Bonn

Sakae Sushi is a restaurant chain from Singapore that specialises in affordable Japanese food served to diners via a kaiten (conveyor belt). Since the opening of its first outlet in 1997, the chain has expanded to over 60 locations across Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, China and Thailand. The brainchild of entrepreneur Douglas Foo, Sakae is the flagship brand of Singapore-listed company Apex-Pal.

Background

In 1996, Douglas Foo set up Apex-Pal with a Japanese partner to enter the garment trade. Soon after, Foo began searching for a different business opportunity in which he would have first-mover advantage and a competitive edge. As his wife Yen Khoon had a liking for Japanese food, Foo frequented Japanese restaurants in Singapore and eventually struck on the idea of serving Japanese food at affordable prices.

Despite an economic crisis in Asia at the time and his lack of experience in the food industry, Foo decided that there was a niche for a kaiten (conveyor belt) sushi chain serving Japanese food at affordable, mass market prices and steered Apex-Pal in this direction. His Japanese partner did not agree with the change and withdrew his shareholding, leaving Foo to set up and source for funds for the fledgling business.

After travelling to Japan and Hong Kong to observe and learn from kaiten sushi restaurants, Foo set up the first Sakae Sushi outlet in 1997 in OUB Centre at Raffles Place, in the heart of Singapore’s financial district. “Sakae” was chosen for the name of the outlet as it means “growth” in Japanese and also sounds similar to sake, a Japanese liquor. The 1,300 square foot outlet with seating for 100 customers was an immediate success, and Sakae’s simple price structure proved to be very popular. The majority of sushi dishes were priced at S$1.90 and premium dishes at S$6.50, which made Sakae more affordable than other Japanese restaurants. Sakae’s popularity prompted the opening of a second, 2,900 square foot outlet at...