Mr. Ngo Chi Cuong (1935) was born in Dandong, Liaoning (China). After the country entered peacetime, he realized the importance of knowledge, so he studied hard to get a university degree. After graduating, Mr. Cuong was assigned to the Dandong Telecommunications Bureau as a telegraph operator.

Retired teacher starts business at age 62

However, he was not interested in the profession, wishing to stand on the podium to teach. At that time, educational resources were lacking, so he decided to change careers. After quitting his job at the local Telecommunications Department, he applied to teach at Dandong Silk Primary School 1 (a school for children of factory workers). After a few years, Mr. Cuong transferred to Dandong Silk Industrial School until his retirement.

In 1995, Mr. Cuong retired after more than 20 years of teaching. At the age of 60, he separated from the busy life at school. The leisure of old age urged Mr. Cuong to do something. At that time, in China, there were many business opportunities, many people started their own businesses and achieved success, life gradually improved.

Deciding to start a business at an old age, Mr. Cuong was extremely worried. He accidentally saw breakfast sandwiches being served, and the business idea began to flash. After much deliberation, Mr. Cuong decided to sell breakfast sandwiches on a cart. Because of the convenience of selling sandwiches on a mobile cart, not only did it solve the problem of space, it could also be expanded everywhere.

At the age of 62, starting his business, Mr. Cuong used all his savings to buy ingredients to make bread and hire workers. Having been involved in the education industry for more than half of his life, he named the brand Toly Bread - Peach Blossom Bread (peach blossoms are often compared to students). The idiom "Peach Blossoms All Over the World" means students everywhere, which is used by Chinese people to wish teachers. Therefore, by naming it Peach Blossom Bread, Mr. Cuong hopes that the brand will be everywhere.

After the preparation process, the Dao Ly Bread brand was born in 1997. To ensure the flavor, fresh bread was produced early in the morning, sent out at 3am and sold before 6am. In addition, he also cared about the quality and price of the products sold.

When he first founded Toly Bread, he focused on developing the brand and spreading product awareness. Each type of bread has its own flavor, meeting the needs of all audiences. After a short time of launching the brand, the product was evaluated as having stable quality and reasonable price, so the consumption was large.

At the age of 88, he owns assets worth 124,000 billion VND.

In 2005, Mr. Cuong founded Toly Bread, which became the largest fresh bread factory in Northeast China. A year later, he launched a wholesale model, with each factory supplying products within a 200km radius. In Northeast China, branch factories were opened in Shijiazhuang, Chengdu, Xi'an, Shanghai and Qingdao.

Because fresh bread does not contain preservatives, the requirements for the product supply chain are high. If produced in small quantities, it will not meet market demand, and on the contrary, if produced in large quantities, it will be past its expiration date and must be destroyed. Therefore, to avoid losses, Mr. Cuong applied the method of 'production based on sales'.

After nearly 30 years of development, Toly Bread now has 22 factories in China and more than 310,000 retail outlets, becoming a leading company in the food industry with a market share of 29%.

To develop the domestic market, Toly Bread was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, becoming the first bread company to have shares. Currently, Toly Bread's market value is about 40 billion yuan (137,150 billion VND).

As the founder of Toly Bread, Mr. Cuong has led the company through all the difficulties in the market for nearly 30 years. At the age of 88, Mr. Ngo Chi Cuong owns about 36 billion yuan (124,000 billion VND).

Previously, he was also listed as the richest billionaire in Shaanxi (China) by Forbes magazine. Currently, the founder of Toly Bread has withdrawn from the business. Toly Bread is handed over to his two sons.

The story of Mr. Ngo Chi Cuong - a retired teacher who started his own business at the age of 62 brings the message: "Dreams are never too late, as long as you seriously pursue them, anything can be done."

(Source: Vietnamnet/NetEase, Sina)