Mr Ernst
Huber, Chairman of Huber’s Butchery is officially retired after 60 years in the
F&B industry, inclusive of 14 years in growing Huber’s Butchery and
flourishing into what it is today – Singapore’s favourite meat and sausage
purveyor!
Retiring at
the age of 73, Mr Huber is now keeping himself busy and catching up on lost
time. Playing golf as much as he can, working out at the gym, and meeting
up with friends. And most importantly, spending more time with his family
by doing grocery shopping and whipping up different dishes for his loved ones
every now and then. Now with more time on hand, he is making plans in enriching
his life, and one of which is his newly found hobby - reading topics on
nutrition and health.
In the
midst of it all, we managed to catch his time to share with us the ups and
downs in his past journey.
Huber’s Butchery was built with the vision of becoming
Singapore’s best butchery. How do you think the butchery has grown since it
first started in 2007?
Well, I consider it an incredible journey. Both my sons,
Ryan and Andre have set for themselves a very ambitious goal when they started
the company; that is to become the best Butchery in Singapore. When I joined
the company a year later, the 3 of us worked hand-in-hand and accelerated the
process. It sped up even further when I roped in Thomas Kreissl, to be the
General Manager. With such a strong willed and motivated management team, along
with 10 enthusiastic staff, we worked hard towards 3 main goals in mind: to
provide the best quality products, with the best service and value-for-money.
This drives our revenue to grow in multiples yearly and consistently, supported
by a good staff strength of 160 to date.
Looking back on a career of impressive length, what
has been your proudest achievement to date?
There were a few such memorable moments! In 1974, I excelled
and became the youngest Executive Chef in Hilton Hotel globally.
Subsequently, I climbed the corporate ladder to become the Hotel Manager. In
1990, I was honoured to be the President of the Singapore Chef’s Association,
and together we organised the World Chef’s Congress in Singapore. It was
the biggest Chef’s Congress ever held till date and was commented by many chefs
as the best they have ever attended.
The next achievement that brought me pride is when Huber’s
Butchery first became famous and gradually grew to become a local household
name over the years, and receiving industry recognition through the multiple
awards won.
Of course, I take most pride and joy when I see both my sons
taking me as their role model and following in my footsteps. They are doing an
excellent job at taking care of the business and hopefully surpassing my
achievements at the end of the day.
Your work ethic has been motivated by the belief that
“you get the best out of others when you give the best of yourself”. Who or
what has inspired you to adopt such discipline and resoluteness in your
work?
In my first job, I was greatly discouraged when I was told
by my supervisor to do all the work so that he can relax. Having such a bad
experience, when it was my time to be the supervisor, it spurred me to take the
lead and show my team the right way to work. In doing so, it never failed to
motivate everyone in my team. From then on, it became my motto to always take the
lead and do the best I can.
A very interesting thing we have observed; ever so
often you can be found at the butchery, talking to customers, serving them at
the meat counter, and even working on the cashier queue to ensure orderliness.
Is there any particular reason behind your hands-on approach to working with
customers?
Customers
tend to feel good when they see the “Boss” on the sales floor and interacting with
them. Such engagements brought me firsthand feedback which is priceless as we
say, greatly benefitting the business when improvements are implemented.
Moreover, I also enjoyed talking to our customers on a personal basis and many
have blossomed into great friendships over the years.
I always made it a point to be on
the frontline with my staff on peak periods like the festive seasons.
Together, we ensured that the queues moved fast and orderly. This also
gave me the opportunity to say “Thank You” for their support and to wish them
well for the festivities. In return, it was always rewarding to hear how much
customers appreciated my gestures.
What was the toughest challenge you faced at Huber’s
and how did you pull through?
The greatest challenge was when my previous company filed a
lawsuit against our management team and the company. This hindered our
bank loan applications which is most critical during the first few years of our
start-up. We managed to turn the situation around when we put our heads
down and followed the motto “when the going gets tough, the tough get
going”. Having friends who believed in us, helped tide us through the
first few years, financially.
Through this adversity, our Huber’s team has bonded and
emerged stronger!
What do you love most about Huber’s?
In short, almost everything!
It is most satisfying to have a great shop and all that
comes with it. I really loved the unique relationship we had with our employees
whom we called family members. Together, we created a cohesive environment
where no member wishes to leave, instead, we are always adding members to the
family. With such a warm and caring working atmosphere, everyone can feel
the good energy and passes on this positive vibe to all our customers. We have low staff turnover for the past 10 years and many customers have
complimented us for it as they see the same faces greeting them and serving
them well every single time!
Huber’s Butchery is now 4 years past its 10th year
anniversary in 2017. How do you envision the legacy of Huber's Butchery 6 years
from now, when we will have reached our 20th year?
Huber’s was the trailblazer in setting the trend of
indulgent Meat shopping over the widest selection of quality meat and cuts and
sausages in town, on top of which, complemented with gourmet groceries sourced
from all around the world. Customers can end their shopping expedition on a
sweet note at our adjacent Bistro which provides a showcase, with menu
offerings using our specially selected ingredients. The management team will
continue to strive and innovate, and I hope that we will continue to be
regarded as the game changer in Singapore’s F&B industry in years to come.
Any message you would like to leave to your loyal
customers and readers?
It has been my privilege to serve so many customers over the
years and would like to take this opportunity to say a big “Thank You” to all
my customers and readers for your support and for all the compliments that I
have received. I can ensure you that the Management and staff will do
everything possible to uphold the quality and service you have been accustomed
to.
What message would you like to leave to your staff?
I will definitely miss them! From top management down to the
cleaners, every single staff have supported me and the company from day one and
I am truly grateful. As I have mentioned earlier, it is crucial to have a good
management team to grow the business and it is equally important to have the
right staff who are dedicated to the company. I am most fortunate to have staff
who treat myself and their fellow colleagues, and even customers like family -
always going beyond normal expectations and making sacrifices when needed. Over
the years, I have been told hundreds of times on how great our employees are,
and I feel this is the best testimony for all of us.
It was a heart wrenching day for me when I announced my
retirement and said a big “Thank You” to them. Tears flowed as our relationship
is very close and I assured them that I will come shopping for groceries often,
to have an exchange of few words with them which means everything to me.
What advice would you give to your successors?
Never rest on your laurels. Keep improving, keep changing,
keep checking, keep looking for new products and keep looking after our “Family
Members”. Most importantly, keep communicating with customers and take their
feedback seriously. With this mentality deeply ingrained, I will have no
worries about the future of Huber’s and Huber’s Butchery.
All of us at Huber's: Cheers to
your retirement and may it be fulfilling and bring you the well-deserved “you”
time!
