Lunar New Year

[jw5]

Why are you guys not getting along! Be friends boys! *GROUP HUG*

I don't mind shaking silverfox's hand, but please don't ask me to hug either of you.

 

[jw5]

lola i find your IQ is not very high. do u read during your spare time?

EQ also not that high.

 

[jw5]

I stopped attending Chinese Lunar New Year family gathering ever since I migrated overseas. For me, it's not a celebration but a useless extended family gathering which is an obligation.

You can always meet family members and relatives whom you get along well with anytime, right?

 

[jw5]

CNY is an occasion when family and friends get together to chill out... its like any family gathering except its nation wide in oriental countries... and in some asian communities in the west...

i find the idea of reunion dinner a good thing because nowadays people tend to be money chasing and forgot that family is the foundation of a holistic well being...

forget about the pap... GOD comes first.. then my family...

Actually I think the reunion dinner and giving ang pows are good traditions.
It's just that these simple and heartwarming practices have been tarnished by greedy and gossipy people who want to make money from ang pows and want to get more gossip fodder for themselves.

 

[jw5]

Could they just ask "How have you been lately?" and let the person speak about whatever he wants to? Or why don't they ask questions like "Do you need any help or advice?" and let the person ask?
The answer is simple. In most cases, these people whom you only meet once a year just want to have gossip fodder.

looks like yr relatives & social circle very 'low crass' cheena one ...

if u from upper class, wif highly educated, professional ppl in yr social circle, then they will ask 'how have u been' ... 'how do u do ?' 'im very well thank you' ... would u like to come for tea ... i would be delighted ... thats an excellent idea ...

Hey, I think you are right!

 

[silverfox@]

Ok noted.
But a few months ago, wasn't it you who posted in the gambling folder / thread that you did not want to tell your relatives that you were gambling for a living because they wouldn't understand?
May I now ask 2 questions:
1. Why did you say that you gambled for a living then but not now? (you did say that you had some side business as well then)
2. Why would you be concerned about telling your relatives if they were nice, understanding and concerned people?
I'm not trying to start an online battle with you, but despite the fact that we don't know one another from Adam, you should realize that you will be questioned if your forum persona is inconsistent over time.

1) I didn't mention I gambled for a living. I only said I loved gambling and gamble often. Gambling can be in different forms. Playing shares is a form of gambling. Playing metals such as Gold, Silver is also gambling.
When I talk about casinos, its just a part of my portfolio on gambling.

I don't have a full time job, because I don't work for people. I still have my own business and setups. When the market is not plunging, I have to go a lot of sites and places to view different properties for good investment. Market is weak for the year 2008, that was why I am relatively quite free.

2) You see, there is a difference in telling your relatives that you gamble often and when they organise trips to Genting. I have many relatives. So average 1 of them will go probably twice a year up to 4 times a year. They have their work, so they could afford only that few avai periods. When my relatives jio me to go, it doesn't mean they knew I have been gambling in casinos. Just like you could have gone Geylang always, but when people jio you, you don't go tell them you know the place freaking well. That is to say, though you go to a casino often, you don't reveal to them that you go very often. If you have a lot of money, you don't tell people you are rich. A certain line has to be drawn. I don't go with them, because if I do, I will bump into familiar croupiers who will say "wah you are here again". When you lose, people start to say addicted gambling, keep losing and feeding habit. When you win, people start to think, he has available money to lend. I don't see any advantage in telling relatives I knew that I gamble in casinos.

Family, work, business, money, the line has to be drawn very carefully. If you read Nanz Chong book on her start to failure of her famous $1.99 business, she mentioned, never hire your own relatives, because they are people you can hire and never sack.

Over here, I can relate, because you and me and everyone else are using a moniker, no one knows who we are in real life. You still lead a normal life outside the online world. Just look at Sam. He runs a porn site, everyone knows here, but I am sure he don't go around telling people in real life he is Sam Leong.

Meeting up with relatives on this CNY occasion is an occasion where everyone should be joyous, a time for big families or people you never seen for the past year to meet up and catch up. There is no need to feel irritable over how people ask you questions and get defensive.

 

[silverfox@]

I don't mind shaking silverfox's hand, but please don't ask me to hug either of you.

You will never be able to shake my hand, because even if you do in real life, you wouldn't know I am silverfox. Keep your online identity a secret and never meet up anyone online. I think Sam said that in his profile before.

 

[Zombie]

Good time to play mahjong.

 

[lolabunny]

Family, work, business, money, the line has to be drawn very carefully. If you read Nanz Chong book on her start to failure of her famous $1.99 business, she mentioned, never hire your own relatives, because they are people you can hire and never sack.

Firstly, I don't understand the sinkie obssession of learning from failures, I read the book and this idea of mine didn't change.

Secondly, her problem was that she should learn to fire relatives if they suck, should she want to hire them. I can't believe that she didn't get that before she failed because in an Asian context, what she says is very true.

I think she failed because she wasn't very good at picking her retail outlet location. 1.99 was doomed to failure ( I was a shopper there, thus I bothered analyzing) -- they picked ulu places like Bt Batok and had too many central locations clustered around Orchard and Marina. Had she moved into the heartlands like Jurong Point, AMK or Woodlands, she would have flourished better. She had a very town centric focus and I thought that she didn't understand heartland shopping centre retailing.

At that time, I predicted that her returns per square foot of retail space (based on sales and rent) in certain outlets would have failed her when the economy tanked. Surprisingly, Daiso's concept is pretty similar to mine for discount outlets. We would know as we watch how Daiso expands in sinkieland. (Btw I don't work there, so no chance of kelong).

Up till now, I don't think Nanz really know why she failed even though she wrote a book. Her product mix and quality was fantastic, too good in fact, and too many whimsical items -- which showed that she was extremely product centric. That won't do in a "99-yen" business. It's all about margins and product marginal ultility.

 

[lolabunny]

Actually I think the reunion dinner and giving ang pows are good traditions.
It's just that these simple and heartwarming practices have been tarnished by greedy and gossipy people who want to make money from ang pows and want to get more gossip fodder for themselves.

It really depends on which family you come from.

These are good traditions, especially if you don't have time to see your relatives very often, even if you feel close to them.

 

[silverfox@]

Firstly, I don't understand the sinkie obssession of learning from failures, I read the book and this idea of mine didn't change.

Reading is for knowledge. Even if you read a lousy book, you learn and not duplicate the same mistakes. You will still learn something out of it.

Secondly, her problem was that she should learn to fire relatives if they suck, should she want to hire them. I can't believe that she didn't get that before she failed because in an Asian context, what she says is very true.

In the 1st place, she shouldn't have started hiring them, no matter how talented they are. It becomes a liability eventually. A liability that cannot be shaken off easily

I think she failed because she wasn't very good at picking her retail outlet location. 1.99 was doomed to failure ( I was a shopper there, thus I bothered analyzing) -- they picked ulu places like Bt Batok and had too many central locations clustered around Orchard and Marina. Had she moved into the heartlands like Jurong Point, AMK or Woodlands, she would have flourished better. She had a very town centric focus and I thought that she didn't understand heartland shopping centre retailing.

At that time, I predicted that her returns per square foot of retail space (based on sales and rent) in certain outlets would have failed her when the economy tanked. Surprisingly, Daiso's concept is pretty similar to mine for discount outlets. We would know as we watch how Daiso expands in sinkieland. (Btw I don't work there, so no chance of kelong).

Daiso is a fad. Once the fad craze is over, it will fade.
Whatever it is, we can learn from people's success and also learn from their failure.

Up till now, I don't think Nanz really know why she failed even though she wrote a book. Her product mix and quality was fantastic, too good in fact, and too many whimsical items -- which showed that she was extremely product centric. That won't do in a "99-yen" business. It's all about margins and product marginal ultility.

We will never know her real reason.

Would you want to sell fishball noodles at $1 a bowl selling 1000 bowls a day or would you want to sell fishball noodles at $2.50 a bowl but you sell 400 bowls daily?

 

[lolabunny]

I don't mind shaking silverfox's hand, but please don't ask me to hug either of you.

Why is my EQ not high? Because I ask two guys to give each other friendly hug?

Didn't Bush & Obama hug for the photo op? Guys do hug each other don't they?

If a guy's son died, would he not hug his other son in grief? For example only. :p If you football team won, won't you hug your team mates?

 

[lolabunny]

Reading is for knowledge. Even if you read a lousy book, you learn and not duplicate the same mistakes. You will still learn something out of it.

Whatever it is, we can learn from people's success and also learn from their failure.


That's precisely my point. You and I read very quickly unlike other people, I finished her book in less than an hour. But not everyone is like this. They should not waste time reading junk when there are better books to read. More importantly, not duplicating the same mistakes doesn't mean you won't fail.

Your mentality is very sinkie, sorry to say. Given you good posts, I'd expected better from you. This point is so sinkie. Every single sinkie person I met who bought this book said what you just said.

I'm not saying that learning from mistakes is not important, i'm saying that it's better to learn from success.

Do you know why USA is a success? They learn from other people's success. Otherwise, you will see shelves of books analyzing why K-mart, TWA and I don't know how many other donkey companies went kaput.

Also, learning from others is for people who cannot create. Pioneers in their fields don't have anyone to learn from, even if they want to. Sinkies cannot create. Fullstop. :p At least you create gambling strategies. If you want to be damn good at gambling, just jinx your love life. Gambling doesn't go with love. :p

In the 1st place, she shouldn't have started hiring them, no matter how talented they are. It becomes a liability eventually. A liability that cannot be shaken off easily


That's my point too. You are right on this.

Daiso is a fad. Once the fad craze is over, it will fade.

No, it's a trend and it's here to stay. This is my call. Let's see who is right.

We will never know her real reason.

I know some other reasons la, but if I say I may get flamed. I can give you one though. A Malaysian investor wanted to invest in 1.99 but Nanz turned it down because he wasn't Christian and she didn't want to "yoke herself" to another non-Christian, even in business. I think they concept would have done well in Malaysia. So is that a good business decision?

What is spectacular is that her shop was really very good. But not as good as Daiso. That's why I say that Daiso is here to stay. If they don't get killed by rents first.

Would you want to sell fishball noodles at $1 a bowl selling 1000 bowls a day or would you want to sell fishball noodles at $2.50 a bowl but you sell 400 bowls daily?

Actually you brought up very good points here. It all depends on the rent and the portions you give. If the first example you quoted is in a school canteen, you can imagine the margins. Of course you may not get rich, but, at least the land lord won't keep increasing rent. Similarly, the same example in say Vietnam, for a road side hawker will make you a very rich person. This is due to PPP and price-value of assets like real estate.

For the second example, it could be in a hawker centre for just during lunch time.

Now hazzard a guess about the Food Republic outlets (their rent and margins) who sell fishball noodles for $6 a bowl, because they supposedly make those using really fresh fish etc.

Selling price and volume of sales of a product only gives you the revenue. If you want to talk about profits, you need to look at the costs and the margins of the product. But i'm sure you already know that.

If you would see the type of product 1.99 used to have compared to say Daiso's, you would really wonder how they can make money, their scale of operations notwithstanding.

 

[GordonGekko]

You can always meet family members and relatives whom you get along well with anytime, right?

I can always meet family members & relatives whom I get along well with when I choose to. Although it will cost money as it involves air travel.

 

[Frankiestine]

A lot of things you mentioned are traditions and cultures. If we don't do these, soon these traditions will be lost.

Traditions? Since the day the gov conducted ethnic cleansing of the Singkee chinese and made Mandarin as the official "mother tongue", every chinese singkees here has lost their culture and tradition..

 

[silverfox@]

If you would see the type of product 1.99 used to have compared to say Daiso's, you would really wonder how they can make money, their scale of operations notwithstanding.
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Daiso's product is better than 1.99
But 1.99 then years ago and 2 now, you never factor in the depreciation of the currency and inflation.
A better product costs more.

Now let's look at their rental. Not cheap hor in Plaza Singapura.When you deal with corporate lease, you will know that these corporate landlords only increase rental or stay at the same. You want rental down, not a chance. Plus Daiso should have signed during the peak or when its moving. A renewal may cost them extra 5-15%.

With their traffic flow, Capitaland t would not let them off that easily with a reduction in rental. Furthermore, Plaza Singapura have a long list of tenants who wish to come in. No shops will be left empty. They would rather see an old tenant go, let a new boy come in and freshen up the shopping experience.

Corporate boys deal leases very differently from personal landlords.

 

[lolabunny]

Daiso's product is better than 1.99
But 1.99 then years ago and 2 now, you never factor in the depreciation of the currency and inflation.
A better product costs more.

Now let's look at their rental. Not cheap hor in Plaza Singapura.When you deal with corporate lease, you will know that these corporate landlords only increase rental or stay at the same. You want rental down, not a chance. Plus Daiso should have signed during the peak or when its moving. A renewal may cost them extra 5-15%.

With their traffic flow, Capitaland t would not let them off that easily with a reduction in rental. Furthermore, Plaza Singapura have a long list of tenants who wish to come in. No shops will be left empty. They would rather see an old tenant go, let a new boy come in and freshen up the shopping experience.

Corporate boys deal leases very differently from personal landlords.

Erm I already know the leases thing la. Corporate landlords won't be so kind, plus their PS shop would be very easily filled up given the size of the shop. It's not like they are Carrefour threatening to move out. The PS one is to complement and contrast with Carrefour's products. I believe it's a showcase and "advertising signboard" as it gives them an Orchard Road presence. PS does straddle 2 MRT lines and have broad cross demographic shoppers.

The Vivo outlet is bigger so may have more bargaining power in terms of lease, though I doubt it given the prestige factor. Their IMM outlet is way better and the crowds are more steady.

Don't worry about the rental coming down. Just think of the people who will not buy at shops, any shops, from Mama shops to supermarkets but instead buy at Daiso in these times. Maybe you are rich lah, but you've no idea how much you can save shopping at Daiso, assuming one is careful not to get tempted by the trinkets. However, many people do get tempted by buying "this and that" and that's where the bill (profit) adds up. You get the drift.

With china and the likes exporting deflation, they will definitely have cheap things to sell. Actually Daiso's products are worse than 1.99 in terms of quality, but better in terms of usefulness. Variety wise, Daiso wins hands down. :p

You can get things in 1.99 with higher intrinsic worth than in Daiso. For example, you get something that normally costs say $5 but you only pay 1.99.

However, Daiso sells things that you sometimes cannot get elsewhere, for example Jap-centric home org products. Or the price can be very close to what is normally retailed elsewhere -- like stationery. You pay a few cents more on the convenience, even if you know it, while you load up on the things that you normally would buy, OR set out to buy.

The product mix is fantastic (from the business point of view) because there are many compelling reasons to buy this and/or that.

And this is not putting "impulse buy" into consideration, which many people do. Interestingly, it is usually the impulse buys that yields the most margins.

Let's see how their landlord can try to kill them. They should really consider moving to Tampines Ikea etc, wherever the rent is cheaper. If they can make sure that almost every shelf has products that move fast, this will really be the killer ap.

In fact, 99 yen shops did very well in Japan during the recession years while supermarkets and departo (department stores) suffered. In this vein, I think T@ngs is going to close down sooner or later. :p

 

[breakaway]

Actually I think the reunion dinner and giving ang pows are good traditions.
It's just that these simple and heartwarming practices have been tarnished by greedy and gossipy people who want to make money from ang pows and want to get more gossip fodder for themselves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-ORYVaMDxw

 

[i_am_belle]

ehh ... angelo avatar changed from little cute gal to macho warrior, after someone commented ... hahaha ...

 

[jw5]

You will never be able to shake my hand, because even if you do in real life, you wouldn't know I am silverfox. Keep your online identity a secret and never meet up anyone online. I think Sam said that in his profile before.

I have been in forums run by Sam for the last 10 years (including the one in delphi) and have never met anyone. Don't want to and don't intend to. And have been using the same nick and sometimes posting the same thread topics.
But I still think that I had a chance encounter with Sam himself many years back.