99 Speed Mart, one From Malaysia The largest convenience store chain is one of the company’s latest companies Southeast Asia 500It debuted after its 2024 IPO, the largest in Malaysia in seven years.
Revenue of $2.2 billion, 99Smart generates enough sales to rank it at No. 158 wealthRanking the largest Southeast Asian companies by revenue. The company currently has 2,833 stores and 20 distribution centers nationwide and plans to reach 3,000 stores by the end of this year.
But the story of 99 Speed Mart is also about its founder Lee Thiam Wah, just like the growth of the convenience store chain.
Li contracted polio at a very young age and then lost the use of his legs. He spent most of his life in a wheelchair. “No one would hire me because of my physical limitations.” Tell Forbes In an interview in 2010. In that interview, he cited his grandfather’s advice: “What would you be if you don’t work hard?”
KG Krishnan – Bloomberg by Getty Images
Lee’s retail career began when he began selling snacks from roadside stalls. He then opened his first mini market as a sole proprietorship in 1987, and then established 99 markets in 1992. By 1998, he had a network of 8 mini markets and established 99 Speed Mart two years later.
According to the IPO prospectus, 99 Speed Mart is now the largest mini-market player in Malaysia. 99 Speed Mart has 40% of the market in global competition such as 7-11, and the chain also has an 11% share of the grocery market.
The company raised $532 million in an IPO last September, the largest in Malaysia in seven years. Listing has made Lee a billionaire and one of the richest people in Malaysia.
99 Speed Mart plans to use IPO proceeds to fund its global expansion. exist interview After listing, Lee said in the case of Bloomberg that he was looking for “good opportunities” to go abroad, but so far there are no “specific plans”. (99 Speed Mart briefly had an exit in Singapore and then evacuated due to the pandemic).
In addition to being CEO of 99 Speed Mart, Lee also owns franchises in Malaysia and Singapore Burger King and is the third largest shareholder of the Malaysian Alliance Bank, according to Bloomberg.
Stocks of 99 Speed stock have risen 9.57% since its IPO in September. During the same period, Malaysia’s benchmark FTSE BURSA Malaysia KLCI index fell by about 8%.
