophisticated and contemporary Cantonese restaurant Crystal Jade Pristine opened recently at Scotts Square while at least two more eateries and several bakeries are slated for the suburbs this year.

Indeed, the brand has become a household name, one that is synonymous with consistent and reliable Chinese cuisine.

For this interview, Mr Ip requests to meet at Crystal Jade Dining IN at VivoCity, one of the brand's high-end restaurants that boasts an expansive view of the waterfront and elegant private rooms.

Dressed in typical chief executive-type garb of a dark suit and tie, the soft- spoken and slightly reserved Mr Ip chats over afternoon tea and quips: "Sometimes, I call myself very stupid. I was advised not to invest in Crystal Jade but I still did."

Laughing, he adds, in Hong Kong- accented English: "I knew nothing about restaurants, only how to eat at them."

Back in 1992, when Mr Ip plonked his cash into Crystal Jade - a marked change from the piano- and clock-making businesses he was involved with at the time - it was his brother-in-law Mr Leung who was in the restaurant business although it must be said that Mr Ip has always been appreciative of good cooking.

Mr Leung is married to Hera, sister of Mr Ip's wife, Michelle, 50.

The previous year, Mr Leung had opened Crystal Jade Restaurant at the Cairnhill Hotel, which has since been demolished. It had a strong following but was, somehow, failing to take off.

Cue Mr Ip. The Hong Konger would dine there whenever he was in town for business, having done so ever since it opened. The food was good, he says, but the business was not profitable, which he reckons was due to its location - it was not central enough.

So, as a loyal patron, he decided to pump in money to keep one of his favourite restaurants afloat.

The 63-year-old, who became a Singapore permanent resident in 2008, injected more than S$2 million into the ailing restaurant. He then became the eatery's majority shareholder, overseeing the strategic direction of the company.

He felt that expanding to better locations was the way to go. This included the opening of Crystal Jade Palace Restaurant at Takashimaya in 1993. The business became profitable in one or two years, he says.

The restaurant continued to thrive and expanded with new outlets. Today, the group, which employs about 5,000 people, has an annual turnover of S$240million, of which half comes from his Singapore restaurant business.

The rest comes from the group's 65 overseas outlets, which may increase if Mr Ip expands into the new markets he is currently exploring - India and the United States. More are also slated for China and Hong Kong this year.

So what of the rivalry between the relatives that led to the split?

Mr Leung had been a shareholder and managing director of Crystal Jade while his brothers Jimmy and Vincent had held executive managerial positions.

According to previous reports, the departure was due to "issues" and "differences in philosophy". There was also much talk in the industry back then that the former business partners were not on speaking terms at the time.

But all that, Mr Ip says, is "water under the bridge". He repeats the phrase for emphasis and does not care to elaborate what "issues" he had with Mr Leung because it has long passed.

Imperial Treasure, when contacted, declined to comment on the matter.

These days, Mr Ip says, their paths "don't cross much", even though the two are brothers-in-law.

His wife now oversees Crystal Jade's Hong Kong restaurant operations. Their daughter Olivia, 20, will be attending university in Australia this year.

Water under the bridge it may be but one thing is for sure about Mr Ip's investment in Crystal Jade: He was never terribly worried about it. He was already a successful businessman in his own right.

The same year he invested in Crystal Jade, he had started a piano-manufacturing business Artfield Piano in China. He also owned the majority share in a clock- and watch-manufacturing company, Artfield Manufacturing Co, that he and three partners started in Hong Kong in 1984.

In an unassuming manner, the no- nonsense head honcho says: "I did not need the investment in Crystal Jade to yield anything. I'm a risk-taker. I can take risks all the time but I measure the risk. As soon as I know that it will not affect my principal business, I tend to take risks."

And Mr Ip, an electrical engineering dropout, certainly knows a thing or two about taking risks.

Over a four-year period, from the mid- to late-1970s, he made a decent bundle on the share market in Hong Kong where he multiplied his savings of HK$160,000 (S$25,300) to more than HK$1 million, which he then used to start the clock- and watch-manufacturing company.

This was a business he knew nothing about. He had previously worked at a computer hardware company from the age of 20 to 30, during which he rose through the ranks from engineer to supervisor to manager.

Still, he saw potential in this industry because he figured everyone would need a watch or a clock at some point in time.

That company went public in 1995 with an annual profit of HK$43 million. He sold his stake in 1998.

Friends had advised him against going into restaurants because of the many "loopholes" that could pave the way for corruption - from chefs taking kickbacks from suppliers to pilfering from the tills.

He says: "Restaurants are not an easy business because it involves a lot of people and it is not easy to handle people."

But with the right management skills, coupled with Mr Ip's strong business acumen, nothing seemed impossible. "There is no big difference between managing a manufacturing company and a restaurant. I treated both similarly because they are the same - they rely on the product, managing people and managing the bottom line," he says.

In 2009, he was recognised for his efforts: He received the prestigious Rotary-Association of Small and Medium Enterprises' Entrepreneur Of The Year award in the overall category.

Examples of his strategies include putting procedures in place to prevent any form of corruption. This includes buying ingredients as a group. Chefs and staff need to inform the purchasing team of required quantities of ingredients. The process thereby cuts out their direct interaction with suppliers and eliminates the temptation to accept kickbacks.

His wide-scale business success is in contrast to his modest childhood.

Home was a cramped 1,000 sq ft house where the second of seven children shared a room with his youngest brother. His father ran a grocery shop while his housewife mother saw to the children.

He still lives in Tai Po in the New Territories, where he grew up, in an apartment with his wife and daughter.

He even heads to the local market to suss out ingredients when he is back in Hong Kong, which is usually only at the weekend, as he spends alternate weeks - weekdays, at least - seeing to his eateries in cities north and south of Hong Kong.

A chief executive of a big restaurant group hardly needs to do the marketing himself but he says he likes to. "They do not know me there," he says with a laugh. "It is fun. I buy various ingredients, cook and taste them. I can teach myself new things by going to the market."

Cooking is something close to his heart. It is a skill he learnt from his mother in his youth.

He may not be a trained chef but the passionate restaurateur, who knows the tastebuds and nuances of Chinese restaurantgoers from Singapore to north China, often provides advice for new dishes at his restaurants.

In fact, he takes a hands-on approach with his restaurant business that not only involves working on the menu alongside his chefs but also selecting the sites for new restaurants. He is still chairman of Artfield Piano but leaves its running to the management there, spending only a few hours on that business every month.

He busies himself with his restaurants where he is keen on creating and keeping flavours fresh, such as through the use of Western ingredients in Chinese cooking.

For instance, he recently asked chefs to come up with a dish using Spanish jamon Iberico de bellota - ham from black pigs that feed on acorns - and hazelnut oil. The result: an aromatic baked rice dish that, he says, is very tasty.

His approach also extends to areas that include the human resources department, says Ms Lareen Kan, vice- president of the group's finance, human resources and purchasing departments.

Ms Kan, who is in her 50s and has been working for the Crystal Jade group since Day One, says: "Mr Ip is very kind and caring and also gives ideas on how we can improve staff management such as through incentives and rewards."

Several years ago, he suggested holding staff gatherings to improve morale and for co-workers to get to know one another better. Get-togethers are now held twice or thrice a year, Ms Kan says.

The business has weathered tough times from economic crises to Sars. During Sars, for example, the fine-dining business declined by half. Business from the casual dining segment fell by a third.

Mr Ip says: "There is no trick to surviving a downturn. We insist on our commitment to good quality food, good service and fair prices. Customers know that they get the best value at Crystal Jade, so they keep coming back."

During the recent global financial meltdown, the company did not make a loss though it saw a slight decrease in sales.

Despite the group's profitability, it is still privately held and Mr Ip has no plans to take it public just yet.

"I have thought about it but only a little. As a public company, you need to satisfy your investors, there is much pressure to get more profit and expand which may lead to over-expansion, which can be risky."

Ask him about his favourite dishes, though, and he lights up. "I like simple food. Barbecued meat and roast pork belly," he says.

The mere mention of those dishes will make anyone salivate. But let the food do the talking. Mid-way through the interview, he gestures to the fruit, Chinese pastries and dessert of glutinous rice balls at the table and urges you to have some.

The glutinous rice balls are sweet, supple and elegant.

There is no roast pork at the table but one cannot help but picture the pork's succulent layers and its crunchy crackling skin that always hits the spot.