TIME TO RISE

Much has been said about Kingston Chu’s relative youth and questions posed over whether he is up to the task of leading the Hong Kong-listed Sincere Watch Group. But, on closer analysis, it is his very youthfulness that is proving to be his greatest asset. At 29, the Vice-Chairman of Sincere Watch (Hong Kong) Ltd is in sync with what the demographic of his age group desires. “The new generation of young watch collectors trends towards iconic and visibly unique timepieces, and a more casual appearance. Luxury in today’s market, especially in watches and fashion, is no longer a ‘strict suit jacket’ anymore. You can wear a million-dollar watch with a T-shirt and khaki pants, and it’s perfectly acceptable now,” says the scion of the Chu family that controls Kingston Financial Group Ltd based in Hong Kong. “The days of the black tie and tuxedo are fading,” he says with barely a hint of nostalgia.

It’s clear that Kingston has not let his youth stand in the way of his running the business that was entrusted to him by his mother, Dr Pollyanna Chu, reputedly one of the top 40 richest persons in Hong Kong with an estimated worth of USD1.4billion (as reported in the January 2014 issue of Forbes magazine). Pollyanna is the CEO and largest shareholder of Kingston Financial Group, a diversified group with interests in hotels, restaurants, gaming and financial services. Her husband, Nicholas Chu, acts as the Chairman and Executive Director of the same group.

Borrowing from the expression that ‘manners maketh the man’, the only son of the Chus gives his own take: “It’s the experience that maketh the man, not the other way around.” He goes to add: “My age is not an obstacle. I think there are many other bigger hurdles than age.” No novice to the wider world, the avid watch collector has had work stints in New York’s Wall Street, Los Angeles, San Francisco and his base in Hong Kong. He also travels up to six times a year to Geneva, the capital of Swiss horology, where he meets with some of the top watchmakers in the world and visits their manufactures. Kingston says he counts himself blessed to have had such life experiences before the age of 30.

That’s not all. Kingston is believed to be the youngest person ever to head a regional watch retail group. Despite this, the enterprising man has already introduced initiatives that would enhance its service. Believing casual luxury is the way to go, he has started 10 major renovations, during which time each store has to be closed for about two months. The refurbished boutiques sport a more open concept now. His biggest achievement to date, after 2 ½ years with Sincere, is conceptualising, designing and implementing a fine dining restaurant cum watch boutique, believed to be a world first. “As in everything new, it’s a bit of an experiment. If it’s successful, we will implement the idea across South-East Asia – possibly in Malaysia, Singapore or Thailand,” he reveals.

FOOD & WATCHES
Opened in June 2014, the four-storey Franck Muller Maison, located opposite Times Square in Causeway Bay, houses two exclusive restaurants. Kingston chose a restaurant over the usual maison’s complementary set-up of a wine-tasting bar, cigar lounge or exhibition museum purely because food is the one thing that’s closest to his heart. Nothing gives him more pleasure than to venture out in search of gastronomic adventures. He admits he’s happy to be in Malaysia, where he gets to eat street food such as Penang char kway teow and spicy dishes. The self-confessed foodie is a big durian fan as well and never misses a chance to taste the pungent fruit whenever he’s here. His all-time favourite cuisine, however, is still Chinese food “because of its infinite variety, many of which don’t even make it out of China”.

“It’s always interesting to visit a new city or province to explore its food, especially those that I haven’t tasted or seen before,” says Kingston. “In China, there is a saying that they eat everything that has a back facing the sky and I found it to be alarmingly true.” As a result of his passion for food and his belief that most people love to go out for meals, he decided to include restaurants in the maison. “We felt that food is the best medium to connect with customers.”

It was the right decision as both the restaurants – one is contemporary Cantonese with both Chinese and Western influences, while the other is an Italian-Japanese fusion – have seen tremendous response. The restaurant cum watch boutique idea, however, isn’t the only new idea up his sleeve. Kingston may well be the first to promote a luxury watch made by Asians in Asia. “Switzerland, Germany and England have a rich history of horology, but I think Asia will eventually be another centre for fine watchmaking. After all, Asians are now the world’s largest consumers of luxury watches, and I look forward to the day when Asians are creators and brand builders of luxury watches as well.”

MADE IN ASIA
In fact, he is already on track towards this kind of initiative. Kingston is working with the Federation of Hong Kong Watch Trades & Industries Ltd, which oversees a four-year course that imparts technical skills to watchmakers. There are plans afoot to teach watch-branding, manufacturing and the business aspect of it. In Hong Kong, there is a home-grown watch brand, Memorigin, which makes tourbillons exclusively. Created by watchmaker William Shum, the brand produces only a few thousand pieces a year. Kingston feels the brand is symbolic of the possibilities of what can be done in Asia when it comes to fine watchmaking. His optimism is infectious as he declares: “With so much passion for timepieces in Asia, there will come a time when we will also be able to create them as well.”

Any further doubt as to his leadership quality is swiftly banished when one sees his charisma at work when toasting at the opening of the 100 Tourbillons Exhibition at the Sincere Fine Watches boutique in Suria KLCC in October 2014. The young man exudes charm and confidence as he mingles with the watchmakers, distributors and VIP guests. When he speaks, he chooses his words carefully without sacrificing any of that spontaneity that comes with youth. Even when interviewed by a television crew, Kingston was at ease and quick with his responses. You would probably have thought he’s a seasoned CEO dealing with the press. Having grown up in the United States, he’s fluent in English and Chinese, speaking with a bit of an American accent.

The Chu family took over Sincere Watch Group in 2012. The acquisition stabilised Sincere, which had gone through several changes in ownership over the previous few years. “We were coming in as long-term, serious investors as we are very passionate about the industry,” says Kingston. “Over the past two years, we have improved Sincere’s quality of service and its range of offerings.” For Kingston, his involvement in Sincere has been a great learning experience. “I have come to appreciate much more the level of mechanical expertise and conceptual design which the industry has held to a very high standard over many years. Previously, I was more of a surface appreciator – judging a book by its cover, if you will. I liked watches just because they looked fancy, without paying much regard to what was inside. I never knew the differences before and it wasn’t until I explored the full breadth of the watch world that I understood the uniqueness and value of watches, and how ‘every watch is the same but every watch is different’,” he says. “I think I am a very spoilt watch collector now,” he laughs.

Chu’s taste in fine watches leans more towards the classic type. He admits he’s a conservative guy, so he likes products that have stood the test of time, such as signature pieces from every top luxury watch brand. So far, he has acquired at least seven such watches, including Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak Chronograph Tourbillon, Franck Muller’s Crazy Hours 10th Anniversary Limited Edition and Patek Philippe’s 5170 Chronograph.

Beyond the packaging, Kingston’s concept of time revolves around how people can never recover that which has passed. “It never happens twice. Once the second, minute or hour has passed, you can never have it back. There is a point in your life that you may want to go back even for an hour. But time waits for no man. It’s intriguing how you can never have your time back, but watches are a great way for you to keep track and record what you have done with your time. So, having one on my wrist keeps me grounded as to what I am doing with every second, minute and hour of my life. A perpetual calendar further helps track my months and years,” says the watch lover, who also counts racing fast cars and sailing yachts among his hobbies.

As with all watch retail groups, Sincere is constantly seeking new brands that have the best technical finish, complication and unique execution. It’s also on an expansion trail, especially in China, but, because of the present uncertain market, is taking a very cautious approach. Kingston says Sincere is always on the lookout for strong domestic partners but it’s not always easy to find them.

China, for example, is so huge that Sincere would probably need a number of different partners. In the case of Vietnam, a likely destination for Sincere’s next phase of expansion, it still hasn’t found the right partner yet. “We may enter Vietnam, perhaps, in five years’ time when the market is more developed. We may even include Cambodia and Indonesia, depending on how developed they are at that point in time.”

Meantime, the group will continue to maintain a very strong presence in its key markets of Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Many collectors, including those from China, visit these three countries on their acquisition sprees. “In five years, I foresee Sincere continuing to do what we do best – being the purveyor of the finest timepieces,” says Kingston. Sincere might even serve Hong Kong-style char kway teow if it ever opens a restaurant cum watch boutique in Malaysia, he quips. A bit later in the interview, he good-humouredly predicted that, in five years, he might be wearing clothes that are two sizes larger on account of his being a consummate foodie. He also lets on that it’s a dream of his to possess a fully customised watch in the near future. “Yes, put that down as my personal five-year plan,” he laughs.

WATCH AS FINE ART
On a more serious note, Kingston hopes to bring some of the financial savvy that he has learnt in Hong Kong to build up and expand Sincere’s business in South-East Asia, as well as explore new markets and business opportunities. When it comes to business know-how and work ethics, Chu credits his parents, saying they are “two of the most hardworking people I have ever met”. They imparted in him the value of hard work, treating everyone fairly and the importance of treasuring relationships and partnerships. “My parents treat their friends very well, and I learnt that for myself and have found it very helpful in my work,” says Kingston, adding that they attend a string of social and work events together, as well as show up at family events.

Other than his parents, another person he is inspired by is Jean-Claude Biver, currently Director of Timepieces for the Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH) group. “Biver took over two struggling companies – Blancpain and, later, Hublot – during the Quartz crisis and was able to revitalise, repackage and elevate them on a global scale. He’s also a very charismatic marketer. That type of turnaround and value creation is something to admire and aspire to,” says Kingston.

He is exceedingly optimistic of the future of luxury fine watches, believing that it is very bright because such items belong more in the fine art category rather than objects at risk of obsolescence due to advances in technology. “Computers, televisions, Walkmans and CD players are functional and practical technological products that have a limited lifespan; I see luxury watches as standing the test of time. They are no longer purely functional pieces but are fine art on a wrist, representing the personal taste of the wearer. Fine art itself is timeless and the same goes for luxury timepieces.”

For him, the technological prowess in the most advanced timepiece is already quite far along in its development and the technology won’t go obsolete anytime soon. So, he doesn’t subscribe to some people’s view that “because there is only so much real estate on a person’s body, if an iWatch is already on the wrist, there is no more space for any other type of traditional watch”. Whatever the future holds for luxury timepieces, we can be sure of one thing – the number of collectors will continue to grow the rarer an item becomes. Demand will keep trending higher, especially from China. And that presents a remarkable opportunity for Kingston to come up with more unique concepts to further entrench Sincere’s position as the leading purveyor of the finest luxury timepieces in Asia.

That would be a challenge he is more than up to. With the passage of time, his business acumen can only get sharper. Youth definitely does not equate inexperience and a lack of ability, as Kingston has resolutely demonstrated. It helps also that the Sincere group was included in Forbes’ list of Asia’s 200 Best Under a Billion company in 2013 – a period when he was heading the group.