For automotive group Vin’s Holdings, being the first business to list on the Singapore Exchangethis year marks a stepping stone to greater things. “After we achieved robust growth from 2021 to 2023, we discussed how to continue it, and decided that having this public platform will boost our visibility and fuel further growth,” says the CEO, Galvin Khong. Notably, Vin’s Holdings went from generating $75 million in revenue in 2021 to just over $106 million in revenue in 2023.
Since Khong’s father founded the firm in Singapore in 1987 as a motor vehicle workshop, it has grown into a one-stop automotive solutions provider. Today, it not only sells cars but also offers after-sales servicing and maintenance, insurance claims support and replacement car loans in the event of accidents. Now, Khong is looking to take it even further.
“Preparing for the initial public offering (IPO) helped us to formalise our internal control and other policies. We’re also going to use part of the IPO proceeds to expand our footprint. We’re looking to open a new showroom in the first half of 2025, and have more in the next few years to broaden our reach. After that, we may go into other countries that practice right-hand driving,” he says.
In after-sales, the firm is exploring ways to enhance its capabilities, such as by expanding its network of physical service locations. It will also upgrade its tech infrastructure, including acquiring advanced tools for vehicle breakdowns, accident repairs and other complex processes. The IPO proceeds will fund these improvements.
As part of its broader strategy, Vin’s aims to be at the forefront of the shift towards electric and other sustainable vehicles, driven in part by the need to address climate change. Khong notes that government policies will not only increase the number of electric cars on the roads but also accelerate the adoption of other eco-friendly alternatives to petrol vehicles.
He says: “For now, Vin’s is focusing on trading more pre-owned electric vehicles. At the same time, we are analysing the electric vehicles from China and their manufacturers, to weigh whether any of them are suitable, strategic partners with which we can collaborate. We want to make sure that we’re still relevant and thrive in a more electrified future.”
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Shifting gears
With the long-term future of the business in mind, Khong is also driving its digital transformation. When he joined in 2014, operations still relied heavily on paperwork. He led a gradual shift towards digital systems, starting with a transition from paper to Excel spreadsheets to ease the adjustment for many long-serving staff, before moving on to more advanced enterprise resource planning and other integrated platforms.
He adds: “We’re currently developing our own tech system because we did a review last year and found that we now have multiple systems all over the place. We’re building and customising our own system, so that we can centralise all of the data that we have, and collect more. This will enable us to make better decisions, especially once we bring in artificial intelligence.”
He outlines Vin’s comprehensive vision to embed digitalisation: in the back-end, to streamline and optimise its operations to save time, effort and costs and gear up support and services for clients; and, on the customer-facing side, to gather more data through apps to generate useful and actionable insights and unlock new opportunities.
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Predictive pricing is one potential outcome. “Right now, it’s quite tough to determine the best-selling price for used cars. With enough data, we could predict, if we price a car in a particular price range, what would be the expected turnaround. That’s just one way we could become more efficient and increase our sales.”
Each person drives differently, Khong adds. With an app for our customers and their consent, the firm could make suggestions based on their driving patterns. It could notify them when they should come in for vehicle servicing. If the in-house digital system finds that a client likes to change cars every two to three years, it could alert employees to reach out ahead of time.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about how we can serve the customer,” he says. “We want to ensure that we are giving every one of our clients a very tailored and personalised experience with us. We want to equip our staff with the tools and knowledge that they need to deliver consistently for the customer.”
Dream team
While Khong’s plans are ambitious and wide-ranging, he is ready to put in the work to achieve them, a trait he learned from his father, the firm’s executive director and chairman. “When I was growing up, I watched him build this company day after day. Even now, he’s in the office seven days a week. I lose to him because I don’t come in on Sundays,” Khong says with a laugh.
Before joining the family business, the younger Khong was working for Toyota in Japan, having completed a master’s degree in engineering there. “My dad called me in late 2013 and asked me to come back. At the time, I thought, I’m Singaporean. My family and friends are in Singapore. It felt right to return and do this. It ticked all the boxes for me.”
From his time in Japan, he has introduced two guiding principles for staff. One is omotenashi, which means hospitality. The Japanese people’s world-renowned reputation for hospitality and customer service is a model for the company, with Vin’s already boasting glowing reviews from the vast majority of its clients.
The other principle is kaizen, the Japanese philosophy of continually making improvements, even if they are small, incremental ones. This underpins both Khong’s larger roadmap for Vin’s and his ask of himself and individual employees: striving to do better, and listening carefully to feedback, including from clients, to consider what more they can do.
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With his ideas complemented by his father’s nearly four decades of industry experience, he believes they make a strong team. “We’re a good hybrid between the traditional and modern. I bring some fresh perspectives to the table, and he has gone through just about everything and has taught me so much because of this.”
Their goal is to transform Vin’s into a tech-driven, one-stop automotive powerhouse. He adds: “We want to be a household name in Singapore, the company people think of when they think of cars and mobility. If we get to that stage, we want to make it big overseas and fly the Singapore flag high. That’s our long-term dream. That’s what will make us very proud.”
About Vin’s Holdings:
Vin’s Holdings is a leading integrated automotive solutions provider in Singapore. With a commitment to excellence and innovation, the group offers a comprehensive range of services that cater to the diverse needs of individuals and businesses in the automotive industry.
Vin’s Holdings is dedicated to delivering high-quality automotive solutions through its expertise, strategic partnerships, and customer-centric approach. With convenient locations across Singapore, Vin’s Holdings is a preferred one-stop provider for:
Automobile Sales and Related Services — the sale of new, pre-owned, and scrap cars, floor stock financing, as well as referral fees from insurance agencies.
Automobile After-Sales Services — motor vehicle maintenance and repair services, accident repairs and insurance claims, and sale of salvaged spare parts from wrecked vehicles.
Automobile Financing and Related Services —in-house motor vehicle financing and arranging financing from financial institutions.
Automobile Rental and Leasing Services — short-term rentals and long-term leasing.
For more information, visit https://vinsautogroup.com.sg/
About kopi-C: The Company Brew
kopi-C is a regular column by SGX Research in collaboration with Beansprout (https://growbeansprout.com), a MAS-licensed investment advisory platform, that features C-level executives of leading companies listed on SGX. These interviews are profiles of senior management aimed at helping investors better understand the individuals who run these corporations
