Entrepreneurship & Transformation of

Subway

The MRCA Youth Division had a treat in May, when they were privy to a rare sharing of an
entrepreneurial husband and wife team – Dato’ Vincent Choo and Datin Cynthia Leong of Subway
Malaysia.

This dynamic duo helmed the master franchisor for more than 14 years. Not many know that he rose
from humble beginnings enduring several hardships armed with perseverance and determination.

Vincent’s father was a hawker and a Kungfu Master and despite that, it didn’t earn him very much.
He related how he kept fighting fish and discovered that the aquarium shops were willing to buy his
fish for a price higher than what he purchased. This started him out on his first business opportunity
with him purchasing his own tanks and rearing more fish.

But despite his small success, he still cycled to school on an old beat up bicycle and endured ridicule
from his schoolmates. This young boy, who had already had some success with his first business
endeavour, decided to venture into dealing with bicycle parts. This enabled him to upgrade to a
racing bike by the time he finished secondary school, which was pretty expensive back then!

This school football captain attributes it to setting goals and creating dreams for him to achieve. He
also stressed on the importance of the right product and the right market for that product.

With his father’s help, Vincent got into KDU where he could pursue his American transfer program
degree. As fate would have it, he would meet his future wife at the same college, where they would
pursue studies in the US together. Not one to leave things to chance, he found a way to make
additional money for both himself and Cynthia, as money was insufficient. With foresight and never
give up approach, they decided to pack along cheap mementos from Malaysia and sold it at a higher
US price.

The youths who were attentively listening ooohh-ed and aaahh-ed when he said he willingly did it
for love. He shared never-disclosed before pictures of them as a young couple, their graduation
ceremony and of their home.

He went on to work as a custodian at the college, car salesman and even as a bartender. Meanwhile
Cynthia had received her Masters and was allowed to work on campus giving several public talks for
first year students.

Vincent, armed with a marketing degree and desperate for a job, started at the bottom rung of
Kroger, a retail chain, as a cashier. His steadfast resolve landed him as Head of Operations within a
few years. When he returned to Malaysia, he joined other retail giants and FMCGs such as 7-11, Ace
Canning, F&N Dairies, M&Ms and eventually at Anton Berg as Area Director. His strength in
merchandising marketing led to a well-paid consultant career with Anton Berg.

He later decided to leap into managing his own business and started out with producing jams,
sanitary napkins and juices.

Subway came along a year later, and Vincent gave up managing the 4 businesses solely and
concentrated on being the Master Franchisor for Subway Malaysia.
He shared how hard work, being hands-on and having a positive attitude were the qualities he lived
by. He stressed on having the right product and some luck as well. He parted with some sanguine
advice that happiness and peace should be a priority in one’s life. Vincent was reflective on how the
long hours and stress affected his health and sleep for several years and it wasn’t worth the money
earned. He believed that it is now his time to give back and embark on a spiritual journey for his own
contentment.

Cynthia took over the helm and shared the history of Subway, which has been around since 1965
and is at 44,000 locations in 110 countries, being the biggest franchise business worldwide. Malaysia
chalks up 223 stores with 140 stores in Klang Valley, their first store at Jalan Pinang, Kuala Lumpur in
April 2005. She also shared their vision for growth and expansion and revealed Subway’s uniqueness
is their commitment in making the sandwiches ‘the way the customer likes it’. Subway sandwiches
contains 6gms of fat or less, making it a healthier choice of meal as well as being affordable. Subway
prices has only seen an increase of one ringgit over the last 14 years.

She mentioned the accolades and honours received, one of it being the Top Global Franchise award
by Subway World and the recent Putra Awards. On a lighter note, Cynthia showed the many non-
traditional locations, such as military bases, food trucks, churches, floating marinas and even in a
windmill!

After the warm sharing, the energetic couple, to everyone’s delight, led them to the Subway outlet
below and made customised sandwiches for all present, ending the insightful evening.