Tang Choon Keng
Encyclopedia
Tang Choon Keng was a Singaporean
entrepreneur
, who founded Tangs
department store
in Singapore. He was popularly known as CK Tang. Tang has been credited for leading the way for the retail
market in Singapore and establishing Orchard Road
as a premier retail district in Singapore.
, Tang was born at the turn of the 20th century in Shantou
, China
to a Presbyterian pastor
. He emigrate
d to the British colony of Singapore in 1923.
In Singapore, Tang began as a door-to-door
salesman peddling hand-made Swatow lace
, embroidery
and linen
products. With a hire
d rickshaw, Tang carried his goods in a pair of tin
trunk
s which remained in his possession as a reminder of his humble beginnings. Tang later became known as the "Tin Trunk Man" and the "Curio King" for his rags to riches
legacy.
of S$
3,000. Tang set up his first shop on the first floor of a building on River Valley Road, selling craft
products from China.
Subsequently in 1940, Tang financed the construction of a new building at the corner of Jalan Mohamed Sultan and River Valley Road to house a new department store. He called the new edifice Gainurn Building, a variation of his father's name Tang Gan Urn. The department store sold a vast array of merchandise. By the 1950s, CK Tang had opened several more branches.
In 1958, Tang bought a 1,351-square metre piece of land at the corner of Orchard Road and Scotts Road
at a cost of S$10,000 to further his vision of expanding his business. Although the site faced the Tai San Ting Cemetery
, he felt that it had commercial value as many British housewives in the Tanglin
area could stop by on their way to the city
. The decision was made against the advice of fellow businessmen who thought Orchard Road was unfashion
able then. Years later, when the Singapore Government designated and developed Orchard Road as a prime shopping and tourist district, the price of land soared from S$3 per m² to S$6,000 per m².
With the acquired land plot, Tang constructed the landmark
C.K. Tang Department Store (now rebrand
ed as Tangs) at 310 Orchard Road at a cost of S$50,000. The building's green-tile
d roof
and facade
was modelled after the Imperial Palace of the Forbidden City in Beijing
. In 1960, Tang voluntarily closed the store due to problems with the trade union
s, but Tangs was re-opened the following year. In 1975, Tang's company was publicly listed
.
In the late 1970s, Tang expanded his business again when he decided to develop the neighbouring property
lots which he had bought years before. In 1982, the building on Orchard Road was demolished to make way for the new Tang complex, comprising the 33-storey deluxe Dynasty Hotel (now the Singapore Marriott Hotel) and the Tangs shopping complex (now Tang Plaza). The shopping complex consists of five floors of retail space covering more than 15,000 m², marketed
under the slogan
"All The Best Under One Roof".
In 1991, Tangs opened its first overseas branch in Kuala Lumpur
, Malaysia. Tang also collaborated with Malaysia's Mayang Sari Bhd to develop real estate
, hotel
s and commercial properties in Kuala Lumpur. He also assisted the Dairy Farm International Holdings
in its retail business in Malaysia.
Until 1996, Tangs was the only major shopping centre in Singapore to not operate on Sundays, in deference to Tang's Christian
faith. Tang instituted the policy
so that his family and Christian staff could attend church
on Sundays. As a staunch Christian, Tang spoke of honesty
and hard work as his guiding principle
s.
Tang's distinctive management
philosophy
was the focus on people, both customer
s and staff. Emphasis was given to quality of the staff, reasonable pricing
and warm service
. Tang believed in investing in his staff, as his frontline staff would be the ones who would be in direct contact with the customers and he believed that the image
of the store depended on them. As a result, Tang reserved a substantial annual budget
for staff training
, which included tailored programs for sales
staff, supervisor
s and management. Supervisors and managers
were expected to undergo a minimum 100 hours of training. Tang also made an effort to get in touch with his staff at all levels, in order understand his customers' expectations on product and service quality. Despite the company's poor financial
results in certain years, Tangs retained its reputation for good service and reliability.
Tang retired in 1987, handing the reins of corporate leadership to the second of his three sons, Tang Wee Sung. However, Tang retained the post of company president
and was rarely out of touch with company business, personally checking the company's accounts and meeting suppliers.
In 1960, Tang was kidnapped by four armed thugs, but was freed unharmed within 84 hours after the family reportedly paid S$150,000 in ransom
.
Tang's first wife
died in 1980; he subsequently remarried. Tang had eight children. On September 3, 2000, Tang died peacefully at home with his family around him at 98 years old.
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
, who founded Tangs
Tangs
Tangs is a company that specialises in the retail market, selling goods to customers. It is based in Singapore, and owns Singapore's oldest store which has become an icon of the Singapore retail market...
department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
in Singapore. He was popularly known as CK Tang. Tang has been credited for leading the way for the retail
Retail
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
market in Singapore and establishing Orchard Road
Orchard Road
Orchard Road is a road in Singapore that is the retail and entertainment hub of the city-state. It is regularly frequented by the local population as well as being a major tourist attraction...
as a premier retail district in Singapore.
Early life
A TeochewTeochew people
The Chaozhou people are Han people, native to the Chaoshan region of eastern Guangdong province of China who speak the Teochew dialect. Today, most Teochew people live outside China in Southeast Asia especially in Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia. They can also be found almost anywhere in the...
, Tang was born at the turn of the 20th century in Shantou
Shantou
Shantou , historically known as Swatow or Suátao, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern coast of Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, with a total population of 5,391,028 as of 2010 and an administrative area of...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
to a Presbyterian pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
. He emigrate
Emigrate
Emigrate is a heavy metal band based in New York, led by Richard Z. Kruspe, the lead guitarist of the German band Rammstein.-History:Kruspe started the band in 2005, when Rammstein decided to take a year off from touring and recording...
d to the British colony of Singapore in 1923.
In Singapore, Tang began as a door-to-door
Door-to-door
Door-to-door is a sales technique in which a salesperson walks from the door of one house to the door of another trying to sell a product or service to the general public. A variant of this involves cold calling first, when another sales representative attempts to gain agreement that a salesperson...
salesman peddling hand-made Swatow lace
Lace
Lace is an openwork fabric, patterned with open holes in the work, made by machine or by hand. The holes can be formed via removal of threads or cloth from a previously woven fabric, but more often open spaces are created as part of the lace fabric. Lace-making is an ancient craft. True lace was...
, embroidery
Embroidery
Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....
and linen
Linen
Linen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather....
products. With a hire
Renting
Renting is an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property owned by another. A gross lease is when the tenant pays a flat rental amount and the landlord pays for all property charges regularly incurred by the ownership from landowners...
d rickshaw, Tang carried his goods in a pair of tin
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
trunk
Trunk (luggage)
A trunk, also known as a travelling chest, is a large cuboid container for holding clothes and other personal belongings, typically about wide, and each deep and high. They were most commonly used for extended periods away from home, such as for boarding school, or long trips abroad...
s which remained in his possession as a reminder of his humble beginnings. Tang later became known as the "Tin Trunk Man" and the "Curio King" for his rags to riches
Rags to riches
Rags to Riches refers to any situation in which a person rises from poverty to wealth, or sometimes from obscurity to fame. This is a common archetype in literature and popular culture ....
legacy.
Establishment of Tangs
In 1932, Tang was able to embark on a larger venture, having accumulated sufficient funds through hard work. He established a department store in 1932 with an initial capitalCapital (economics)
In economics, capital, capital goods, or real capital refers to already-produced durable goods used in production of goods or services. The capital goods are not significantly consumed, though they may depreciate in the production process...
of S$
Straits dollar
The Straits dollar was the currency of the Straits Settlements from 1904 until 1939. At the same time, it was also used in the Federated Malay States, the Unfederated Malay States, Sarawak, Brunei, and British North Borneo.-History:...
3,000. Tang set up his first shop on the first floor of a building on River Valley Road, selling craft
Craft
A craft is a branch of a profession that requires some particular kind of skilled work. In historical sense, particularly as pertinent to the Medieval history and earlier, the term is usually applied towards people occupied in small-scale production of goods.-Development from the past until...
products from China.
Subsequently in 1940, Tang financed the construction of a new building at the corner of Jalan Mohamed Sultan and River Valley Road to house a new department store. He called the new edifice Gainurn Building, a variation of his father's name Tang Gan Urn. The department store sold a vast array of merchandise. By the 1950s, CK Tang had opened several more branches.
In 1958, Tang bought a 1,351-square metre piece of land at the corner of Orchard Road and Scotts Road
Scotts Road
Scotts Road is a road in Singapore. The Goodwood Park Hotel lies on the road.It is located in the Orchard Planning Area, within the Central Area in Singapore's central business district....
at a cost of S$10,000 to further his vision of expanding his business. Although the site faced the Tai San Ting Cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
, he felt that it had commercial value as many British housewives in the Tanglin
Tanglin
Tanglin is the name of an urban planning area within the Central Region in Singapore.The Tanglin Planning Area is defined by the region bounded by Bukit Timah Road to the north, Farrer Road and Queensway to the west, Kay Siang Road, Tanglin Road and a section of the Alexandra Canal to the south,...
area could stop by on their way to the city
Downtown Core
The Downtown Core is a 266-hectare urban planning area in the south of the city-state of Singapore. The Downtown Core surrounds the mouth of the Singapore River and southeastern portion of its watershed, and is part of the Central Area, Singapore's central business district...
. The decision was made against the advice of fellow businessmen who thought Orchard Road was unfashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
able then. Years later, when the Singapore Government designated and developed Orchard Road as a prime shopping and tourist district, the price of land soared from S$3 per m² to S$6,000 per m².
With the acquired land plot, Tang constructed the landmark
Landmark
This is a list of landmarks around the world.Landmarks may be split into two categories - natural phenomena and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares and so forth...
C.K. Tang Department Store (now rebrand
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
ed as Tangs) at 310 Orchard Road at a cost of S$50,000. The building's green-tile
Tile
A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, or even glass. Tiles are generally used for covering roofs, floors, walls, showers, or other objects such as tabletops...
d roof
Roof
A roof is the covering on the uppermost part of a building. A roof protects the building and its contents from the effects of weather. Structures that require roofs range from a letter box to a cathedral or stadium, dwellings being the most numerous....
and facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
was modelled after the Imperial Palace of the Forbidden City in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
. In 1960, Tang voluntarily closed the store due to problems with the trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s, but Tangs was re-opened the following year. In 1975, Tang's company was publicly listed
Public company
This is not the same as a Government-owned corporation.A public company or publicly traded company is a limited liability company that offers its securities for sale to the general public, typically through a stock exchange, or through market makers operating in over the counter markets...
.
Property
Property is any physical or intangible entity that is owned by a person or jointly by a group of people or a legal entity like a corporation...
lots which he had bought years before. In 1982, the building on Orchard Road was demolished to make way for the new Tang complex, comprising the 33-storey deluxe Dynasty Hotel (now the Singapore Marriott Hotel) and the Tangs shopping complex (now Tang Plaza). The shopping complex consists of five floors of retail space covering more than 15,000 m², marketed
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
under the slogan
Slogan
A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a political, commercial, religious and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose. The word slogan is derived from slogorn which was an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic sluagh-ghairm . Slogans vary from the written and the...
"All The Best Under One Roof".
In 1991, Tangs opened its first overseas branch in Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, Malaysia. Tang also collaborated with Malaysia's Mayang Sari Bhd to develop real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
, hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
s and commercial properties in Kuala Lumpur. He also assisted the Dairy Farm International Holdings
Dairy Farm International Holdings
Dairy Farm International Holdings Limited is a retail company in Asia, with a legal base in Bermuda. A member of the Jardine Matheson Group, it is a leading pan-Asian retailer which processes food, wholesales food and personal hygiene products in the Pacific region and in China. Jardine Strategic,...
in its retail business in Malaysia.
Until 1996, Tangs was the only major shopping centre in Singapore to not operate on Sundays, in deference to Tang's Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
faith. Tang instituted the policy
Policy
A policy is typically described as a principle or rule to guide decisions and achieve rational outcome. The term is not normally used to denote what is actually done, this is normally referred to as either procedure or protocol...
so that his family and Christian staff could attend church
Church service
In Christianity, a church service is a term used to describe a formalized period of communal worship, often but not exclusively occurring on Sunday, or Saturday in the case of those churches practicing seventh-day Sabbatarianism. The church service is the gathering together of Christians to be...
on Sundays. As a staunch Christian, Tang spoke of honesty
Honesty
Honesty refers to a facet of moral character and denotes positive, virtuous attributes such as integrity, truthfulness, and straightforwardness along with the absence of lying, cheating, or theft....
and hard work as his guiding principle
Principle
A principle is a law or rule that has to be, or usually is to be followed, or can be desirably followed, or is an inevitable consequence of something, such as the laws observed in nature or the way that a system is constructed...
s.
Tang's distinctive management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
was the focus on people, both customer
Customer
A customer is usually used to refer to a current or potential buyer or user of the products of an individual or organization, called the supplier, seller, or vendor. This is typically through purchasing or renting goods or services...
s and staff. Emphasis was given to quality of the staff, reasonable pricing
Pricing
Pricing is the process of determining what a company will receive in exchange for its products. Pricing factors are manufacturing cost, market place, competition, market condition, and quality of product. Pricing is also a key variable in microeconomic price allocation theory. Pricing is a...
and warm service
Customer service
Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.According to Turban et al. , “Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer...
. Tang believed in investing in his staff, as his frontline staff would be the ones who would be in direct contact with the customers and he believed that the image
Reputation
Reputation of a social entity is an opinion about that entity, typically a result of social evaluation on a set of criteria...
of the store depended on them. As a result, Tang reserved a substantial annual budget
Budget
A budget is a financial plan and a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is a plan for saving, borrowing and spending. A budget is an important concept in microeconomics, which uses a budget line to illustrate the trade-offs between two or more goods...
for staff training
Training
The term training refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies. It forms the core of apprenticeships and provides the backbone of content at institutes of...
, which included tailored programs for sales
Sales
A sale is the act of selling a product or service in return for money or other compensation. It is an act of completion of a commercial activity....
staff, supervisor
Supervisor
A supervisor, foreperson, team leader, overseer, cell coach, facilitator, or area coordinator is a manager in a position of trust in business...
s and management. Supervisors and managers
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
were expected to undergo a minimum 100 hours of training. Tang also made an effort to get in touch with his staff at all levels, in order understand his customers' expectations on product and service quality. Despite the company's poor financial
FINANCIAL
FINANCIAL is the weekly English-language newspaper with offices in Tbilisi, Georgia and Kiev, Ukraine. Published by Intelligence Group LLC, FINANCIAL is focused on opinion leaders and top business decision-makers; It's about world’s largest companies, investing, careers, and small business. It is...
results in certain years, Tangs retained its reputation for good service and reliability.
Tang retired in 1987, handing the reins of corporate leadership to the second of his three sons, Tang Wee Sung. However, Tang retained the post of company president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
and was rarely out of touch with company business, personally checking the company's accounts and meeting suppliers.
Personal life
Besides CK Tang, Tang Choon Keng was also known as Tang Un Tien.In 1960, Tang was kidnapped by four armed thugs, but was freed unharmed within 84 hours after the family reportedly paid S$150,000 in ransom
Ransom
Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or it can refer to the sum of money involved.In an early German law, a similar concept was called bad influence...
.
Tang's first wife
Wife
A wife is a female partner in a marriage. The rights and obligations of the wife regarding her spouse and others, and her status in the community and in law, varies between cultures and has varied over time.-Origin and etymology:...
died in 1980; he subsequently remarried. Tang had eight children. On September 3, 2000, Tang died peacefully at home with his family around him at 98 years old.