Who is Dr. Tan Kim Yong? The founder behind Hao Mart, AIM Corp, and the supermarket legal battle
From Whampoa minimart to Orchard Road: Hao Mart’s rapid expansion under Dr Tan Kim Yong
Once a construction materials specialist, Dr Tan Kim Yong chose a completely different career and opened Hao Mart convenience store in 2016.
Since then, however, Hao Mart’s journey has been a roller coaster ride, fueled by expansion plans and legal issues. We look back at the journey of Hao Mart founder Dr Tan Kim Yong.
1999: After spending six years as the Senior R&D Manager of AGC Multi Material Singapore, Dr Tan Kim Yong founded Advanced Integrated Manufacturing Corporation (AIM). According to their website and LinkedIn page, the company provides Nadcap and AS9100 certified manufacturing services, used in the aerospace, defense and high-tech industries.
May 26, 2005: As AIM expanded internationally, it was officially listed on the SGX Mainboard in 2005, with Dr Tan serving as Group Chairman and CEO and major shareholder.
2016: In 2016, Dr Tan entered Singapore’s highly competitive grocery scene, opening the first Hao Mart outlet in Whampoa. Established with the concept of a “super-mini-mart,” the store combines the concept of a store with the product range of a supermarket.
May 2, 2017: AIM was delisted from SGX due to low trading capital, compliance costs, and other factors. Hao Corp—the parent company of Hao Mart—is listed as a supplier for the now-independent business.
2019: Hao Mart began accelerating its sales expansion into multiple formats. During this expansion, it filed its first financial statement for FY2019, with a loss of S$2.2 million.
August 8, 2019: Hao Megamart opened at The Grandstand. Covering more than 46,000 sq ft, it carried more than 70,000 products, including live seafood, bakery, bakery, fresh produce, housewares, and branded electronics—positioning itself as a one-stop hypermart instead of Giant and NTUC FairPrice.
December 20, 2019: Another retail format, “Hao Mart’s Excellente,” targeting a high-end international grocery audience, was introduced. Stores have opened at Marina Square, Westgate and Kinex.
November 2021: Hao Mart reaches a maximum of 51 stores in Singapore. It also signed a 7.5-year lease with department store owner OG for all five levels of the former OG Orchard Point building. The landmark deal marks Hao Corp’s biggest expansion yet, bringing the grocery and F&B concept to the heart of the Orchard Road shopping belt.
March 2023: Hao Mart reported a loss of S$23.2 million in FY2023, after turning a profit in the previous two financial years.
August 4, 2023: OG entered into an institutional agreement with Dr Tan personally, extending a loan of S$66.2 million to finance the opening of Taste Orchard at the former Orchard Point site. The loan is secured by the mortgage of Dr Tan’s Good Class Bungalow in Jervois Hill, one of Singapore’s most prestigious areas. By this time, the opening of the project had been delayed by almost six months from its planned start in Feb.
February 2024: Taste Orchard opens, with three floors housed by Excellente by Hao Mart, offering a live seafood station, butchery & deli counter, and FYI Live kitchen. Tenants on other floors include Sushiro, BHC Chicken, Killiney Kopitiam, and Warabimochi Kamakura.
Jan – Nov 2024: According to OG’s lawsuit, Hao Mart failed to pay rent at Taste Orchard from Jan to Nov 2024. The supermarket is also said to be subletting parts of the building to other tenants without OG’s prior approval, which OG later claims constitutes a breach of the 7.5-year lease.
December 2024: Hao Mart stores are down to 20, according to its website.
July 2025: The cracks are starting to show in public. in the main area, and Hao Mart themselves reduced the performance of the building. The supermarket downstairs was closed, and products were moved to another part of the building.
August 2025: Hao Mart is suing PropNex Realty for alleged misrepresentation over the Taste Orchard lease. This started a series of lawsuits.
September 2025: The landlord wants the tenants to move out by the end of the year. The move comes 18 months after Taste Orchard opened. No explanation was given for the termination of the lease.
October 2025: OG is suing Hao Mart for S$6.6 million, including unpaid rent, taxes, and other costs. Hao Mart files a counterclaim, alleging that OG itself breached a separate oral agreement.
December 2025: Taste Orchard officially ceases operations, and the premises are returned to OG.
January 2026: Hao Mart, Dr Tan, and his wife sued OG for S$57.5 million in damages. They alleged OG’s conspiracy to cause losses to Hao Mart by damaging or destroying their business. Meanwhile, Hao Mart reported a loss of S$49.6 million in FY2025, financial statements were filed late in Jan 2026.
April 2026: Media reports indicate that Hao Mart has been reduced to just seven stores amid ongoing legal disputes, as the company sinks deeper into bankruptcy.
- Read other articles we’ve written about Singapore businesses here.
Featured Image Credit: Hao Mart/Facebook
