In 2020, leading listed watch retailer Cortina Holdings took control of Sincere Watch in Singapore for $84.5 million, separating the entity from Sincere Watch (Hong Kong), which retained its own operations and listing in Hong Kong.
This is a tale about the fate of one multi-generational luxury watch retailer and how it became intertwined with that of another storied luxury watch purveyor. Sincere Watch was founded by the Tay family and was listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) in the early 2000s. It was subsequently owned by several others like the now defunct Peace Mark Holdings, which bought the controlling stake from then-owner Tay Liam Wee in 2007 to be privatised. When Peace Mark was liquidated, Tay, via a consortium, bought back the watch retailer, which had grown beyond its Singapore base and expanded into three other markets — Malaysia, Thailand and Australia.
In 2012, Hong Kong businesswoman Pollyanna Chu took over ownership of Sincere and the company was listed as Sincere Watch (Hong Kong) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE).
