Who holds the Power?
If these questions below are analysed and discussed:
- What sustains a kopitiam?
- What are the key success factors?
- Which parties hold greater power – the consumers, the stallholders or the kopitiam owner?
the kopitiam owner’s ability to increase the rental of stall owners should be kept in check or limited to only a very small percentage.
What sustains a kopitiam? It is the residents in the neighbourhood of the coffeeshop that sustains it by going to there to patronise the foodstalls. The residents are the most important group of people to the kopitiam. This is all the more so in this day and age of Work From Home (WFH). For without residents patronising the foodstalls, how will they be able to sustain their business?
What are the Key Success Factors of a kopitiam (KSF)? It is necessary for the kopitiam to have a good selection of foodstalls to keep the tastebuds of the residents in the neighbourhood tantalised or excited. There should the traditional ‘cai peng’, chicken rice, noodles, western food, ‘zhi char’ stalls, etc. so that most of the residents can obtain their meals from one location. Having the right combination of foodstalls is half the battle won. Next, the quality of food – how delicious or yummy – are the dishes sold by the foodstalls? With the right combination of foodstalls and delicious meals, the kopitiam should be on the path to success as business will be brisk. All these is assuming that the foodstall rental is affordable for the stall owners. That would be the 3rd KSF.
Which parties hold the greater power to make or break a kopitiam? After a while if residents find the selection of foodstalls limited or food sold do not excite or tantalise their tastebuds, they would soon go to another kopitiam. If the food is good, even if it’s just one or two stalls, residents and people from afar will also come to this kopitiam. The worst case would be where the food is lousy and expensive. That for sure will drive all customers away.
You Hold The Power
Our Point Of View 