From Two to One Hundred Fifty Staff: The Story of Henatenn’s Founders So Far

Spanning three companies, thousands of stock-keeping units (SKUs), and an international presence in China, it’s hard to imagine that Henatenn Holdings started due to a chance encounter between two friends.

Ben Lim and Eugene Tay first met as classmates at Temasek Polytechnic. After their first lesson, they went for lunch together and became very close friends.

How They Decided To Enter Beauty Retail: Part-time Start, Full-time Goal

Ben shares that their interest in beauty retail started when they both did part-time work in a department store:

“During our time at Temasek Polytechnic, both of us were part-time promoters in the department store, promoting fragrances on weekends.

Slowly, we learned about opportunities that we could explore, such as buying from wholesalers and selling to other retailers.”

A Singapore-based HQ Provides a Strategic Location, Established Resources and Lets Them Help Home-grown Brands

Eugene shares the logic behind headquartering in Singapore:

“We have been in Singapore since day one. Both of us are Singaporean, and we are a home-grown company. 

While we have started to trade overseas, our means, contacts, networks, and everything else is still in Singapore.

Our country in Southeast Asia lets us connect with Asia and Western countries. As a company based in Singapore, I think we have the advantage of connecting with the rest of the world.”

With their established channels and international networks, Eugene and Ben both believe in allowing home-grown Singaporean brands to succeed. Eugene mentioned:

“When you talk about beauty, everyone talks about Japan’s beauty brands, such as Korean. We noticed that some brands' founders in Singapore are passionate about building their brands. However, they lack a platform to grow.”

Ben adds:

“Due to e-commerce and social media, your competition is now global. Being a homegrown retailer, you want to build up your local beauty brands.”

Eugene closed off by saying:

We have our network overseas. We can use that to help our Singapore brands expand beyond of their original market through our network and experience in these countries.”

Changes over the Years: Responding to Complex Challenges With Creative Solutions

Covid brought challenges, but Henatenn responded with upgrades. Ben shared:

“During the Covid period, there was a labor crunch. 

That is the challenge we face in the business, pushing us to find a more creative solution. We needed to redesign our whole distribution center. That was the point in time that we go and explore for an automated warehouse solution.”

This wasn’t the only thing they changed. They worked with their operations team to digitize their processes and power their company with data analytics. You can find out more about this in the operations team interview.

As The Company Grew, They Fostered a Feedback Culture

“We are a typical SME. We grew from nothing. 

Starting with me and Eugene, we slowly hired our first staff, then our first warehouse assistant or driver. Slowly, we grow the office with a hundred over people,” said Ben.

As the team grew, their leadership style evolved. Ben shared:

“Our leadership style has changed. As the company grows bigger, of course, as founders, our leadership skills have to shift. As founders, we need to be more influential and move towards a coaching style.”

Eugene added:

“We’re trying to build a feedback culture where people listen to each other try to influence each other through good feedback that you can improve yourself.

We have a lot of debates. We want to know how people think differently and what angles our talent brings to our company. We want to learn from them.”

Ben and Eugene don’t mind rolling up their sleeves, either. During Henatenn’s annual atrium sales events, the whole company is involved in every aspect of the event, from stocking to cashiering to ushering. 

You can often find Ben and Eugene engaging in sales and supporting the event on the ground there. You can find out more about Henatenn’s annual atrium sales here.

Employees Who Are Proud of Henatenn Inspire Their Founders

Eugene and Ben mentioned that Henatenn has gathered many employees in the past 10 years who are proud of the company. Their pride in Henatenn inspires them as well.

With the amount of history that Henatenn has to Ben and Eugene, they liken the company to the joy of raising children. Ben says:

“We treated the company like a kid since the beginning, and kids will bring you happiness. We want to ensure our kid grows, and Eugene and I are really committed to the company.”

Ben and Eugene are still going strong, and their journey to keep growing Henatenn and supporting home-grown Singapore brands has only just begun. 

Are you seeking a company headed by a strategic, flexible team with a strong feedback culture? Look no further and join our team today!