Shoemaker to the world has big plans
By Elizabeth Wilmot
CHARLES Wong started selling shoes when he worked at his mother's small footwear shop in Ang Mo Kio during his national service days.
That was the first small step in a dazzling career in footwear for Mr Wong, 34, one of two brothers behind the hugely successful firm Charles & Keith International, which now has 150 stores and a foothold in 20 countries worldwide.
Last night, Mr Wong was declared Entrepreneur Of The Year at a glitzy awards ceremony held at the Ritz-Carlton Millenia Hotel. The awards are organised by the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises and Rotary Club of Singapore.
Mr Wong is the public face of Charles & Keith. His low-profile brother Keith, 32, who designs the shoes, is out of town. 'It is not good to be over-exposed. One of us is okay, but not two of us. But we look very alike, so it makes no difference,' he said with a laugh.
When asked what prompted him to start his own brand, Mr Wong said he wanted to cut out the middlemen who forced up prices.
'Some of the designs that my customers gave me feedback on took a long time to get produced or never got produced. So I felt that in order for me to shorten the whole design and product cycle and also to bring down the price, the only way was to create my own brand.'
An astute move indeed, as the business has grown by leaps and bounds. Last year, sales reached a record $76 million.
Mr Wong was thrilled at the award: 'I'm really happy because my team put in a lot of hard work. It is a great encouragement to all my colleagues.'
But it has been a tough trek. 'Being very young and without experience, a lot of people did not have confidence in us.'
His personal life suffered too. His marriage of eight years failed due to work. 'I spent so much time on my business that I neglected my marriage,' said the divorcee, who attended the ceremony alone.
Now, he has learnt to delegate tasks - which gives him time for activities such as giving speeches to school children.
'I love to go to schools to give speeches to inspire those students. I myself did not have a good education; I finished only O levels. For students who did not do well, I show them that if I can do it, I don't see why they can't do it too.'
Mr Wong has ambitious plans. 'Our target is to have 500 stores in five years, and a minimum of 50 stores every year.'
Besides the overall champion, winners came from four sub-categories, all of whom were presented with trophies.
Mr Wong was overall top entrepreneur. He also clinched the Entrepreneur of the Year Award (EYA) for enterprise, along with Mr Ivan Lee, chief executive and founder of restaurant group ThaiExpress Concepts, and Mr David Loke, group managing director of Tru-Marine, a turbocharger servicing specialist.
EYA for e-commerce went to Mr Mohamed Ismail, chief executive officer of P & N Holdings, which owns property agency PropNex. EYA for innovation went to Ms Susan Chong, managing director of Greenpac, which provides solutions for environmentally friendly packaging.
Finally, EYA for social contribution went to Mr Patrick Liew, chief executive of HSR International Realtors.
Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean, the guest of honour, handed out the trophies.
By Elizabeth Wilmot
CHARLES Wong started selling shoes when he worked at his mother's small footwear shop in Ang Mo Kio during his national service days.
That was the first small step in a dazzling career in footwear for Mr Wong, 34, one of two brothers behind the hugely successful firm Charles & Keith International, which now has 150 stores and a foothold in 20 countries worldwide.
Last night, Mr Wong was declared Entrepreneur Of The Year at a glitzy awards ceremony held at the Ritz-Carlton Millenia Hotel. The awards are organised by the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises and Rotary Club of Singapore.
Mr Wong is the public face of Charles & Keith. His low-profile brother Keith, 32, who designs the shoes, is out of town. 'It is not good to be over-exposed. One of us is okay, but not two of us. But we look very alike, so it makes no difference,' he said with a laugh.
When asked what prompted him to start his own brand, Mr Wong said he wanted to cut out the middlemen who forced up prices.
'Some of the designs that my customers gave me feedback on took a long time to get produced or never got produced. So I felt that in order for me to shorten the whole design and product cycle and also to bring down the price, the only way was to create my own brand.'
An astute move indeed, as the business has grown by leaps and bounds. Last year, sales reached a record $76 million.
Mr Wong was thrilled at the award: 'I'm really happy because my team put in a lot of hard work. It is a great encouragement to all my colleagues.'
But it has been a tough trek. 'Being very young and without experience, a lot of people did not have confidence in us.'
His personal life suffered too. His marriage of eight years failed due to work. 'I spent so much time on my business that I neglected my marriage,' said the divorcee, who attended the ceremony alone.
Now, he has learnt to delegate tasks - which gives him time for activities such as giving speeches to school children.
'I love to go to schools to give speeches to inspire those students. I myself did not have a good education; I finished only O levels. For students who did not do well, I show them that if I can do it, I don't see why they can't do it too.'
Mr Wong has ambitious plans. 'Our target is to have 500 stores in five years, and a minimum of 50 stores every year.'
Besides the overall champion, winners came from four sub-categories, all of whom were presented with trophies.
Mr Wong was overall top entrepreneur. He also clinched the Entrepreneur of the Year Award (EYA) for enterprise, along with Mr Ivan Lee, chief executive and founder of restaurant group ThaiExpress Concepts, and Mr David Loke, group managing director of Tru-Marine, a turbocharger servicing specialist.
EYA for e-commerce went to Mr Mohamed Ismail, chief executive officer of P & N Holdings, which owns property agency PropNex. EYA for innovation went to Ms Susan Chong, managing director of Greenpac, which provides solutions for environmentally friendly packaging.
Finally, EYA for social contribution went to Mr Patrick Liew, chief executive of HSR International Realtors.
Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean, the guest of honour, handed out the trophies.
