Tim Ho Wan builds repeat visits through customer joy

Dim sum chain responds to rising costs and labour shortages by doubling down on quality.

Tim Ho Wan is responding to Singapore’s rising rents, labour shortages, and softer consumer demand by sharpening its focus on customer happiness rather than aggressive cost-cutting or rapid expansion.

Sheng Lee, CEO of Tim Ho Wan, said the operating environment in Singapore has become more challenging, citing “rising cost, shortage of labor, overall, reduced demand.” Instead of reacting defensively, the brand is centring its strategy on guest experience. “What really matters the most in a challenging environment is to make sure that every single guest that steps out of a store is happy.,” Lee said.

Lee said repeat visits and word-of-mouth are driven by joy, which starts with food quality. “A joyful customer really goes back to ensuring that the quality of products that are actually being served would actually wow them,” he said. That focus is paired with service standards Lee says are resonating with diners. “Customers are actually complimenting our service team members by name,” he added, pointing to online reviews as evidence.

Value remains a key pillar, but not in the form of discounting. “Value for Singapore consumers is not really about the cheapest product,” Lee said. “It is really what am I getting for what am I paying for?” He described Tim Ho Wan’s foundation as “quality of products, good service and great value to our consumers.”

To maintain consistency amid labour constraints, Tim Ho Wan has invested heavily in training and systems. “We now have an expert chef program whereby global chefs are actually going into the market to actually train the teams in Singapore,” Lee said. Standardised documentation and processes are designed to make quality “replicable, not only in one store, but across multiple stores.”

While Tim Ho Wan operates 85 stores across 11 markets, Lee said growth will remain disciplined. “For every single store that we open, we want to ensure consistency,” he said.

In Singapore, expansion will extend beyond new locations into delivery and new dayparts. “Delivery has actually been a fast growing trend in Singapore,” Lee said, adding that the company is also evaluating breakfast and dinner opportunities to complement its lunch strength.