With $2.2 billion in revenue, 99 Speed Mart generated enough sales to land it at No. 158 on Fortune’s ranking of the largest Southeast Asian companies by revenue. The company currently has 2,833 outlets and 20 distribution centers across the country, and plans to reach 3,000 outlets by the end of the year.
But 99 Speed Mart’s story is also as much a story about its founder, Lee Thiam Wah, as it is about the growth of a convenience store chain.
Lee’s retail career got its start when he started selling snacks from a roadside stall. He then opened his first mini market in 1987 as a sole proprietorship, then established Ninety Nine Market in 1992. By 1998, he had a network of 8 mini markets, and established 99 Speed Mart two years later.
Now, 99 Speed Mart is the largest mini-market player in Malaysia, according to its IPO prospectus. 99 Speed Mart holds 40% of the market against global competition like 7-Eleven, and the chain also has an 11% share of the grocery market.
The company raised $532 million in an IPO last September, Malaysia’s largest in seven years. The listing made Lee a billionaire, and one of Malaysia’s richest men.
In addition to being the CEO of 99 Speed Mart, Lee also operates franchising rights for Burger King in Malaysia and Singapore, and is the third-largest shareholder of Alliance Bank Malaysia, according to Bloomberg.
Shares in 99 Speed Mart are up 9.57% since September’s IPO. Malaysia’s benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI index is down about 8% over the same period.
