Published August 12, 2009

Man who founded Metro dies, aged 98

Ong Tjoe Kim defied the odds to set up department store at his own pace, terms

By ARTHUR SIM

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(SINGAPORE) Ong Tjoe Kim, founder of Metro department stores - and a man who defined entrepreneurship on his own terms - died at the age of 98 yesterday.

Mr Ong: Metro's first outlet in Singapore, specialising in textiles, opened at 72 High Street in 1957

Mr Ong was born in China, grew up in Indonesia and was armed with just an elementary Chinese education. And yet he made his journey from an odd-job labourer to the business magnate appear unhurried, almost natural.

He joined an Indonesian department store right at the bottom, wrapping goods. He worked for 25 years with that company and rose through the ranks to become a manager in charge of seven branches in Indonesia.

Unlike other more impulsive entrepreneurs of his time, Mr Ong was content to bide his time. In the 1994 book, Stepping Out, a study of Singaporean entrepreneurs by Chan Kwok Bun and Claire Chiang, Mr Ong spelt out a simple formula that obviously worked for him.

He said: 'At ten, a person studies. From twenty to thirty, he comes out to gather experience. Between thirty and forty, once he feels his experience is adequate, he will want to establish his own business. By forty or fifty, one has to find something to do independently. No one will want to employ an old person anymore.'

In 1953, at the age of 42, Mr Ong opened the first Metro Department Store in Surabaya. The name was inspired by his passion for the silver screen and the famous Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) movie studio.

By 1957, Metro's first Singapore-based outlet, specialising in textiles, opened at 72 High Street. Showing a certain flair for marketing and promotions, Mr Ong invited Li Mei, one of the more popular actresses of the day, to officiate the opening ceremony and cut the ribbon.

Mr Ong also made an impression on the local business community.

Frank Benjamin, founder of FJ Benjamin, recalls: 'I first met Mr Ong in the 1960s when Metro was located in High Street. I found him to be a fair and firm person in his business dealings, and a true entrepreneur whose passion for the retail business helped create one of Singapore's best-known shopping brands.'

In 1973, Metro went public and a string of new Metro department stores followed.

At the same time, Mr Ong guided Metro through the first wave of diversification with businesses in construction and high-end retail.

In 1983, Metro Holdings' annual turnover was $357 million with Metro stores contributing $161 million and its construction arm contributing $73.8 million. Its subsidiary company Transmarco, dealing in luxury goods, had a turnover of $117 million.

Mr Ong remained the executive chairman of Metro until 2007. At the time of his death, he was still a non-executive director and senior adviser.

Metro chairman Winston Choo said: 'The Group has become what it is today through the vision and daring entrepreneurial spirit of this great pioneer who continued to give the Board his wise counsel right up to recent months.'

Through the years, Metro has evolved under Mr Ong's son, Jopie, 68, who joined Metro in 1964 and has been its group managing director since 1973.

The group has become a retail and property investment group with nearly $1 billion in net assets and dealings in China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.