A co-founder of Fraser & Neave (F&N), the world-famous bottler of fizzy drinks, John Fraser (b. 1843, Wigtown, Scotland–d. 14 February 1907, Farnham, England) was a Scotsman who made his fortune in Asia. His diverse business interests included printing and publishing, ...
Echigoya was a Japanese fabric store established around 1907 on Middle Road. It was famous for its fine fabrics and garments, and tailoring of Japanese fashionwear. Echigoya closed down following the Japanese surrender in 1945 during World War II. It resumed business ...
Founded in Calcutta, India by Robert Laidlaw in 1882, Whiteaway Laidlaw was a department store that opened a premier branch in Singapore in 1900. Offering products that appealed to the Europeans and wealthy locals, the outlet in Singapore was located on D’Almeida ...
The Borneo Co. Ltd. (BCL) was formed in 1856 to exploit business opportunities in Borneo (Sarawak). It was also active in other parts of Asia. Drawing on its knowledge of the Southeast Asian markets, the company entered the automobile industry in the 1920s, importing ...
Guthrie & Co.’s history began in 1823 when a partnership was established between Alexander Guthrie and Thomas Talbot Harrington, a family friend. First located in a rented godown on Hill Street, the company sold British goods to the European and Chinese communities ...
George Quek Meng Tong is the founder and chairman of BreadTalk Group, famous for the BreadTalk bakery chain. He began his foray into the food and beverage business in Taiwan, selling dragon candy in 1982, before moving into the food court business in 1993. He started ...
Boustead and Co., which was set up by Edward Boustead, one of Singapore’s earliest merchants, is almost as old as modern Singapore itself. Established as a small trading house less than 10 years after the founding of Singapore by Stamford Raffles, the company expanded ...
The Popular Group comprises companies with core businesses in book publishing, distribution and retail, and electronic learning. It is best known for its chain of Popular retail bookstores. The group has subsidiaries and companies across the world, and has also ...
Crystal Jade is one of the most prominent restaurant chains in Asia, with over 80 outlets across nine countries. It made its initial foray into the restaurant business as a fine-dining Cantonese restaurant in Singapore, and has since expanded its repertoire to ...
Polar Puffs & Cakes is a food manufacturer and operator of a confectionary chain best known for its curry puffs. Originally known as Polar Café, Hong Kong immigrant Chan Hinky began running the business from 1926. The first Polar Café, a landmark on High Street, ...
Yeo Hiap Seng Limited (YHS) is known as a food and beverage manufacturer and distributor. Listed on the Singapore Exchange since 1969, it has grown from being a family-owned and -controlled business to one with an international reach. Its products are distributed ...
Gay World was one of three amusement parks built in Singapore before World War II and around which Singapore’s nightlife revolved from the 1920s to the ’60s. The other two were New World and Great World. Gay World was a popular entertainment joint before the advent ...
Great World Amusement Park was one of the three “Worlds” that lighted up Singapore’s nightlife in the 1950s and 1960s. Although it closed in 1964, cinemas, cabaret and restaurants continued operations at the park until 1978. Today, the site is occupied by Great ...
The Odeon Cinema was built in 1953 at the junction of North Bridge Road and Cashin Street, where Odeon Tower and K. H. Kea Building are now situated. It was Cathay Organisation’s flagship cinema and its most successful box-office earner in Singapore. The Odeon ...
Opened in 1923, New World Park, an amusement park, was a popular nighttime haunt in Singapore from the 1920s to the ’60s. It was the first of three renowned amusement parks known as the “Worlds”, the other two being Great World and Gay World. New World was located ...
Mustaq Ahmad (b. 8 June 1951, Uttar Pradesh, India–) is the co-founder and managing director of Mustafa Centre, a popular 24-hour shopping centre in Little India frequented by many Singaporeans and tourists. The success of Mustafa Centre has earned Mustaq Ahmad ...
Behn, Meyer & Co. was established in Singapore on 1 November 1840 as a partnership between two Germans, Theodor August Behn and Valentin Lorenz Meyer. In its initial years, the firm traded in tropical produce such as coconut oil, pepper, camphor and rattan, but ...
Mohamed Mustafa and Samsuddin Co Pte Ltd (MMSC), established in 1971 and located in Little India, is one of Singapore’s local retail giants. Hard work, honesty, humility, and the importance of listening to customers’ needs are the guiding principles behind its ...
Hagemeyer Trading is an international company that specialises in business-to-business products and services. It was established in 1904 by two brothers, Anton and Johan Hagemeijer, in Surabaya, Java, for the purpose of importing products into the Dutch East Indies ...
Elim Chew Soo Gim (b. 1965, Singapore–) is best known as the founder of 77th Street, the retail store specialising in street wear for teenagers. She is an advocate of social entrepreneurship and believes that businesses can contribute to the community. Chew sits ...