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Changing times, but watch company believes retail still has a place in S’pore

SINGAPORE — Mr Sunny Ng left school when he was in Primary 4, then took on odd jobs delivering newspapers, becoming a tailoring assistant and working in a carpentry shop.

Mr Sunny Ng (2nd from right) and his team during Chinese New Year in 1985.

Mr Sunny Ng (2nd from right) and his team during Chinese New Year in 1985.

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SINGAPORE — Mr Sunny Ng left school when he was in Primary 4, then took on odd jobs delivering newspapers, becoming a tailoring assistant and working in a carpentry shop.

“Times were hard. My mother worked in a factory and my father was unemployed,” said Mr Ng, now 70 years old, in Mandarin.

He went on to sell watches and by the time he turned 35, he had gained enough knowledge about watches and the tricks of the trade to be able to strike it out on his own.

So in 1984 he opened his shop, called All Watches, in Lucky Plaza.

Celebrating its 35th anniversary in April, the company has grown to a total of five branches at major malls in Singapore and one in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

It has become a family-run business, too. His daughter Edna, 47, is the general manager while his son Darren, 44, is the operations manager.

Mr Sunny Ng (right) and his daughter Ms Edna Ng. Photo: Najeer Yusof/TODAY

Ms Ng, who is also director of subsidiary watch retail brand Aptimos, was from the first batch of retail management graduates from the Singapore Polytechnic.

Asked whether it was her father who inspired her to pursue retail management, she said: “He made me do it, it’s not that I want to take that course.

“But over the years it has changed my perspective, it’s not a burden any more.”

She said working for her father was quite awkward at first — she did not know how to address him. “But he’s been very open, so I had the freedom to do what I had to do,” Ms Ng said.

His wife has also been quietly supporting the family as a housewife, Mr Ng said. “She takes care of the housework, so I leave it all to her.”

CHALLENGES FACING THE RETAIL WATCH INDUSTRY

Over the years, they have earned the trust of their customers to keep them coming back.

Mr Wesley Wong, 38, has known the shop since 1987 and bought 12 watches from them. He said he goes back because of the “fantastic customer relations”, watch care and maintenance advice.

Mr Edgar, 80, and Ms Catherine, 70, who only gave their first names, said they return to All Watches because of the “trust” and “great confidence” that have been built over the years.

Still, Mr Ng acknowledged that maintaining customer relations is a challenge in this day and age.

“Back then, you just had to be hardworking and have good relations. A company’s history and values were important,” said Mr Ng.

“Today, people come to my shops to try watches and order them online.”

Mr Ng admits that with greater competition from overseas online shopping sites, the retail watch industry in Singapore is not as thriving as it was in the past.

Watch brands in recent years have also been opening boutique stores to sell their own products instead of putting them in a retail shop like Mr Ng’s.

“We have to continuously seek out exclusive retailerships with different watch brands while supporting our own house brands,” said Mr Ng.

All Watches is currently the exclusive retailer for Davosa, Ernest Borel, Festina and Rotary watches in Singapore.

But Mr Ng believes that retail still has a place in Singapore.

When it comes to clothes, people need to see if the size fits, whereas for more expensive things like watches, they need to see the physical object before they decide whether to sink their money into it, he said.

All Watches now has an online shop but is still experimenting with different ways to boost digital sales.

Referring to the Government’s push for greater innovation and automation, Mr Ng said it is very hard for a customer-facing business like All Watches to adopt these.

“Placing a touchscreen for customers to order watches in our shops wouldn’t work, you need someone to explain the features of the watch personally.”

Ultimately, he said, it’s all about the human touch.

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