“We made it through the pandemic, which was a defining moment for us. It was also when I took over the sole leadership of the company in April 2020, just when the circuit breaker first started,” says Tay, adding that before April 2020, he shared the group managing director role with his uncle, Kenny Chan, who has since retired. “The pandemic tested the organisation’s limits and how we could adapt to the challenge.”
Since its establishment in 1979, The Hour Glass (SGX:AGS
) has transformed from a single store in Singapore’s Lucky Plaza into a distinguished luxury watch retailer with over 60 boutiques across Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan and beyond. The group is a significant player in the luxury watch market, capitalising on the growing demand for high-end timepieces throughout Southeast Asia and Oceania.
However, the luxe watch retailing business has not always been smooth sailing. The Hour Glass, listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX:S68) in 1988, has experienced many ups and downs. Group managing director Michael Tay shares with The Edge Singapore that the recent pandemic was one of the group’s most challenging periods, and overcoming it stands as one of its greatest achievements.
