Brands & Branding and Private Labels Case Study

Apex-Pal International Ltd, Singapore-based Food and Beverage Company: Founder CEO, Douglas Foo’s Brand Building Strategies

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Abstract:
Douglas Foo is the founder of Apex-Pal, a Singapore-based food and beverage company. Apex-Pal owns food and beverage brands like “Sakae Sushi”, “Sakae Express”, etc., and it plans to make it as big as McDonalds. Apex-Pal was started in 1997 amidst the Asian financial crisis as a small enterprise in Singapore. Its first ‘Sakae Sushi’ restaurant was started with a capital of S$300,000. In a corporate world, which amasses money out of borrowed capital, Douglas Foo is said to have created wealth and fame without borrowing a dime. His corporate philosophy has proved to be a magic wand in Singapore and with Apex-Pal stretching its arms to reach the US, Canada and Europe, the efficacy of his expansion strategy is yet to be seen.

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To highlight the business philosophy of Douglas Foo
• To understand the influence of personal values of the founder on his business practices
• To discuss the growth strategy of Apex-Pal
• To analyse the efficacy of the current business strategy of Apex-Pal in the light of its future challenges.

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